Do I have a yeast infection?

[Katrina]

I have never had a yeast infection before, I have read that symptons include burning, itching, and strange discharge. I have the itching, and when my husband and I tried to make love the other night I felt very sensitive, kind of sore. My 9 month old bfing daughter had thrush, today is the last day for her medicine, and it seems to be gone, but I'm wondering if somehow I got it from her. I have been putting her medicine on my nipples, like the doctor told me to, but I have never noticed any signs of thrush on my nipples. I am also about 14 weeks pregnant. What should I do?

[peatree]

could be the beastly yeasties...

I know I'm more prone to getting them when DD and I have thrush and also when I'm pregnant. Do you have an OB or a Midwife yet? If you're not sure it's probably better to have your doctor take look just to make sure.

[AmyG]

You should get an official diagnosis for your first one so that you know what you're dealing with. Treating a yeast infection when you really have something else can cause worse problems. It probably is what it is, but it's better to be on the safe side when your reproductive organs are concerned.

[Earthymama]

its a good idea to make sure, but it sure sounds like a yeast infection! if your daughter is being treated for thrush and u are nursing, u should be treated as well. i am very surprised u arent already because a lot of mums get no symptoms in their breasts and still have yeast overgrowth in them. it sounds like u ought to be treated systemically, rather than just your breasts or just your vaginal yeast. once u know what it is, i would request diflucan which is an oral medications that inhibits yeast overgrowth throughout your body.
Earthymama

[cobluegirl]

my guess is that you do have one if your daughter has thrush. a cure for yeast infections is garlic. Just insert a clove of garlic like a tampon....

[EnigmaGeorgia]

Could be...

...could be a yeast infection, especially if your daughter has thrush (oh, heavens, I remember thrush nipples -- yeeouch!). It may not be though, so it might be wise to hit a doctor for diagnosis. The other distinct possiblity, especially if you don't have that typical yeast discharge, is bacterial vaginosis. BV has potentially long-term effects if untreated. Usually, a dr. will give you this horrible antibiotic called Flagyl (mmm, nausea and a metallic taste in your mouth all day!).

WARNING: I just noticed you said you were pregnant. I don't know about the safety of this during pregnancy, so please find out for sure before trying this! What I have discovered is that tea tree oil is great for this (and this is actually well-documented by respectable sources). I believe it has also been found to be effective against yeast, but am not totally sure on that. If you want to try it, add two or three drops of oil to a cleansing bottle of lukewarm water, 8-12 drops to a bath, douche with the solution, or some folks soak a tampon in a water/tea tree oil solution (haven't tried that. so can't say if it's good). Always patch-test first -- swab your inner thigh with the diluted solution and wait a few hours, because nothing bites worse than an allergic reaction in THAT area. And always dilute the tea tree oil. BTW, if you've never used it, it smells like turpentine. Do not be alarmed.

But were I you, whatever treatment I chose, I'd get a diagnosis first, if this is an unfamiliar infection to you. Some infections down there are nasty buggers.