Difference between thrush & staph infection?

[bluejaunte]

So I've talked to a lactation consultant and a doula and gone to a clinic to see a doctor, and nobody seems to know what I have. My nipples are cracking without even drying. The cracks heal if I can keep from nursing on them for long enough but if I don't wait long enough, they come back open. I have a prescription for miconazole (doctor thought it was yeast although she seriously seemed to have no idea) & I'll look for the other ingredients for the APNO when I go to pick up the prescription tomorrow. I just want to know what this is. The pain is all topical, worse during latch and after nursing, and the skin around my left nipple (and I think starting on my right) is red and sort of papery looking. I've been treating with GSE/acidophilus and haven't seen any results yet. The doctor seemed certain it wasn't a bacterial infection. It seemed to start when my toddler ramped up his nursing last month for whatever reason. It's like the skin can't take the stress of nursing as well as it used to.

Does this sound familiar to anyone who's identified/beaten it? Who should I go to see next? Dermatologist?

[pbjmama]

Do you have any other symptoms of thrush? Are you open to trying difulcan?

Infection = fever. Without a fever I would think you could rule that out.

[bluejaunte]

No other symptoms of thrush apart from the nipple/areola issues. My toddler is asymptomatic. Last year, though, he had thrush and I had no symptoms. *shrug*

Would the Diflucan be for yeast or staph or both? I'm open to anything that's likely to work at this point.

[pbjmama]

Diflucan is an antifungal so it would treat the thrush. An antibiotic would be for an infection, since you don't have signs of infection and you may have thrush I wouldn't advise it as it would make thrush worse in most cases.

GSE/acidophilus - are you taking both orally?

In your case I would probably try the difulcan but get an appt with a derm also.

[bluejaunte]

I'm taking the GSE and acidophilus orally and swabbing my nipples/areolas with diluted GSE after nursing. Also am swabbing Julian's mouth with the diluted GSE and feeding him yogurt even though he's asymptomatic.

Luckily I have a dermatologist appt (for an unrelated issue) for this Friday. We'll see what he thinks. Meantime I'm going to try to use my miconazole scrip to make up some of that all-purpose nipple ointment I keep hearing so much about.

Thanks!