Natural Methods for Treating Thrush?

[triple07]

Well the past couple days I noticed white dots on Thierry's lips and now on gums and my nips have gotten sore. I read that docs will prescribe anti fungal meds for him and cream for me (and I guess I will have to treat Petri too) but I was wondering if there were natural methods for treating it. And generally how long does it last... ? TIA

[mamanurse]

I have never treated thrush naturally (only prevented) : However, so many of our mamas here have had it and I've heard them say GSE and taking probiotics. Apparently you swab your babe (and toddler's) mouths with GSE and apply it your nipples/areolas. I'm not sure how often.

Added: I checked my fav baby dr's website about GSE. HTH!

[Baby_Cakes]

Yes, that is what I did for a little while. I think it would have worked too, but just as my symptoms started to fade, Nora started puking way more than usual. I think the GSE was too harsh for her and was really upsetting her tummy. I was swabbing her mouth before feedings and treating myself after feedings. I'm not saying this to tell you not to do it, but just in case you do try it, this might happen.

Also, I personally think taking the GSE capsules (3 capsules 3 times a day) finally helped me kick the thrush.

[mkmb129]

Carrie, so taking GSE pills & swab baby's mouth the the liquid form? I think we have thrush, too. Bright pink, sore nips & sharp pains in my breasts : Only one white dot in dd's mouth. Blah. And where can I get this wonderful stuff? GNC?

[Astrid1024]

We breastfeeding women are so moist and sweet with all that milk - yeast's dream come true.

We did Gentian Violet, probiotics and I took GSE tablets. I didn't swab Lars' mouth with GSE because it is so bitter and unpleasant. He didn't love the Gentian Violet (to put it mildly) but it was very effective - you only have to use it for three days, once a day. Trying to do the GSE swabbing of both nipples and mouth has to be done every hour. There was just no way that was going to happen for us.

http://www.kellymom.com/newman/06gentian_violet.html

You might hear some scary stats about how GV has been linked with oral cancer. The amount and length of time Thierry would be exposed to the GV are nowhere near the numbers that have been associated with oral cancer. The study done in Australian found that long term exposure to large amounts increased the risk of oral cancer. So no worries.

My midwife said beyond the gentian violet (which is her favorite method of treating thrush) have your nipples out in the open air. Moisture in bras or nursing pads help yeast thrive, so air will discourage it from growing.

You can get GSE tablets at Whole Foods or a Natural Health food store. Just make sure it is Nutribiotic, the best brand. I made the mistake of buying the Solaray brand and it had all kinds of stuff in it, like Pau D'arco that you're not supposed to take while bf-ing. So I had to go to my co-op, get the Nutribiotic brand, and waste money on that Solary stuff that is still sitting in my fridge. Blah.

Thierry will probably get a pretty nasty diaper rash as the yeast works it way through his system. I was astounded by how helpful a couple of minutes in the sun and air helped Lars' bum. Even if you don't happen to have a sunny room to let him hang out in for 15 minutes, just a little while on the diaper table will really help.

I also got the powdered form of probiotics for myself and took some and put it in a water and gave it to Lars.

Wash your sheets, pillows, bras - anything your breast milk touched with some vinegar in the rinse cycle.

That's what worked for us and it really wasn't all that difficult. We're still a higher dose of probiotics every day to keep the thrush at bay.

I hope you and Theirry feel better soon.

[triple07]

Thanks so much for all the suggestions! I am going to check out GV and GSE and go to buy probiotics today

[Changed]

You have some great advice here. The GSE tablets work great. I take them daily to prevent thrush and boost my immune system.

[Baby_Cakes]

Originally Posted by mkmb129

Carrie, so taking GSE pills & swab baby's mouth the the liquid form? I think we have thrush, too. Bright pink, sore nips & sharp pains in my breasts : Only one white dot in dd's mouth. Blah. And where can I get this wonderful stuff? GNC?

Yes to both. I got both the liquid and the caps at my local rinky dink health food store. The liquid must be diluted (I think it's 10 drops to an ounce of water) before swabbed in baby's mouth or put on your nips.

I agree with everything Sarah said, with the only exception being that I only did the nip/mouth swabbings at feedings. And I didn't do anything during night feedings.

Just watch your LO b/c like I said, Nora was puking A LOT (meaning, the entire contents of her full belly after every feeding) and it really started getting on my nerves. Feeding was painful enough, and I didn't like having to do it twice as often PLUS clean up pukies.

Once I started taking the GSE capsules 3 times a day, literally after 2 days I noticed a marked improvement. I say take them, and do the swabbing, and see how it goes from there.