Cleaning and Thrush

[Punchy Kaby]

Cleaning & Thrush
Ds and I are trying to get rid of a yeast infection and it is time to clean/disinfect everything that I possibly can. Some questions-

Does tea tree oil kill yeast? I have been adding a few drops to the laundry. Is vinegar added to the rinse cycle more effective?

I am going to start changing DS's sheets daily, but what about the mattress protector? He has an organic wool puddle pad, does this harbor yeast?

Does baking soda kill yeast?

I am going to be washing toys in hot soapy water, should I rinse with vinegar?

For those of you with a bad case of yeast how far did you go with these measures? I could literally clean 12 hrs a day to try and keep it at bay.

[Spastica]

Baking soda kills yeast to a degree, tea tree oil kills bacteria. If you gargle with baking soda you will find that the tongue thrush will eventually go away.

Don't forget acidophilus capsules or having plain yogurt to balance the good bacteria in your system.

If I feel a little yeasty, I spray myself with apple cider vinegar (spray the external genitalia and some of the folds). It helps a lot. I get more yeasty if I drink sodas, so I drink more water now.

[granolamomma]

Grapefruitseed extract is great for thrush (and a lot around the house).

[solidcitizqueen]

Originally Posted by granolamomma

Grapefruitseed extract is great for thrush (and a lot around the house).

I 2nd this. I use GSE for everystinkingthing in the house internally and externally! Even knocked out strep w/ it, as well as ear infections. The stuff is unbelievable!

[MonP'titBoudain]

Yeah, GSE! DS & I had MAJOR thrush problems at the beginning (nearly prevented nursing it was soooo bad). I put 5-10 drops of GSE in his wipes solution (a recycled applesauce jar) as well as about 40-50 drops in every load of wash, including & especially diapers. For myself I use 1 capful of ACV & 2 drops of GSE in 6 oz of water internally daily to stave of yeast. As well as giving up sugars I did use the topical cream from my OB on my nipples, but the infection was pretty bad at that point. If I could catch it earlier I might have used other alternatives. GSE is great stuff... although I almost didn't buy it 'cause it was so expensive. I've had that bottle for a year now and I'm still only 1/3 of the way into it!

[Punchy Kaby]

I am hesitant to try GSE because of this:

To: herb.franklin.oit.unc.edu
Subject: Re: Grapefruit Seed Extract
From: Karen S Vaughan <creationsgarden.juno.com>
Date: Sun, 9 Jan 2000 22:39:13 -0500

<<I have the little brochure that came with it still sitting here on my desk. It says you can use it orally for dental rinse or throat gargle; ear rinse, nasal rinse, vaginal rinse. External uses: facial cleanser, skin rinse, nail treatment, scalp treatment.>>

I'd be careful about those kinds of uses, at least until more is known about the safety. I prefer it for things like preserving infused oils for external use. See the article below. The problem may not be additives, but pollutants in the raw materials used for the manufacture of the extract. This isn't really a natural extract, just a manufactured product with citrus seeds as a raw material. Even if the research below proves not to be definitive, this should be used cautiously.
.........
"Pharmazie 1999 Jun;54(6):452-6

Aspects of the antimicrobial efficacy of grapefruit seed extract (GSE) and its relation to preservative substances contained.

von Woedtke T, Schluter B, Pflegel P, Lindequist U, Julich WD Institute of Pharmacy, Ernst Moritz Arndt University, Greifswald, Germany.

The antimicrobial efficacy as well as the content of preservative agents of six commercially available grapefruit seed extracts were examined. Five of the six extracts showed a high growth inhibiting activity against the test germs Bacillus subtilis SBUG 14, Micrococcus flavus SBUG 16, Staphylococcus aureus SBUG 11, Serratia marcescens SBUG 9, Escherichia coli SBUG 17, Proteus mirabilis SBUG 47, and Candida maltosa SBUG 700. In all of the antimicrobial active grapefruit seed extracts, the preservative benzethonium chloride was detected by thin layer chromatography. Additionally, three extracts contained the preserving substances triclosan and methyl parabene. In only one of the grapefruit seed extracts tested no preservative agent was found. However, with this extract as well as with several self-made extracts from seed and juiceless pulp of grapefruits (Citrus paradisi) no antimicrobial activity could be detected (standard serial broth dilution assay, agar diffusion test). Thus, it is concluded that the potent as well as nearly universal antimicrobial activity being attributed to grapefruit seed extract is merely due to the synthetic preservative agents contained within. Natural products with antimicrobial activity do not appear to be present."
................
In addition, there was reportedly a researcher at the University of British Columbia who first discovered the dry cleaning-preservative compounds in grapefruit seed extracts. He was sued by a manufacturer in the U.S. As part of the settlement, he was forced to keep his results quiet and not publish them. I have no details about this, but it makes me cautious about embracing GSE enthusiastically.

Karen Vaughan
CreationsGarden.juno.com

I know that many, many mamas have successfully rid themselves of yeast with GSE. We have been battling it for many months and I may break down and use it, as it seems all else is failing.

[MonP'titBoudain]

Wow! That's interesting stuff. I used to think I was good at researching stuff until I started lurking around here! There's so much info out there I just never seem to be caught up with anything. Thanks for that posting, nolansmum!

[Punchy Kaby]

Here is another link I found that has a pdf of the study on GSE:
http://www.terressentials.com/truthaboutgse.html

[granolamomma]

I googled GSE and triclosan (and GSE and methylparaben) and unfortunately, I couldn't find any source that didn't sell GSE that promoted it because of those studies. And I found more than one site that was natural-minded (even a naturopath) that outright warned against it. And of the doctors I browse online (usually Dr. Saul, Weil and Mercola for instance) the only one who specifically promotes it is Dr. Jay Gordon. And unfortunately, I don't always agree with his views, so that doesn't hold a lot of weight for me.

So, until I find a source that doesn't have an ulterior motive that promotes and/or disputes the studies, I guess I'll have to stop using GSE, because I am not ok with those preservatives. And I am (was) a *huge* proponent for GSE.

Thanks for the heads-up, Nolansmum.

[zeldabee]

When My son and I were battling thrush, in addition to using Sprogly's oral medicine (sorry, don't remember what it was), putting same on my nipples, I also was very careful to wash bras, clothes, towels in hot water with vinegar. During this time, I only used a towel once. I don't know about the mattress pad. I did all the above at the instruction of my LC (after my first treatment failed and the thrush came back). It did the trick, no more thrush.

[Punchy Kaby]

I was disappointed to find out about GSE too. I had used it earlier. We started battling thrush when DS was 2 months old, at that time I cut out sugar and fruit took diflucan and GSE and thought we were rid of it. But around 6 months he started to get eczema that I suspected was due to yeast and so we have been doing a strict diet along with candex(enzymes) and probiotics. At this point I feel almost hopeless about it : . I have been doing everything natural that I possibly can. Its hard to say whether we are better or not, I don't know if we are in flair up or die-off mode.

Anyway, I am laundering all the sheets and towels everyday w/ TTO and vinegar.

[zeldabee]

I just remembered something I used--Daktarin oral gel. I read about it in the PumpMoms yahoo group--I was told it nuked yeast. It's not sold in the US, I had to order it online, but I don't think we really got rid of it until I used that. Some in the baby's mouth, and some on the nipples.