I got thrush, and for a couple of days it was really painful to nurse. But then I stopped wearing a bra, and it seems to be clearing up. I have been getting conflicting advice about medican for me. I was told by my OB to use monastate, I was told by my sons pedi to use the creame for his bottom, on my nipples. Then I was told by the pharmasit to use the stuff I am putting in his mouth on my nipples. But I am wondering if it will just go away without putting any meds on then?
Use the "Desitin" cream you put on the baby's bottom. And PLEASE! Trust me on this! My kid's mom is 44DD. And we used Cloth. This stuff is all but miraculous.
Thrush will not respond to Desitin, it will only make it worse. Thrush can be treated holistically, if you can wait a few days. Did you have antibiotics in labour? But thrush is easily passed back and forth between mother and baby, so the quicker it's taken care of the better for both of you. The reason why it seems better after not wearing a bra is because thrush like damp, dark places to grow, and inside a nursing mother's bra, it just multiplies. What are you puttingin his mouth seems like the best bet to me, if it's safe enough for his mouth, it's safe enough to use on your nipples which are going in his mouth. Exposing your breasts to air helps, and rinsing with vinegar. You should alos rinse your bras with vinegar and sun them dry. Avoid refined sugars and grains (no white anything!) thrush loves sweet.
This used to be on my now defunct website. Good stuff about thrush and yeast. Yeastie Beasties, or everything you always needed to know about thrush. Thrush sucks. Ask anyone who has had it. Mamas hate it babies hate it, LCs hate it cuz either someone has it and we can't get it treated or someone doesn't have it and insisits that they do. Symptoms: Mama: Burning nipples, itching nipples, scaling and peeling, feeling described as "broken glass" going into the nipple. With ductal thrush: Deep breast pain after a bout with nipple thrush, shooting pain into breast and often into armpit. Usually a lack of fever or the malaise that accompanies bacterial mastitis. Baby:White "plaque"in baby's mouth. Looks like milk that can't be rubbed away. If plaque is able to be removed, some blood may appear. A "Pearly Membrane" inside of mouth that is slightly whitish and translucent. A red raised edge diaper rash with red bumps. Gas and fussiness. Some babies whose mouths are in great pain may refuse to nurse or fuss at the breast. Many babies have NO symptoms at all! They can still give the trush back to you, though! What to do about it: The best person to diagnose you is a La Leche League Leader or a Board Certified Lactation Consultant. Not all sore nipples are thrush and you need to make sure of what you have. Sugar's Words of Wisdom: Both you and the baby need to be treated, even if only one of you has symptoms. The first line of treatment is Nystatin for the baby and an antifungal cream for your nipples. (Usually Monistat, Clotrimizole or something similar.) Put the dosage amount (plus a few extra drops for abosrption) of Nystatitn in a paper cup and soak it up with a Q-tip. Rub this all over the baby's gums, tongue, roof and bottom of mouth. Ask the prescribing doc how often you can use it, keeping in mind yeast can proliferate in only and hour or two. We often dose every 2 hours for severe infections. You may be given and antifungal for the baby's butt if she has diaper rash yeast.(Mycolog or something similar.) Use this as prescribed. Any med left in the cup can be fed to baby to drink. This will help to kill any yeast in her GI tract. Just give it to her out of the cup, with her sitting up on your lap. Use the cream prescribed for your nipples as directed. This should continue for at least 10 days, even if you feel better after just a few. If you don't kill all the yeast, it will come back after you stop the meds and the next infection will have developed resistance to the meds and you may need something stronger. I did that and I still have it! Yeah, that happens a lot. About 50% of the yeast strains common in North America are resistant to Nystatin. What to do next OR what to do if your doctor "doesn't believe in thrush." There are still HCPs who don't treat for thrush. Breastfed babies have much milder symptoms than FF kids and some docs don't know what to look for. Also, many don't believe that mamas can get the thrush from babies and won't treat you. Here's what to do: 1) Get a new doctor. It's my opinion that if your doc is this ignorant about thrush and breastfeeding, what else is he ignorant about? I wouldn't want him in a dire emergency. I would also want someone caring for my baby and I who listens to me and believes me. 2)You can do Gentian Violet. Gentian is an OTC med that you can use to treat thrush if you have no other option. It is messy, it doesn't always work and you have to be careful with it, but some mamas have no other choice. It's cheap, you don't need a prescription and you can do it yourself. Use only Gentian Violet .5% (that's point five per cent) any stronger can cause burns. If you can only get the 1% dilute it 1:1 with sterile, distilled water, only as much as you will use in a day. Use twice a day for no more than 3 days. Put about a 1/2 tsp in a disposable paper cup. Using a disposable swab (Q-tip) soak up the Gentian and paint your nipples and the baby's whole mouth with the stuff like the Nystatin directions above. Repeat 2 X a day for 3 days. Use a separate swab for each dosing and a separate swab for you and the baby. Wear really raggy clothes and put old clothes on the baby. This stuff stains like crazy. It may take a few days to wear off. What to do if you still have it or you start getting pains in your breasts. First of all, see your lactation specialist to make sure it is thrush. These cures will not work for a bacterial infection, poor latch on or other causes of sore nipples. If you are sure it is thrush, you've tried the Nystatin or Gentian, OR you have shooting breast pain, which may mean the yeast has invaded the duct and nothing you put on your skin will effect it. Talk to your Doc or Midwife about Diflucan. It is a systemic antifungal which works from the inside. Nystatin, Gentian, Clotrimizole are all contact substances that have to touch every yeast bud to irradicate the infection. Diflucan is different, you take the tablet and it works systemically. It is compatible with breastfeeding and can be used in babies over 1 day of age. Diflucan is given one 125 mg tablet, once a day for 2 weeks OR one 125 mg. tablet, once a day for 3 days, one week off then one 125 mg. tablet, once a day for 3 more days. This newer prescribing method is gaining popularity. It depends on your doc which one he or she wants to try. Other Stuff to Help Kill the Beasties 1)Try to clean up your diet. Don't go nuts and stop eating fruit and bread and live like a fasting monk, (research doesn't support the theory that you can cure yeast with food changes) but your immune system will function better without a lot of sugar and junk in your diet. 2)Take acidophilus. An enteric coated one is best. That way you don't have to take it on an empty stomach. (Primadophilus by Nature's Way is a good one.) This probiotic will recolonize you with good bacteria so the yeast won't be able to gain a foothold again. This stuff make more sense than eating tons of yogurt. You's have to eat 20 tubs of yogurt to get the bacterial load in a single capsule of Acidopilus. Plus, if you beleive the diet theories, dairy products (and that includes even yogurt) increases your suseptability to yeast. 3)Treat your partner if need be. Often sex partners are notorious for giving you the yeast back. Male partners will need to get either a vaginal yeast cream or Lotrimin AF and rub it on their penis several times a day for a few weeks, other men may need Diflcan also. Some guys get the yeast on their balls and thighs, too. Put the cream there if need be. It looks red with a raised edge, and he may be really itchy. Make him use the stuff on his penis if you keep getting the thrush back after you've had some relief, as he may be asymptomatic and giving it back to you anyway. If you have a female partner, she can start with an OTC vaginal yeast cream and may only need to go to Diflucan if that doesn't work or she gives it back to you again. 4) Keep everything that touches your breasts and the baby's mouth really clean!!!! This neccesitates boiling toys, breast shells, pacis, bottle and artificial nipples (if used) every day!!!! Some womyn even boil their bras. You can also bleach the bra (1 cup to a laundry load) as bleach kills yeast on inanimate objects well. 5) Use disposable nursing pads while you are being treated. It's one less thing to wash and worry about. 6) Wash your hands after going potty or scratching yourself and before nursing the baby. (Did I really have to say that?) 7) Boil your baby's diapers or consider a diaper service if you can afford it. It's important to kill all the yeast and home machines just don't get the water hot enough. You can also bleach your diapers, if you want, and just rinse them an extra time or two. (I'm assuming you are using cloth, here, don't boil your Huggies.) 8) Some mamas get relief from an analgesic (like Motrin or Tylenol) until the meds start to work. Some mamas are in so much pain that the doc will give you some codiene or Vicodin. If you are in severe pain, don't be afraid to ask. Thrush can be treated and it is not a reason to wean. Educate yourself, find a good LC LLLleader and HCP and you will get through this. Peace and health, Maggie Sugar , IBCLC Professor Emeritus, Department of Boobalogy This page is for informational purposes only, it is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any disease or condition or take the place of your Health Care Provider.
