Yeast problems with 3 week old baby girl

[dtrent]

I am a new mother and need some wisdom on this topic. My baby girl is 3 weeks old and exclusively breastfed. She is experiencing a number of symptoms that I feel can be explained by thrush/yeast overgrowth. These are: Small white/yellowish patches in the mouth, bright red and bumpy rashes in the folds on her neck and the diaper area, a white discharge from the vagina, constipation and occasional fussiness at the breast in addition to general, hard to console fussiness throughout the day. I first noticed symptoms of thrush in myself with red, sore nipples, very painful latch and deep breast pain. At that point, my daughter wasn't showing any noticable signs of thrush, so our doctor just treated me with a nipple ointment that has helped tremendously. However, althought the pain of breastfeeding has subsided, I still experience a burning sensation between feedings and redness of the nipple. I prefer to use homeopathic and herbal remedies to treat such things and I am wondering if anyone out there has suggestions for treatments that have worked for them. I am particularly interested in medications I can take myself that will pass to my daughter through breastmilk. Thank you!

[sunnygir1]

That was silly of the doctor to treat you and not your baby -- if you have it your baby has it.

-Adjust your diet -- cut out sugars, reduce or cut out fruits and juices, cut out refined carbohydrates (or even all flours, breads, pastas, etc.)

-Take a good probiotic 2x a day (also it is helpful to eat plain yogurt and live fermented foods)

-Give your baby a good probiotic 2x a day (baby probiotics generally contain different bacteria than those for adults)

-Clean your breasts with an apple cider vinegar solution after each time you breastfeed and allow your nipples to air dry if possible (1 part vinegar to 5 parts water is good, but dilute it more if it stings too much).

-Give your baby baking soda baths to help with the rash, clean the rashy areas thoroughly and get them as dry as you can (opening them up and blowing on them seems to help).

Keep all of this up for at least a full week AFTER all symptoms have disappeared.  Good luck!

[BabyMae09]

The PP gave you good advice. I ended up cutting out all gluten grains, corn, and soy from our diet, as well as most sugar.

You might want to be aware that your daughter probably won't be able to tolerate grains and sugars very well (corn and soy included), perhaps for the rest of her life.

I had a lot of the problems that your daughter does when I was a baby, and my Mom stopped breastfeeding me at age 3 months because of them. As a result of her not changing her diet, and feeding me formula, I've been sensitive to some foods all my life and just figured it out a couple years ago. All disease begins in the gut, and my gut has been unhealthy since birth :( Luckily, I knew how to do better for our daughter :)

[sunnygir1]

I agree with BabyMae that you may have more to contend with here than the thrush.  Based on the constipation, fussiness at the breast, and hard to console fussiness throughout the day, you may well be dealing with some food sensitivities.

I cut out a lot of foods while breastfeeding my dd (for "colic" symptoms), and now she can eat pretty much everything, except gluten.

I went on an elimination diet with ds (for the same reason), and we are back on most foods now, but still have a list of no-no's (gluten, cow dairy, eggs, chocolate, mango, cashews, tomatoes, kidney beans, white beans, I think that's all).  These foods give him a diaper rash, disturb his sleep, and contribute to inflammation that results in sleep apnea.  I assume he will outgrow some of these, but for now I am off them while he's breastfeeding and he will be off them for a while.

[dtrent]

I had an "aha!" moment when you both mentioned food sensitivities. My daughter also spits up often and gets the hiccups and I had been crediting a fast let down with those symptoms. But, food sensitivities could explain all of it. Thank you!

[Louise140]

Hi there,

It is quite a performance to write a reply to your request for help with the registering etc!

Anyway, I am a homeopathic practitioner of 20 years and my advice to you is to rub CALENDULA cream on your nipples between feeds.  I used this while breastfeeding my babies and have advised many women and female relatives.  Calendula is made from marigold flowers.  It is highly antiseptic and heals nipples very very fast.  It is quite safe if they baby got a little on its mouth and has been used for centuries.

Secondly, for thrush, the main homeopathic remedy is BORAX.  Find a homeopathic pharmacy and order Borax 6c or Borax 30c.  You can give the baby it by crushing a pill in an eggcup with the back of spoon, adding WARM water to stir and using a DROPPER.  If you give the 30c, don't give more than TWO doses, one in morning and one in evening.  If you get 6c, you can give about FOUR doses - morning/evening/morning/evening. 

Louise Mclean, LCCH MHMA.

www.homeopathyheals.me.uk

[mbravebird]

We had a very bad experience with thrush here, and the things that helped us were olive leaf extract and calendula tincture, in that order. I used liquid Olive Leaf extract, this kind: http://amzn.to/odTlZx (we found the liquid was most potent). It was very very effective. Before the OLE, we tried GSE and oregano oil to no effect. We saw an immediate drastic improvement after starting the OLE, and then another small jump in improvement when we added the calendula tincture. I did both internally and rinsed my nipples with raw apple cider vinegar.

We were also on potent probiotics the entire time, although we also had been when the thrush came. It turns out that a mold infestation made us more susceptible, although we didn't know it at the time. When we changed probiotics to this one:  http://bit.ly/nbrEt6   we saw dramatic improvement in his intestinal functioning, because it includes s. boulardii, which specifically fights yeast more than the other beneficials. Most kids probiotics don't have it in the mix; I think this might be the only one. It made a difference for us, and this was after the main thrush symptoms were gone, but his intestines were still acting funky.

Also, the great thing about OLE is that it leaves the beneficial intestinal bacteria intact, unlike other broad-spectrum antifungals. You can put OLE in yogurt and it will still culture; it targets only the yeasties.

Edited by mbravebird - 10/16/11 at 3:05pm

[Louise140]

That is very interesting about the olive leaf extract.  I'm sure I have some.  I never knew it killed yeast/thrush infestation.  Thanks for that advice.

Definitely calendula CREAM is excellent for sore nipples when breastfeeding.  Very safe if baby were to get it on mouth.  Naturally antiseptic as well.

Louise

[1love4ever]

I'm surprised no one mentioned gentian violet?  Are you not supposed to use this anymore?  I have heard women having success painting it on their nipples (1%, not 2% gentian violet), as well as painting it on babys skin if there is a yeast rash.  And I love both of the Garden of Life kids probiotics.  The RAW probiotics can be used on babies 3 months and older, the Primal Defense is for 3 years and older.

[sunnygir1]

Originally Posted by 1love4ever 

I'm surprised no one mentioned gentian violet?  Are you not supposed to use this anymore?  I have heard women having success painting it on their nipples (1%, not 2% gentian violet), as well as painting it on babys skin if there is a yeast rash.  And I love both of the Garden of Life kids probiotics.  The RAW probiotics can be used on babies 3 months and older, the Primal Defense is for 3 years and older.

I have read about gentian violet here.  I looked into it when I had yeast problems with my dd and decided not to use it unless I was considering pharmaceutical treatment.  I can't remember the details, but I thought it seemed harsh or had some risk.  It's been a while since I looked into it, but I like to use (and especially recommend to others) treatments that have no side effects or dangers whenever possible.

[1love4ever]

I did not know it had side effects/dangers, I thought it was a harmless home remedy?  Maybe what I was reading was wrong.  Good thing I have never had to use it!  Does anyone know anything more about gentian violet or any uses for it or anything?

[sunnygir1]

Well, I got curious again and went looking.  I guess maybe there isn't a ton of evidence that it's dangerous if used properly, but the things I use (apple cider vinegar, probiotics, and dietary changes) are absolutely safe, so that's what I do.  Here are a few things I found with a quick Google search for Gentian Violet:

"Uncommonly, babies who are treated with gentian violet develop sores in the mouth which may cause them to reject the breast. If this occurs, or if the baby is irritable while nursing, stop the gentian violet immediately, and contact the clinic. The sores clear up within 24 hours and the baby returns to feeding."  http://www.earthmamaangelbaby.com/mama-resources/reading-room/thrush-using-gentian-violet

"4. If you prefer a more natural approach to resolving the thrush right from the start, you can try using Gentian Violet (GV). GV is a strong topical antifungal that will penetrate several layers of skin just as the thrush does. GV is usually easy to obtain from any pharmacy or Wal Mart--just call ahead to be sure that it is available. Use a clean q-tip for each areola/nipple and for the baby's mouth. When applying, wait until after a feeding, and coat each areola and nipple and allow to air dry. While some advise moms to apply the GV and then allow the baby to nurse (the idea is that this allows the baby's mouth to be coated more easily), I have had some moms report that the baby swallows the GV instead of being well coated. Coat all mucosal areas in the baby's mouth, including his tongue. Only reapply the GV when the stain is gone (usually means once or possibly twice daily), using for a total of three days. For a severe case that isn't appearing to resolve, a fourth day is okay, but after that, you must wait three days before going through another treatment round if it hasn't completely cleared up. GV is a very strong topical antifungal and can cause a layer or more of skin to peel, so it is very important to only reapply once the stain is gone, and to use for no longer than 3 days (except as noted above). If you have any yeast overgrowth vaginally, the GV cannot be used internally to treat it, but buying an over-the-counter cream is very easy now-a-days (generic Lotrimin is easy to find). One added note: GV is very messy and can cause permanent stains to clothing, so you may want to put away your favorite items of clothing while you are using it! "  http://www.angelfire.com/md2/moodyfamily/thrush.html

"Gentian violet's common side effect is the staining of skin and cloth, but it can easily be washed off skin with a solution of bleach and water. However, if used on ulcerations or open wounds it can cause tattooing. It is generally considered safe for use on children and breastfeeding mothers. It has even been applied to the mouth and lips of premature infants, and has a long history of safe use. La Leche League recommends gentian violet for thrush on the nipple.^[29] However, in large quantities, gentian violet may lead to ulceration of a baby's mouth and throat and is linked with mouth cancer.^[30] Gentian violet has also been linked to cancer in the digestive tract of other animals.^[31]"  http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_violet

[1love4ever]

Thanks for posting about the gentian violet!  Obviously it does sound a little riskier than the other remedies, but I would use it if I had to or if it was all I had rather than Lotramin(Drs recommend for yeast diaper rashes), which has nasty synthetic ingredients.  The other natural remedies mentioned here would be my first choice tho.  Good to know!

[mbravebird]

I thought the problem with gentian violet is that it has been linked with a couple of different cancers, particularly mouth cancer.

Just googled a couple of links:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Gentian-Violet-For-Infant-Thrush---Is-it-Safe?&id=2577305

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_violet

Both those articles say oral cancer, bladder cancer, and intestinal cancer. Hmmmm.... I couldn't get to the full text of the recent study they referenced.

[sunnygir1]

Originally Posted by mbravebird 

I thought the problem with gentian violet is that it has been linked with a couple of different cancers, particularly mouth cancer.

Just googled a couple of links:

http://ezinearticles.com/?Gentian-Violet-For-Infant-Thrush---Is-it-Safe?&id=2577305

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Crystal_violet

Both those articles say oral cancer, bladder cancer, and intestinal cancer. Hmmmm.... I couldn't get to the full text of the recent study they referenced.

Yeah, that was mentioned in the links I posted too.  (I did much more thorough research the first time, but just a quick search turned up that concern and others.)