TMI? Itchy flaky areolas

[hollydlr]

OK wise mothers, I need some help here.  My baby is 9 months old, basically exclusively breastfed (he plays with some solids, but really doesn't eat), and does not have any teeth yet, though the first 4 (2 top and 2 bottom) are very close to coming in and have been bugging him a lot.  He is my second child, and I breastfed my first for 3.5+ yrs.

About 3 weeks ago, I thought we might have had thrush, though I haven't had it before, so I wasn't sure.  Nothing changed in my diet, no history of antibiotics or anything.  Symptoms were burning, inflamed areas on the lower portion of my areolas, both sides.  Somewhat itchy.  The baby had a diaper rash too, but no white patches in the mouth, and I did not have a vaginal yeast infection.  I boiled all my bras, and got some Motherlove Diaper Rash and Thrush ointment, which cleared up the diaper rash immediately, and made the burning and inflammation on my nipples go away.  However, the red patches stayed, and the itching got worse.  The redness spread to cover the entire lower half of each areola, and became flaky.  The itching is so intense I have scratched and accidentally drawn blood.  The itching is worst right after we nurse.  It makes me want to claw my breasts off of my body!  I continued to use the Motherlove ointment for about a week but it occurred to me that I might be having a bad reaction to one of the ingredients, so I switched to coconut oil.  This has given me some relief from the itching and flakiness, but not completely, and if I go too long between applications, it gets worse again. 

This problem is annoying, but not exactly worrisome.  I guess I mean it doesn't seem like a terrible infection or anything.  Part of me wonders if it is related to the teething?  But it is very uncomfortable, and unsexy too , and I would really like to know for sure what it is, if anyone has had this before, and what I can to do make it go away completely.  I am not big on pharmaceuticals, but I am close to going to the doctor for this.  Just thought I would try here first to see if anyone knows what this is! 

TIA!

Holly

[Heba]

It could be thrush - if you have thrush, it's important for both mum and babe to be treated even if one of you is asymptomatic as otherwise it could be passed back and forth (if I understood correctly, your little one's mouth was not treated).

Or it could be dermatitis.  Dermatitis sometimes occurs when complementary foods are introduced, and typically goes away if the child's mouth is rinsed after eating so that no particles of food can be transferred to mum while nursing.  You say your little one isn't eating much, but it might be a possibility.

A trip to a doctor or other HCP would at least get you a diagnosis - if thrush is diagnosed, you could always consider non-pharmaceutical options such as gentian violet or grapefruit seed extract if you don't want to go down the miconazole route.

Good info on thrush here: http://www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/pdfs/BfN_Thrush_leaflet_Feb_2009.pdf 

Hope you feel better soon!  Please let us know how you get on.

xx

[hollydlr]

Well I am trying the GSE protocol that was linked on another post, and it seems to be starting to work.  Who knew!  Thrush is such a weird thing...I guess I can't be sure that is really what it was, because GSE will kill a lot of things, but who cares, as long as it gets better!

[Heba]

Glad it's helping!  Keep us updated :).

[Greenlea]

What is GSE?

[Heba]

GSE = Grapefruit seed extract