Question about thrush

5littleladies wrote: I suspect I have thrush and was able to get my Dr. to diagnose me over the phone so I don't have to go in (yay! ), BUT Alyssa isn't showing any signs of it and her ped doesn't want to treat her if she doesn't have it. Should I worry about her getting it? Is there anything I can give her on my own to prevent it?

jem0622 replied: Oh thrush. Ick. A great cure all for thrush is Gentian Violet. Give it to her for 4 days. Stains, but works wonders. Also, you could ask for a tube of Nystatin and put it on your nipples. It is okay for her to ingest it. You'll have to replace any paci's she is using (if she is using one).

Sorry to hear this!

HUGS

5littleladies replied:
Where do you get Gentian Violet? A health food store?

And bummer that I have to replace her paci's! I can't just sterilize them?

coasterqueen replied: Okay, let's see if I can ramble off a bit of my thrush experiences. Especially since we battled it extensively from 7 to 11 months and many many more times after that.

First off you suspect you have thrush, why? Did you have to take any antibiotics in the hospital or there after? Just making sure that it is thrush. Wouldn't want you to take the thrush measures if you don't have to, that's for sure. Second, did the doctor give you anything to take for the thrush or any instructions? Third, your doctor is DEAD wrong on not treating baby. I can't believe how incompetent doctors can be sometimes when it comes to this subject. Sorry if I offend anyone, but it's true in my mind.

If YOU have thrush and you are treating yourself, you still have it til it's gone. That means baby will get it. Why? Because baby is nursing and so there is still thrush on your breasts/nipples meaning baby is coming in contact with them. Hence they can still get thrush. Almost every time I battled thrush Kylie NEVER showed any symptoms except the occassional diaper yeast rash. It's entirely possible for one to have symptoms and not the other. Our body chemistries are so different as far as how much yeast we can handle. Take for instance my sitter who every time she takes an antibiotic she ends up w/a yeast infection. Me, on the otherhand does not have that problem (although I do get thrush everytime if I don't take measures). I know, more than you wanted to know. Just trying to explain how one could have symptoms and other could not.

Okay, how I always started out treating thrush was first:

1 - gentian violet on my nipples (which baby also gets in their mouth) so you are treating both. Sometimes I treated baby's mouth as well. You can get it at any health food store. I think Dh got mine at a local pharmacy - cheap product, really. Make sure you get the lowest alcohol content possible. And no, the alcohol content will not hurt baby. I have a link here that will help minimize GV stains: Thrush Resources This link has thrush resources to answer any question you may have, but if you also scroll down a bit to "thrush treatments" you'll see the links to help minimize GV stains .

2 - boil all paci's bottle parts, nipples, etc during thrush treatments

3 - throw away all paci's and bottle nipples after one week of boiling

4 - wash all laundry in a vinegar rinse (one cup vinegar to rinse cycle)

5 - spray all toys she may come in contact with a vinegar mix

6 - boil any toys (or dishwash) that can be

7 - use only paper towels to dry hands, etc and wash all towels, bras, etc daily

8 - take acidophilus for yourself (and if baby showed any symptoms have baby take acidophilus as well - for baby dose: break capsule open, divide into 3 parts, give one part each time 3 different times a day)

9 - eat yogurt

10 - ONLY use regular soap. Do NOT use antibacterial soaps because it kills the good yeasts our body needs to fight off the bad yeast. This should be the case no matter if you have thrush or not. I totally limit the amount of antibacterial soaps I use.

ALL THRUSH TREATMENTS SHOULD BE DONE FOR 10 DAYS PAST YOU RIDDING OF THRUSH TO ENSURE IT'S GONE. Trust me, I've short changed myself in this department and it WILL come back.

NEXT, if doing all this and thrush is still being a stinker

You can try GSE (grapefruit seed extract) OR diflucan (which is what I went straight to there in the end when it just kept coming back and wouldn't stay away). The doctors usually almost always get the dosage wrong though. It should be 400mg for the first time. Then 100 mg twice daily for at least two weeks. If you can't get a doctor to prescribe that, call a LC and have them talk to your doctor. I found my gynie would give me that script but my general doc wouldn't.

OH and I forgot to mention I always used clomitrizole (sp?) OTC (all purpose nipple ointment - like) to help with the thrush. This was also very helpful in helping fight diaper yeast rashes.

Here's a link (that's within the link I gave above) on treatments as well: http://www.kellymom.com/newman/c-candida_protocol.html

HTH! PM me any time you need help . Good luck getting rid of the yeasty beast.

coasterqueen replied: Oh and forgot to add......IMO I would throw out or not fill a script for Nystatin liquid (which is given to baby) or Nystatin cream. It is FILLED with sugar which only feeds thrush not rid of it. I never understand why docs give this out. I truly wonder.

5littleladies replied: Ok-first of all, here is why I suspect thrush. I haven't been on any antibiotics and I can't honestly tell you if I had any cracks or sores at first-I just didn't pay close enough attention. I was living like a sugar queen for awhile after Lissie was born though and I've read that can contribute to the development of thrush. Anyways- I have sore, pimply nipples-despite good latching, occassional sharp pain in my nipples after feeding for awhile with no pain, shooting pains in my breasts throughout the day, and they are just sore in general. I keep checking Lissie but she just doesn't seem to have any signs. I have searched and searched and I don't know what else this could be. If you have any other ideas I'm more than open to suggestion!

My Dr. prescribed Diflucan-I haven't gone to pick it up yet. I've been thinking about getting the Gentian violet for Lissie (and it sounds like a good idea in general). Would it hurt do you think, to use them simultaneously?

coasterqueen replied:
Probably is Thrush and isn't harmful to treat for it for sure.

If your doc gave you diflucan PLEASE make sure he gave you the right dosage I posted above. Anything less than that and I can almost guaranty you you'll get it back again. I've seen it too many times not to warn you.

Second since you are going to do diflucan, I don't think you need to do GV until you see any signs in Lissie. But I do suggest using acidophilus for yourself (or lots of yogurt) as well as the clomitrimizole (sp?) on your nipples.

And also just remember any time you take an antibiotic or Lissie does, you want to eat tons of yogurt OR both take the acidophilus.

Edit to say I'd still take the other measures with laundry, bottles, toys, nipples, binkies, etc just to be on the safe side . I know it's a PIA but going overboard to treat thrush is better than not and it coming back .

5littleladies replied: OK-sounds good! That's what I'm gonna do.

Thanks so much Karen for all you advice! I often trust your opinion on breastfeeding related matters more than I do a dr.'s!

BusyMom replied: [SIZE=7][COLOR=green][I]

This is our second bout w/it (maybe the fourth time is the charm for both of us.) I decided to go off all dairy (except unsweetened yogurt), refined sugar, white flour and yeast for a few weeks. If you knew how much I love food, you'd realize how desperately I want to get rid of this once and for all!javascript:emoticon(':(')
smilie

Even if you don't remove these foods from your diet, limit them and eat them w/proteins and veggies so you're not feeding the overgrowth of yeast. Apparently dairy is the worst offender, followed by sugar.

Good luck!

Jenifer
Mom to 4

redchief replied: I know this is a post in the BF area, and normally I would have totally ignored it, but I think an FYI is in order.

Gentian Violet has been used for years to treat thrush, but has recently been linked to mouth cancer in an Australian study. Take that for what it's worth, but Dr. Sears and other pediatricians are now recommending the use of acidophilus instead. This is a powder form of the bacteria that we have in our systems that keep yeast under control.

You can see his recommendations for treating thrush and the breasts here:
http://www.askdrsears.com/html/8/T083100.asp

5littleladies replied:
Well that's interesting to hear. I was leaning toward the acidophilus more for the sake of it being neater to use but that makes me want to go that route even more so.

Thanks for the Dr. Sears link. I always forget to look up his info.

5littleladies replied:
Does it seem to be working? I'm a food lover too but the thrush is really getting on my nerves and I'm ready to try anything!

coasterqueen replied:
Very very interesting Ed. Thank you for that. I'm going to have to ask my BF guru friend about this and see what she says. Last I heard she still recommended GV on the BF site she mods. Thanks.

coasterqueen replied:
GSE is also another 'cleaner' way to treat thrush. But it can taste a bit 'off'.

5littleladies replied:
That's Grape Seed Extract right??

coasterqueen replied:
Grapefruit, I think. I'd have to go check in my cupboard, but I'm almost positive.

BusyMom replied: Here is a link to a thorough treatment of thrush. She does mention using GV, so you might want to avoid that.



Treating Thrush

Our Thrush is gone, but I hope I don't have to keep this diet up until she weans!

Good luck!

5littleladies replied:
Thanks!

Maddie&EthansMom replied: I'm sorry you have thrush! I hope it clears quickly and Lissie doesnt' get it.

I would also think that acidophilus would treat it since it is good to ward off yeast infections as well. I dont' have any experience with thrush, though. So pay no attention to me.