yeast infection beneath breasts and on belly

[wishin'&hopin']

Help! I have had a yeast infection since before T'giving between my breasts and below them (extending onto my belly) and it doesn't look like it wants to go away . I am terrified that I will end up with thrush on my nipples and pass this lovely rash onto the baby when he arrives in April. I have been using nystatin (cream for a month and now powder) w/o particularly good results. Any ideas for anything else I can do to help encourage this yuck to go away?

I do eat probably 2 cups of yogurt a day...which is supposed to help but doesn't seem to.

Thanks!

[MaerynPearl]

has it been diagnosed as indeed being a yeast infection? i have had a similar problem during pregnancy that seemed like a yeast infection but was not...

however, being that it was with my 4 1/2 year old I cannot exactly remember what my doctor diagnosed it as... I do remember I had to use medical sprays and lotions as if it were Tinea because it was related (not ringworm either though)

but with her I was chock full of infections its hard to remember what that one was called...

[wishin'&hopin']

when the doctor looked at it about a month and a half ago she said it was a yeast infection. I'm going to call today and see if they want to scrape it for more specifics at this point. I can't complain too much--other than this yuck I've been lucky to have a relatively uneventful pregnancy.
Thanks Maeryn--and congrat's on your pregnancy!

[MaerynPearl]

Thank you and I hope you get relief soon!

[mumkimum]

You could use some yogurt directly on it too.

I had some longer-lasting yeast stuff trecently and tried really hard to watch my sugar intake and also picked up grapefruit seed extract - which got rid of it for me. (I felt comfortable taking it with water while pregnant, so I did that a week or 2, and would mix it with water and wash the bothersome areas).

[cileag]

Here's what I did during pregnancy when I had some yeast issues:
1. Took probiotics daily.
2. Drank Kefir---yogurt can often have too much sugar and not enough of the "good stuff".
3. Bathed more frequently and used a hair dryer under my breasts until dry. (I felt foolish, but it worked!)
4. Took apple cider vinegar baths to soothe and increase the acidity of the areas.
5. Decreased my sugar and refined flour intake to give the yeast less stuff to "feed" on.

good luck! Btw, it cleared up right away after delivery and my baby did NOT get thrush.

[sweetpea_119]

Originally Posted by mumkimum

You could use some yogurt directly on it too.

I had some longer-lasting yeast stuff trecently and tried really hard to watch my sugar intake and also picked up grapefruit seed extract - which got rid of it for me. (I felt comfortable taking it with water while pregnant, so I did that a week or 2, and would mix it with water and wash the bothersome areas).

I swear I never thought that smearing plain yogurt onto myself would be something I would do, but I had a yeast infection all over my groin that lasted and lasted and finally drove me to try it...IT WORKED SPECTACULARLY!!! Try it! It took like one night & I immediately saw a huge difference! I used the grapefruit seed extract, too, but the yogurt was the miraculous part!

[eclipse]

I had something similar during my last pregnancy (although it was on my breasts and on inner thighs) and i ended up treating it with OTC monistat at the direction of my midwife. It cleared right up.

[wishin'&hopin']

Thank you everyone! I'm going to pick up plain yogurt and grapefruit seed extract at the store today!

[HappiLeigh]

I had something similar going on under my breasts a couple weeks ago. I think I just wasn't keeping the area dry enough--I'm not used to having that much skin on skin in that area! I started drying under there a tiny bit with the hair dryer and then rubbing on a little corn starch, and changing into my cotton bra immediately in the morning instead of hanging out all morning in my pjs () and it seems to have cleared up nicely.

[thefreckledmama]

I had the same thing. How I finally got mine to clear up, was to wash the area 2x daily and use a hair dryer on low/cool to completely dry the area after I washed it. I would definitely recommend disinfecting your bras after each wear, as the yeast can live in the fabric, and you can keep reinfecting yourself. I used non-chlorine (peroxide) bleach and hot, hot water in each wash. The Nystatin worked much better for me than the Monistat.

Also, once it clears up, keep applying the cream, and disinfecting your bras for 2-3 days after, to make sure the yeast is totally gone. The first time around I didn't and it came right back. Yeast are tricky little suckers.

I wouldn't recommend cornstarch, as it can potentially feed the yeast. Also, cutting back on your sugar consumption will help too.

[AllofGrace]

The only thing that got my nipple and vaginal yeast under control last pregnancy was a good strong probiotic. I love the Ultimate Flora brand (in the refrigerated section at the health food store), at least the 15 billion per capsule form. I took it every day for a week--which really cleaned me out incidentally---until it cleared and then every few days until I delivered.

I kept it up every few days while nursing, and had zero thrush problems (even with having had abx in labor). I had struggled so badly with thrush while nursing my first that I was dreading it coming back, but it never did

[jecombs]

I've not had yeast during pregnancy, but when I was nursing DD I had a yeast infection that wouldn't quit! ITA with everything has been said, probiotics, decrease white flour and sugar consumption, apply yogurt and/or vinegar, wash bras after every wearing, etc.

You might also try applying some Gentian Violet. This is what I used on my nippples when I was nursing DD. It is very messy and will stain anything that touches it, but it works! I got mine at CVS and Walmart. You have to ask for it because they keep it behind the counter, even though it is not a prescription. An LC told me that about 60% of yeast is now resistant to Nystatin, but the vast majority still responds to treatment with GV.

I have one friend IRL who had a terrible vaginal yeast infection and was due to give birth any day. Her doc allowed her to take a couple of doses of Diflucan and it cleared right up! So if you get really desparate, that might be something to ask your doc about.

[Coco_Hikes]

Originally Posted by jecombs

I have one friend IRL who had a terrible vaginal yeast infection and was due to give birth any day. Her doc allowed her to take a couple of doses of Diflucan and it cleared right up! So if you get really desparate, that might be something to ask your doc about.

The issue with Diflucan is that it's a category C drug, which means no testing has been done on it. Hence why some are hesitant to take/prescribe it. My midwife just prescribed a different treatment, some kind of cream, for me earlier this week, and mentioned this info about Diflucan. I'm going to try your suggestion of Gentian Violet, though, first! Yogurt on a cloth pad has also brought relief too.

[Cetan Luta]

When DS1 was tiny, he had a Horrible yeast diaper rash that would Not go away. My midwife made a copy of an old Mothering mag. article on it, and using a combo of their suggestions, it cleared up completely within a week or two. Baking soda (very alkaline) changes the ph to inhospitable levels for yeast. Works great as a powder to keep areas dry, or as a paste for itch relief. The best though was olive oil. It smothers the yeast, and has a natural acid in it (can't remember the name now) that kills off the yeast, is edible (great for nipple thrush), soothing, cheap, and works great. And of course probiotics internally and externally. I was also warned to peel any root vegetables I consumed (carrots, potatos, etc.) as they can have small amounts of yeast on them even after washing, and avoid yeasty breads, as both can further upset an already unbalanced system. HTH Oh, I almost forgot tea tree oil can have amazing results on a wide range of fungal and non-fungal itchy flakey conditions. I reccomend diluting it with jojoba, which is also great for soothing skin irritations, and speeding healing.

[khaoskat]

Not sure if anyone has posted this yet...

But after my C/S with DD2, I got that all the time in my skin fold where my scar was.

What I ended up doing was while I was taking a bath, getting a batch of hot water with white vinegar (1 tbsp V to 1 cup water) together. I would use a white washcloth, and while I was soaking in the tub, I would put the washcloth soaked in the solution on the areas where the yeast rash was. when it started getting cool, I would just dip it back into the solution and rewarm it or pour a bit of the solution over top of the cloth.

I used white because it can be thrown in a bleach load.

You will want to bleach or vinegar was anything that comes into contact with that area.

But I usually found if I caught it happening early, that it would be gone the next day. If I had it for a few days (like the first time I got it) and was horrible, it took about 2-3 days of this.

Also, I was constantly washing the area during the day with plain water or a diaper wipe to get off any of the yeast that had formed there.

[starrmama]

Already lots of great responses here, but wanted to chime in with a few more ideas. Personally, I find that probiotic foods are more potent for me than taking even strong probiotics, and usually cheaper and more enjoyable if you end up liking them! Yogurt is not the most healing or "potent" of the many probiotic foods/drinks available these days... other things to try are kefir, kombucha (GT's brand is widely available now), and various kinds of raw sauerkraut, aka "cultured vegetables" The best brand widely available (in health food stores) is probably Rejuvenative Foods, but more and more small companies are providing it locally at places like farmer's markets, etc. or you can make your own of any of this - lots of support for that I'm sure in the traditional foods forum on here.

One more thing that is great not only to consume, but also use topically for yeast in this kind of situation or for yeasty diaper rash is unrefined coconut oil. It is naturally anti-fungal and a very healthy fat.

Good luck!

[jul511riv]

coconut oil!!!! You can get it for eating, just scoop some out and apply right on the skin that is affected...IF it is indeed yeast. You can mix with some GSE or TTO if you like as well...even oregano EO mixed in might work well.

[smpayne]

Originally Posted by thefreckledmama

I had the same thing. How I finally got mine to clear up, was to wash the area 2x daily and use a hair dryer on low/cool to completely dry the area after I washed it. I would definitely recommend disinfecting your bras after each wear, as the yeast can live in the fabric, and you can keep reinfecting yourself. I used non-chlorine (peroxide) bleach and hot, hot water in each wash. The Nystatin worked much better for me than the Monistat.

Also, once it clears up, keep applying the cream, and disinfecting your bras for 2-3 days after, to make sure the yeast is totally gone. The first time around I didn't and it came right back. Yeast are tricky little suckers.

I wouldn't recommend cornstarch, as it can potentially feed the yeast. Also, cutting back on your sugar consumption will help too.

I agree with above. I had the same thing (but never had it diagnosed) and it just never seemed to want to go away until I started washing my bras after each wearing.

Do not use powder to keep it dry, it will just make it worse.