Anyone else dealing with thrush?

[JesiLynne]

5 babies, I have had 5 babies and never had to deal with thrush til now.
I don't have it, just Sephie.
Anyone else in this boat ?

[nighten]

Poor thing! We had it something awful with Guinevere and ended up having to go on the two week dose of Diflucan before it finally abated, as it had moved into my milk ducts and the pain was horrid. Two months of thrush from hell. So I can sympathize.

If you're wanting to go with something other than a prescription, try gentian violet and/or grapefruit seed extract. Do not use Nystatin oral at all as it's loaded with sugar to make it palatable and can in some cases make oral thrush worse.

Get some good probiotics -- for you and for her. For you, Dr. Ohhira's brand is outstanding. And for her, http://www.udoerasmus.com/products/p...infants_en.htm is a good one for infants. Let her suck it off your finger.

Once thrush is established the probiotics won't likely kill it, but they will help reduce the severity and/or keep it at bay in the future.

If the gentian violet and GSE don't work, get the one dose of Diflucan. It will go through your breastmilk and treat her too.

Be sure to wash anything that's touched her mouth or your nipples (since you've been exposed too even if you're not exhibiting symptoms) with HOT water and clear vinegar. Add 20+ drops of GSE to the final rinse cycle. Dry on high heat.

Toss any pacifiers if you're using them. Boiling won't get all the yeast out. Don't use any until thrush is totally gone. But boiling should work for bottle nipples and pump parts if either are applicable in your case.

If it's diaper thrush, do not use cloth dipes. Switch to disposables, wash any CDs on high heat with GSE and dry on high.

So sorry you're dealing with this. Honestly, I'm so over the yeast thing I go straight to Diflucan now, but I use GSE on all laundry stuff and as a topical rinse for my nipples. Am also a big fan of probiotics.

Dr. Jay Gordon has some great info here:

http://www.drjaygordon.com/development/bf/thrush.asp

You can also try some Dr. Newman's cream, which can be expensive and has to be custom mixed but can be helpful.

http://www.drjacknewman.com/help/Candida-Protocol.asp

Your midwife should be able to prescribe it for you I think.

Good luck. Hope some of that helps. Oral thrush is painful, and I hope you're able to find a solution that clears it up for her very soon. Poor little thing.

[JesiLynne]

does thrush hurt babies ?

[nighten]

Oral thrush is painful, yes. If it's painful for children and adults, then presumably it is for babies too. Let me know if you need anything or if I can help. I know what a pain it can be to deal with.

[thepeach80]

Originally Posted by JesiLynne

does thrush hurt babies ?

I don't think it does in most cases. Never seemed to hurt my kids (3 of the 4 have had it and we are just getting over it now). My friend had it orally not too long ago and she said it just made everything taste funny.

[AllyRae]

Amelia and I both have it...she's my 3rd thrush baby. Amelia currently has a thick layer on her tongue, plus white patches on her lips, gums, palate, and cheeks. She's on nystatin now, and I'm rubbing the meds on my nipples, but it's sticky as heck. I think I may get some OTC yeast infection cream until I can get a prescription for something a little stronger. Mia has it bad and I don't want to pass it back and forth for another few months. We're also going to do probiotics once I can find something for her (our town doesn't have very many places to get probiotics, and I can never get to the one health food store within an hour's radius before it closes for the day).

[Mamato2]

I think we are dealing with it here, first baby for me to have it. Gabriel has had the bum rash and I think I am starting to feel it in my nipples. I am going to try the GSE and I am treating his bottom with canestan and Dr. Newman's cream (which is ouch, expensive, the midwife didn't warn us). Thank you Nighten for all your very helpful information!

Do you think instead of using distilled water with the GSE treatment I can use boiled? Otherwise I will have to start tomorrow.

I had also just started using my cloth diapers and have been using cloth wipes so I guess I will have to treat all of those. Argh.

I also started myself on a probiotic today and will pick up a baby one tomorrow. Hopefully we can end this before it goes to his mouth. I wish it hadn't taken us so long to treat as it is.

[nighten]

Originally Posted by Mamato2

Do you think instead of using distilled water with the GSE treatment I can use boiled? Otherwise I will have to start tomorrow. (

Using regular water can work but distilled is best. Since it's typically used with so many drops per ounce, I'd just pick up a big bottle of distilled water at the store and use it for future applications. But for now, use regular tap water if you need to.

I hear you on the expensive thing too -- the midwife on call is the one who prescribed it for us and she didn't warn us either. Ouch, indeed. But the good thing is it only takes a TINY amount each time -- just enough to barely make your nipple shiny. So one container can last a good while.

[Vegan Princess]

How would I know if I have it? I have yellow on the tips of my nipples after I nurse but I don't know if that is leftover scabbing? Baby has a white tongue but nothing else is white so maybe it's just milk?

Cindy

[ewolthuis]

Lucy and I are right there with you all. We are using GSE and probiotics. I am also feeling like a cold is coming on, so I'm downing Vit. C and echinacea, too. So many pills! She has just a few spots on her cheeks, a whitish tongue, and the yucky red diaper rash. She cries like it hurts when she yawns and burps, so I think it does bother her some. And I'm sure her bottom is tender. But I am not feeling any symptoms myself yet, thankfully. I am using the GSE in distilled water as close to every hour as I can get, maybe closer to every two hours throughout the day, but I am not sure how long I have to continue it. After her mouth is cleared up, how much longer should I swab her and me? I am really trying to follow through, but it it hard to keep up with all of this on top of having a newborn and a three year old to take care of! Argh.

[nighten]

Originally Posted by Vegan Princess

How would I know if I have it? I have yellow on the tips of my nipples after I nurse but I don't know if that is leftover scabbing? Baby has a white tongue but nothing else is white so maybe it's just milk?

Cindy

That doesn't sound like thrush to me, necessarily. White tongue after nursing is totally normal. White spots on inside of cheeks is not. Those spots are typically thrush. And the yellow on nipples isn't necessarily thrush either if it's the only symptom you're having -- it can just be that your nipples need some airtime as are staying moist too long (which can eventually lead to thrush as yeast loves that dampness). Try expressing a little milk after each nursing session, and rubbing it on the nipples, then letting them airdry a bit?

Thrush symptoms on nipples tend toward cracking, peeling, redness, itching, etc. Not unlike a vaginal yeast infection, for some.

Here are the symptoms from Dr. Gordon's site:

Unusually pink or red nipples.
Cracked or bleeding nipples
Itching or burning nipples
A shooting pain deep within the breast
Pain that continues throughout a nursing session
White patches inside the baby's mouth. (the inside of his cheeks is a "thrive" zone and an easy to identify location)
Yeast infections in other locations (diaper area, vaginal)

I've also found the symptoms for Mom tend to be worse at night -- not always but for many mamas. The itching can be all over the breast -- not just the nipple area. If the shooting pains are deep within, then thrush has likely moved into the milk ducts and it'll need to be treated sytemically. So then you can go with GSE internally and/or Diflucan, etc., in addition to the probiotics and such.

---

ewolthuis, it very well may be she's uncomfortable from the thrush. While oral thrush may not prove painful to some people, it is (to a widely, varying degree) with others, so if baby seems uncomfortable or in pain, she likely is. Honestly, I err on the side of caution and assume it's painful, because thrush is extremely painful for me.

I would continue with the GSE for 3-5 days or so after all symptoms are gone. And keep on with probiotics for at least a week. Be sure to wash EVERYTHING that has touched the yeast (towels, clothing, nursing pads, etc.) on high heat with 20+ drops of GSE. Dry on high heat too if possible. Yeast can live for a very long time, IME, on fabric, so it's key to kill it off else you risk reinfection later on. Which is really, really, annoying. :

I hate thrush. Really. It was such a pain for us to deal with last time around. I wouldn't wish it on anyone and am so sorry so many mamas here are dealing with it.

[Vegan Princess]

Thanks Nighten. I'm still a bit unsure. I have red nipples and they are a bit cracked but I think they might still be healing from being destroyed early on and are irritated from all the pumping I'm doing. I have pain in my breast right now but I think it is from a plugged duct...though it feels more nipply...but maybe there is a plug in my nipple too. Good thing I have a midwife appt next week...I'll have her look at them. I am just afraid the irritation might have gone into thrush but I don't itch and Makenna doesn't have diaper rash so hopefully we don't have it.

Cindy

[JesiLynne]

I've been doing the GSE for me and Sephie and it seems to be working, her tounge, with had really REALLY thick thrush on it, is almost all cleared up, my boobs itched terribly for one day and that was it. I pray this is almost over.

[ewolthuis]

I'm on day 3 of GSE, and Lucy has a new spot in her mouth! I'm not really seeing a big improvement...is it too soon to expect the cheek spots to be disappearing? Her butt looks a bit better, just drier, and I have been using the hair dryer on it at diaper changes, which she loves! I've also been consciously letting my nipples get some air time as much as I can. The GSE seems slightly irritating on them... I figured I would move onto Gentian Violet if the GSE wasn't working out, but I'd rather just get this to do the trick. She seems less bothered by her mouth though. And she seems to think the probiotics are fine.

[JesiLynne]

How much GSE are you using ? You might want to up the dosage a bit.

Good news from this, I have come to realize that my whole family has yeast overgrowth issues, and it explains A LOT!!!!!!!!!!! My twins allergies to certain foods, everyone of DH's health issues, it all fits. I just want to cry I am so happy. I expected it to be years before we figured out how to fix these things.

[ewolthuis]

I just remixed some stronger GSE solution, about 15 drops per oz. Hopefully that will help. Some spots look better, but I saw some more on the roof of her mouth today. But, those just might have been ones I hadn't noticed before. Good luck everyone with getting rid of the yeast. I have informed hubby to wash everything on hot, with a vinegar rinse, and we always dry on high anyway, so hopefully all the laundry should be okay. Thankfully, I am using cheap nursing bras I don't mind trashing, and hadn't started cloth diapering yet.
Thanks for all the info, too!
Baby is waking...I put her down, what was I thinking??

[mamamillet]

UGHHHH! So we just spent almost 2 weeks on nystatin and I think its gotten worse! I will be buying some GSE tomorrow and starting that. We have both been doing probiotics and will continue with that-wish us luck!