I KNOW You ladies think i'm crazy for such a long post
But if it helps i will repost this. don't let it scare you! I don't recommend nystatin...
Oh boy. OK...first of all i DO have a TON of experience with thrush. It is one of my horror stories. That is NOT to say it has to be that way for everyone...but i want to post this just in case.
First...a white tounge could just be milk...doesn't mean its thrush. Does it come off easily when you scrape it?
The abx make me nervous tho...
Here is a super duper long post...but i figure getting all the info out there that i found/researched is best. Don't let it scare you. If you don't want to read it all...get GOOD ACIDOPHILLUS (like 20 billion per capsule. yes you read that right) and also mix some acidophillus with olive oil and apply to nipples. Baby can suck that and not only get the acidophillus but it will protect/heal your nipples from the yeast.
oh and quickly...to the vinegar/water comment above...not to be rude but it is NOT a cure all and did NOT work for me. but if you caught it super early it can't hurt/could help.
ok hears my uber long post. Gosh i hope you don't have thrush.
I'm basically going to write a bunch of stuff. At the end is what I wish I would have done from the beginning.
Thrush is yeast overgrowth. I believe mine was caused by my emergency c-section in that I got antibiotics. Then Elliot had a bad latch and i was cracked and bleeding. Bingo...thrush. yeast loves sugary, moist dark places, perfect place for growth is nipples and babie's mouth/butt.
I have researched way more than I probably should, that's the nurse in me. I tried lots of things. At first I thought it could be a 2 week ordeal...but its turned into over 4 months. The pain can be floor stomping teeth gritting. So don't let anyone tell you that its no big deal!
There are different strains of yeast so you kinda have to just do trial and error until you figure out what works for you. Most yeast is now resistant to Nystatin, for instance. Yeast can be very tricky to get rid of and needs to be strictly worked at.
My first round of trials was this:
sun bathe toppless as often as possible, yeast hates sun.
wash all clothes in extra hot water and dry clothes, especially bras, in sun.
wash hands ALL THE TIME and use paper towels to dry hands and dispose of.
rinse after every feed with vinegar water using cotton ball/q-tip. air dry well. (i don't do this anymore and have a better suggestion with GSE below)
AIR DRY as much as possible by leaving flaps of bra down
apply creame to nipples, i used clotimazole but after 2 months stopped. it did nothing for me.
applied nystatin to baby's mouth after every feed.
(yeast can grow back within 90 minutes so don't do every 4 hours with nystatin...do it after every feed but half the dosage so he gets the same amount)
i also rinsed his mouth out with sterile water after every feed but was later advised not to do so because breastmilk is naturally antifungal? not so sure on that. but i stopped.
i sunbathed or used a low setting hair dryer on his butt and left his bottom open to air after every change, changing diapers frequently. we finally got rid of this 2 weeks ago. no creames seemed to help but i did use clotimazole. do not use commercial creames as they trap moisture and help yeast grow.
As none of this was working, we did a dosage of gentian violet 1% (NOT 2%). Read on the websites i gave you (below) how to apply this. It is messy but usually cures yeast. In my case, it did not. I would recommed it though.
Then we started taking acidophillus, which is a good bacteria that helps overcome the yeast. I took WAY to low of a dosage and will give you more on that below. We also ate yogurt (non flavored) every day for the good bacteria. This is very natural and safe to take for you and baby.
After all this, i found some more info and am glad that I did it. I got Diflucan from the doctor. This is a very expensive drug but is an antifungal to stop yeast from reproducing. i will attach my letter to my doctor, i really had to fight to get it. Print out the protocol on the website i gave you (dr. jack newman, they're office has been counseling me on this). It is not "approved" for breastfeeding but the amount that gets into breastmilk is less than the amount you can perscribe seprately for baby. the high dosage is worth it. for 3 weeks i did 50mg 1x per day and it helped but then came back bad. i'm glad i did the 200mg/day for 1 month, with loading dose of 400mg.
I got garlic supplements because that helps kill yeast. Also GRAPEFRUIT (not grape) SEED EXTRACT (GSE) is very important. I take both the pill form and the liquid extract mixed in water applied to nipples after every feed and left to dry.
I also use miconzole creame instead of the other b/c this strain seems less resistant to it. (monistat there?) the BEST thing to do would be to follow dr. jack newman's APNO (all purpose nipple ointment) recipe and have a pharmacy do that. I couldn't because i'm in the UK and they wouldn't. but you could being in the usa.
a note: we also take vitamin b6 (if you end up doing this let me know) because the diflucan caused vasospasms in my nipples (purple and white and painful!) and that stopped it.
Ok. VERY important. Acidophillus. I tried so many, but this is what you should do. I know it is expensive, but it is very very worth it. The goal is to make your body's system more inhospitable to yeast (GSE, garlic, and i cut out a lot of dairy, fruit, sugars from my diet), and replace the system with good bacteria. I started with taking 1 million cultures a day. this is ridiculously low amount. Then i went to 12 billion a day. still no releif. THEN i found this awesome information and got the advice from Dr. Jack Newman and it has done the most help from anything (other than diflucan).
www.rockwellnutrition.com
You buy HMF replete, take for 7 days
Then followed by Superpowder
This is the best acidophillus out there and worth the money.
I mix a little bit of the superpowder with olive oil and apply to nipples, too. makes a grainy substance. i use a lot of breastpads...these should be changed FREQUENTLY. These bolded things are what i beleive got rid of the thrush once and for all. I did everything else with these medicatons and was thrush free in 2 weeks.
I also let baby suck a finger full of acidophillus 3x a day for about 1 week to balance his system. THIS WORKED WONDERS. i think this is especially important for you right now to do right away. If you can't get the superpowder right away, then just go get some 4billion capsule pills and break them open and give it to her.
So, i am probably forgetting some things, but here's my summary of what I would do from the start.
Nipples:
1. rinse after every feed with GSE 15 drops to 1 ounce water
2. apply olive oil mixed with acidophillus
3. Sun bathe toppless as much as possible
4. Air dry as much as possible
5. Get Diflucan 400mg loading dose followed by 200mg/day.
6. Take oral GSE
7. Decrease all sugars in diet
8. can apply antifungal creames to nipples if they help.
Baby's mouth:
1. keep doing nystatin if it is helping. usually it doesn't.
2. give baby acidophillus by letting him suck it off your finger
both: do a dose of gentian violet
Baby's butt:
hairdry and airdry after every diaper change
apply cream if it helps (i found the above was sufficient for 2 months working at it)
Keep doing all this stuff even if you don't have pain anymore, because it still in your system!
I am willing to answer any and all questions! We then went on happily breastfeeding without thrush (had thrush for 4 months) for 9 months and i am so happy i got through it.
AGAIN, not meant to scare you, but all the information in a package. i hope.
YOU CAN GIVE IT BACK AND FORTH FROM NIPPLE TO MOUTH SO BOTH MUST BE TREATED EVEN WITHOUT SYMPTOMS!
That's what the little guy's rash is from too. I noticed my nipples had the characteristic thrush look and feel when I got in the shower earlier and then looked in Charlie's mouth. He's got a slight bit of tongue tie (not enough to affect nursing) so I couldn't see really well in there, but dh helped me and we saw white stuff all over the back of his tongue. It makes sense to why he keeps hesistating to latch on to nurse also 
