GBS+ -- let's talk

[Ursula Rose]

Hi. I'm GBS+ and 39w and trying to figure out what to do.

We are not comfortable with the antibiotics options.

Has anyone heard of doing iodine swabs?

[the_lissa]

There are two regiments in HEarts and Hands:

Take twice a day with breakfast and dinner:

2 capsules lactobacillus acidopholous (2 billion per capsule)
1 capsule echinacea 350 mg
1 capsule garlic 580 mg
1 capsule or gel vitamin e 500 mg

Also place one clove of peeled, unnicked garlic in vagina every other night. Remove in morning.

Or

Each day:

6 capsules EHB by NF formulas (antibacterial supplement)
Tea tree oil suppositories (soak cotton ball or tampon with half tto and half olive oil.)
500 mg vit c ever four waking hours.

[KarmaChameleon]

I am GBS+ and I am doing the ChrloHexadine douche every 4 hours while in labor. Without any other contrary indications, my midwives are quite confident that this is the safest and least invasive route.

[Ursula Rose]

i'm going to ask my midwife to do the iodine swabs tomorrow at our 39 w appt.

i hope she'll do them. if not, my nd/primary care doc said to douse a tampon with iodine and insert for 4 hours every day before labor starts.

karma, i assume that you are going to turn down antibiotics. true?

[CrazyCatLady]

Just found out I'm GBS+ I have no idea what I'm doing. Antibiotics are not an option for me. I posted in the vaccine forum. Hopefully between here and there I will decided what to do (if anything).

[KarmaChameleon]

Yup -- I am going to stay away from the antibiotics UNLESS my water breaks and contractions dont start immediately and it looks like it is going to be a long haul. And even then, I will simply entertain the idea.

However, with both of my previous labors, my water breaking was the last thing to happen.

I am going to stick with the ChlorHexadine douche and hope that it does the trick.

and p.s., way TMI, but I bought the douche today (Summer's Eve) and almost threw up on myself -- it smelled so perfumey and disgusting I can't believe people put that smelly crap in their vaginas. I am so horrified.

[CrazyCatLady]

I am going to stay away from the antibiotics UNLESS my water breaks and contractions dont start immediately and it looks like it is going to be a long haul

My plan exactly. But during my last labor, my water broke, then I was in hard labor and in only a few hours I had the baby. So I'm not too worried about it.

ChlorHexadine douche

What is this? Is it just the regular store bought douches? How often and when do you use them?

[KarmaChameleon]

Well, the midwives bring the actual ChlorHexadine solution (I guess I can probably get it at my appt next week and keep it at my house) but they asked me to get the actual douche at the pharmacy and empty out the bottle -- I could also have bought a douche apparatus (I can't bring myself to say douche bag ) but it was over $10 and the Summer's Eve was only $3.

BUt lemme tell ya -- this douche wasn't even "scented" and it reeked of some sort of fake fragrance. I wanted to puke.

But about the ChlorHexadine -- my midwives said it's the only thing they do for GBS in Europe -- Americans are abx-happy and take four million years to approve anything so it might be a while before it catches on.

Oh, forgot to add -- I guess you started with the "rinse" for lack of a better word -- when you start labor and do it every 4 hours or so til baby is born.