thrush?

[rozziemama]

hey mamas, i am starting to think my little one has thrush... he's been fussing while feeding and has some white on the inside of his lips. I thought at first they were blisters he sometimes gets from sucking so hard, but now i dont think so...
we are going to the ped today for the 5 wk check up, but I was wondering if anyone else has experienced this with their lo?

thanks!

[mommysaurus]

Still fighting it here...it can take awhile to get rid of it...which sucks! Here's some info.

http://www.lifepassages.net/Thrush.html

http://www.oz.net/~chotii/fighting_thrush.html

[jr'smom]

I've battled thrush with every baby. I can always tell I have it when baby's or my tongue is coated white, and when it gets bad my nipples get red and sore.

The first time we had it my MD gave us prescriptions. When I got home, I read about the drug and started crying--there was no way I was giving my baby that drug.

I found out that taking probiotics and placing some on baby's tongue too, helped. But to completely wipe it out, I made sure to wear my bras only once and use towels only once and to wash them in hot water. I also used white vinegar on my nipples after nursing.

It's not easy to get rid of, and I continued to take probiotics for months and months, but I felt much better using these methods than introducing such a harsh drug (or any drug) to baby.

I'm starting probiotics now for the birth of the next baby to hope to avoid thrush this time. As long as I end up with a homebirth like I want, I should be fine. But if I end up in the hospital again and they automatically give me antibiotics because my water breaks early or I run a temperature--then I know I better get ready for the thrush battle. :

[farmerjess]

nak

we are battling thrush. we have had it for about 6 wks now.

i am currently on diflucan, swabbing nips after each feed with gse, eating a no sugar no white carb diet, probiotics for both of us, swabbing babes mouth with nystatin 8x per day, and will be starting a second round of gentian violet in a few days. i am hoping to really knock it out this time.

if he has it, i hope you can get rid of it very quickly and that you don't get it on your nips. it hurts.

[rozziemama]

well, my suspicions were right he does have it
i'm sure its b/c I was GBS + so had a motherload of penicillin in labor - we're on nystatin & probiotics now....

[Baby_Cakes]

So sorry your LO has thrush! Do you have symptoms as well? Huge hugs. I've been battling it for about a month now. I took abx for mastitis and the thrush came along with that.

Am I an idiot? DD has no symptoms and the ped looked in her mouth and said she doesn't have it - so I haven't been treating her. I'm thinking about letting her suckle probiotics off my finger just in case. Will that be effective if she does have it?

I've been on diflucan for 3 weeks straight, and am waiting impatiently for my APNO to come in the mail. Should be here in another day or so. The pain *is* subsiding but it's still a bitch to nurse, and now I'm getting mastitis again on top of it.

[rozziemama]

you know, my nipples feel a little sore today but not that bad at all -- and i thought it might be because i pumped sort of aggressively yesterday -- its only the right breast that is that sore. so, maybe i don't really have symptoms? how badly does it hurt? is it much more than normal nipple soreness from a lot of nursing?

i feel frustrated because I'd been taking a probiotic myself since pregnancy b/c of the GBS/knowing I was going to take all that penicillin -- and I'd thought the probiotic would be passed through breast milk to the babe.
But, its not enough to really help - and if I'd known there was a whole line of probiotics for babies out there, I'd be doing it the whole time!

So, I think it can't hurt to try the probiotics - they are good for them even if they don't have thrush - i just put a little bit on my nipple and he sucks it right off, doesnt even notice. He has a bit of gas too - and the dr. said this would help with that as well... I think it would be good to do it?

[farmerjess]

Originally Posted by Baby_Cakes

So sorry your LO has thrush! Do you have symptoms as well? Huge hugs. I've been battling it for about a month now. I took abx for mastitis and the thrush came along with that.

Am I an idiot? DD has no symptoms and the ped looked in her mouth and said she doesn't have it - so I haven't been treating her. I'm thinking about letting her suckle probiotics off my finger just in case. Will that be effective if she does have it?

I've been on diflucan for 3 weeks straight, and am waiting impatiently for my APNO to come in the mail. Should be here in another day or so. The pain *is* subsiding but it's still a bitch to nurse, and now I'm getting mastitis again on top of it.

carrie, if i were you, i'd think about treating your lo with either nystatin or gentian violet. my babe doesn't have any symptoms either, but i notice that when i get lazy about treating his mouth i get *much* more nip pain.

[Baby_Cakes]

I asked her ped for the nystatin and b/c Nora had no symptoms she didn't prescribe it. Gentian violet is such a mess and I'm not comfortable with the possible side effects for the baby. I just got her some baby probiotics which hopefully will ward off any slight case she may have.

My APNO should arrive tommorow, I'm looking fwd to that.

[rozziemama]

one more question: will it be effective if I put the same liquid nystatin DS is putting in his mouth on my nips? Or do I have to use the cream. We're out of the cream, and now the white has disappeared from his mouth after 2 days & I don't want to give it back to him from my nipples.
Ahhh this is frustrating & a bit depressing that we could be passing this yucky thing back & forth to each other

[farmerjess]

Originally Posted by rozziemama

one more question: will it be effective if I put the same liquid nystatin DS is putting in his mouth on my nips? Or do I have to use the cream. We're out of the cream, and now the white has disappeared from his mouth after 2 days & I don't want to give it back to him from my nipples.
Ahhh this is frustrating & a bit depressing that we could be passing this yucky thing back & forth to each other

I would go with a diluted vinegar solution for a simple household remedy. Put that on your nips after nursing each time. The nystatin has a lot of sugar in it which fosters yeast growth.

[farmerjess]

Originally Posted by Baby_Cakes

I asked her ped for the nystatin and b/c Nora had no symptoms she didn't prescribe it. Gentian violet is such a mess and I'm not comfortable with the possible side effects for the baby. I just got her some baby probiotics which hopefully will ward off any slight case she may have.

My APNO should arrive tommorow, I'm looking fwd to that.

GV is a horrible mess, but we did look into the side effects (because the girls on here scared me...) The cancer thing came from a mouse study where they gave them either their weight in GV or as their whole diet everyday for a long time, I am not sure. Anyways, TONS more than you would ever be using. And according to Jack Newman, mouth ulcers have only been reported in cases where it was used inappropriately...either for more than once a day for 7 days or more than the prescribed amount (1 or 2 drops per application) For stubborn thrush cases Jack Newman recommends APNO, GSE, GV and diflucan....Just so you don't think I am giving my baby cancer or anything....

I hope that the APNO works for you.

[Baby_Cakes]

Originally Posted by farmerjess

Just so you don't think I am giving my baby cancer or anything....

I hope that the APNO works for you.

I don't think that! Admittedly, the girls on here scared me too and I've been too lazy - err, busy to actually look anything up!!! So thank you for doing the research and clearing that up!

We're doing 3 out of the 4 you said (APNO, Diflucan, and GSE) and I'm feeling so much better already - and I haven't started the APNO yet. I hope that's the final kicker.

[rozziemama]

oh - good to know! Thanks for all of your wisdom