Thrush or something

[mom2happy]

I already posted this in the breastfeeding section but thought maybe someone here would know what to do.

My nipples are KILLING me.
This is my third baby and I had sore nipples with the others, but nothing like this.
My nipples are cracking, messed up looking, and have this rashy kind of thing going on.
I looked on line and I am trying apple cider vinegar. Someone else said coconut oil or tea tree oil.
Any experience with this and what to do?
This is really hard.
I cant walk around bare chested because we have construction going on and besides I constantly let down and leak everywhere.

[OurGift]

Never had thrush on my nipples, but I know some mamas here used gentain violet and paint it on their nipples. I actually saw this a couple of days ago at my local Walgreens.

Another good idea is those little paper dixie cups -cut them down (in 1/2 or less) and place over your nipple in your bra so your nipples can get some air. I think nipple shields are for this also.

You may want to check is if your LO is tongue tied. My LO was tongue tied and nursing was painful and did leave scabs. My MW snipped the frenulum and let him nurse right away. He cried for 3 seconds and our nursing sessions were immediately painless and lesser duration.

Good luck!

[SilverFish]

gentian violet is very useful. i used it a few weeks ago for yeast and it cleared everything right up. i based my treatment on dr jack newman's candida protocol, which is the basis for most yeast treatments i think.

basically, get some gentian violet (available at a pharmacy) and use a cotton swab to apply it to your nipples. then, breastfeed your baby so her mouth gets covered in it too. g v will wash out with bleach, so i found that wearing a white tshirt and using a white blanket and onsie on the baby was the easiest way to handle the mess...

you'll need to apply gentian violet every day once per day for at least 4-7 days. after the first 2 days, i applied the gv then got in the shower after it dried, then fed the baby. it reduced the amount of staining on her face i found. so does putting a little oil around her mouth before feeding.

gv can be a little drying, so i would get some coconut oil or all purpose nipple ointment to use on them. also, be aware that anything that gets in contact with your milk should probably be treated to prevent yeast spreading. i used bleach for diapers and breast pads (we had a nasty yeast rash on the baby's bum too) and vinegar and GSE (grapefruit seed extract) in all the other loads of laundry. i still add GSE to breast pads, baby clothes, and washcloth loads.

within 3 days of using gv, the pain in the nipples was very much reduced. within 7 days, it was gone, and the baby's yeast rash had cleared up.

good luck!

[diana_of_the_dunes]

My LO is 8 months, and we seem to have a chronic yeast thing going between us... I never used gentian violet, since I heard it can be messy and I'm a klutz. I did use athlete's foot creme (clotrimazole), which I had on-hand. It helped with the pain very quickly. I was also on oral antifungal treatment (diflucan) about 2 months after birth, since my nipples and breasts both hurt so much. I think at that point the infection had internalized, because it hurt even when I wasn't nursing. Kind of twinge-y pain every so often, and toe-curling pain during bfing. Not fun...

[OurGift]

Originally Posted by OurGift

Never had thrush on my nipples, but I know some mamas here used gentain violet and paint it on their nipples. I actually saw this a couple of days ago at my local Walgreens.

LOL, I saw the bottle of gentain violet at Walgreens, not the mama....

[AfricanQueen99]

I've been battling thrush since my son was born and tried it all. The only thing that is working for us is me drinking ten drops od grapefruit seed oil in half a glass of water at every meal. The taste is sooo awful so I do it like a shot and then fill up the glass quickly and drink that.

GV didn't even dent my yeast and I followed the protocal to a T.

[Starry-eyedMom]

I too have been battling thrush this last month. What worked fastest is what the pp said. Grapefruit Seed Extract taken everyday is what is working for me. I took it internally and applied a mix (of distilled water with a few drops of GSE stirred in) to my nipples. Improvement in one-two days! I am pretty sure I didn't eradicate it because I fell off the protocol and haven't been avoiding sugar completely but my nipples are still feeling good! Oh, and I've been taking a very strong probiotic that also worked great when I've had yeast before (NSI brand of probiotics 15 strains-35 billion found at vitacost.com).

Good luck!