My brand new nephew has thrush....sister is in agony!

[BatmansWife]

My nephew is not even a month old. Poor sis is having a heck of a time with nursing. My mom e-mailed today and said sis' nursing problems include bleeding, cracking, oozing, extreme pain. She stayed up all night a couple of nights ago searching the internet trying to find out what the problem is. She also has a rash on that area and baby Cal has a horrible diaper rash. Finally she found out what the problem is. She has thrush. She went to her doc and they agreed. She also has a yeast infection. The baby has thrush as well, and they have been passing it back and forth. They are both on some kind of med, and she convinced the doctor to prescribe something she learned about on-line. The pharmacist had to make it. She gave him the recipe. Some kind of ointment. She picked it up at the pharmacy at 3:30 this a.m. She also ordered on-line some concoction with lilac in it which will arrive in a couple of days. It will make the baby's face purple, and her breasts purple for three days. But, it's guaranteed to work. She has been just miserable. But, she has not even considered stopping the nursing. Yay sis! I can remember having the engorgement with early nursing and I was prone to mastitis. But this....I never had this. Anyone else have any other suggestions. I know about the cabbage leaves thing....but I don't think that applies here.

[deacongirl]

diflucan was the only thing that worked for me.

[Pata]

I've dealt with this with both of mine. Diflucan worked the best for us and make sure she takes the entire dose, which will last several days after it all clears up. I tried some of the natural remedies with ds and things went from bad to worse, so I would definitely tell her to take the medicine that the doctor prescribes, it won't harm the baby, her or her milk supply and everyone will be happier in the end!

[RobinF]

I wouldn't use cabbage leaves as that might cause her milk supply to go down.

 

I had thrush with my first born and if I hadn't been determined to bf that baby I would have quit. It felt like someone was stabbing my breasts every time I nursed him.

 

If they gave her an oral med that should help. The Genetian Violet (I think that is the correct name for the purple stuff) should also help.

 

Tell her to make sure to take all the med and give the entire dose to the baby. Also she might consider cutting back on refined sugars (yeast feeds on sugar).

 

Laniosh (lanolin) works wonders for dry, cracked skin and it is safe for the baby so she doesn't have to worry about washing it off before nursing.

 

She should make sure that her breast are staying dry (yeast likes a warm moist environment) so in between feeding change any breast pads/bras frequently if she is leaking milk.

[melissad2]

OH my the AGONY of thrush...I've been through it with both of mine. The purple stuff is called genetian violet and it does work although it will permanently stain any clothing you get it on so tell her to wear nursing pads to prevent staining. I would also tell her to take some probiotics to help balance out the good bacteria in her system. I ended up giving my ds diflucan because it kept coming back and using the genetian violet on myself and don't forget to boil any pacifiers or bottles for at least five minutes to kill the yeast....if she's using any.

[UnsinkableKristen]

My best friend's 2nd baby got thrush and 3 rounds of antibiotics AND the Genetian Violet didn't work.

 

However, Colloidal Silver took it away completely with no issue and it never came back. They use that stuff for everything now.

[Carpe]

If the internet product in question is gentian violet that stuff is the bee's knees for thrush. She may also want to try probiotics, reducing her sugar and simple carb intake and other steps to make her body less habitable to yeasts. There are lots of places online that have suggestions for Candidia cleanses, obviously she would need to skip the supplements suggested, but the diet advice will help her out.

 

Congrats and I hope they get better soon.

[mhg]

My nursing pain began about the same (son 3 weeks old) and lasted until he was 5.5 months.

 

It was SOOO horrible, that FOR 5.5 months, I LITERALLY (no exaggeration here) had to pry scabs off my nippl_s so the milk could get out. I would weep with curled toes with EVERY feeding. It was absolutely horrid!

 

I tried every concoction. I even made an appointment to see Dr. Rebecca Saenz in Jackson, MS who is a Breastfeeding Medicine PHYSICIAN. (that's ALL she does!).

 

I tried the thrush meds, ointments, gentian violet, meticulously washing/boiling, Diflucan (twice), EVERYTHING. Nothing helped.

I had lactation consultants (3!) come TO MY HOME and all confirmed it wasn't an anatomy or latch issue.

 

I ended up CALLING Dr. Jack Newman (THE name in breastfeeding- -- from Toronto, Canada -- he wrote a Breastfeeding book.....amazon it and enter his name and it'll show up). I tried all his remedies, ointments, you name it and NOTHING helped. (He mailed me a prescription!!!).

 

I called my mom in tears when my son was 5 1/2 months old and sobbed that, "I guess this is just how my breastfeeding experience is going to be" (I WAS DETERMINED TO BREASTFEED!). She listened and teared up listening to me (by this point, they knew that if they gave me the "Just stop bfeed" I'd go off so they had long since quit). (It got so bad that I got a pump and would do that a day or two just to get a smidge of relief --- it didn't suck quite as hard as he did and I'd turned it down to slow.).

Anyway, we got off the phone. My mom called me immediately back and said, "Honey, I just prayed and I don't know if this is from the Lord or not, but this thought came to my mind as soon as I ended my prayer. Go and dip your nippl_s in warm salt water...this is an ancient remedy for all sorts of things....can't hurt to give it a try." (now keep in mind, I had tried yeast ointments, bacterial ointments, -- you name it). I did as she told me and within 2 days I was 95% better and by the end of the week I was completely cured.

 

I called that Dr. (Saenz) and wrote Dr. Newman about it so they could at least put it out there as an if-all-else-fails option.

 

Whatever it did, it cured me.

 

Hope this helps!

:grouphug:

But, please pass on a big hug from me.....I KNOW how horrid the pain is.....that wasp nest going down my one-piece bathing suit and those 64 stings had NOTHING on it (seriously!!!).

 

I always joke with my husband that if I could muster that much determination on weight loss I'd be a size 4 by Christmas.

 

HERE'S HOW I DID THE SALT WATER TREATMENTS:

I'd give a small juice glass (holds about 1 cup of water). I'd run the tap water to hot. I'd add about 2 T. salt then about 4 oz. as-hot-as-I-could-take water. I'd dangle my breas_s into the cups and then (with my anatomy blocking the exit) I'd lean back so the hot was on my nips. I'd let it sit there for about 2 minutes. Then, I'd fill my same cups up with sterile water and rinse once. I did this after every feeding.

 

Oh....need to add that after that I LOVED breastfeeding and ended up weaning him at 31 months (2.5 years old). So we're a success story!!!

Edited June 25, 2011 by mhg

[mom2myboys]

It sounds like gentian violet and APNO (all purpose nipple ointment). 2 great ideas. If she is still having cracking and bleeding, she should make sure the latch is correct. In person help from a LLL Leader or an IBCLC may be helpful. Also, there are great videos on latching here. Also, she can always call a LLL Leader for help at any time.

 

Here is a protocol for thrush that has helped many moms. This may be where she got the information in the first place, but just in case she didn't see it. It gives information on the correct doses for Diflucan since it is often not prescribed correctly.

 

Good for her for continuing through this temporary road block. Sending healing vibes to her and hoping that she feels much better soon.

[mom2myboys]

:grouphug: So sorry you had to go through that. So glad you finally got some relief.

 

My nursing pain began about the same (son 3 weeks old) and lasted until he was 5.5 months.

 

It was SOOO horrible, that FOR 5.5 months, I LITERALLY (no exaggeration here) had to pry scabs off my nippl_s so the milk could get out. I would weep with curled toes with EVERY feeding. It was absolutely horrid!

 

I tried every concoction. I even made an appointment to see Dr. Rebecca Saenz in Jackson, MS who is a Breastfeeding Medicine PHYSICIAN. (that's ALL she does!).

 

I tried the thrush meds, ointments, gentian violet, meticulously washing/boiling, Diflucan (twice), EVERYTHING. Nothing helped.

I had lactation consultants (3!) come TO MY HOME and all confirmed it wasn't an anatomy or latch issue.

 

I ended up CALLING Dr. Jack Newman (THE name in breastfeeding- -- from Toronto, Canada -- he wrote a Breastfeeding book.....amazon it and enter his name and it'll show up). I tried all his remedies, ointments, you name it and NOTHING helped. (He mailed me a prescription!!!).

 

I called my mom in tears when my son was 5 1/2 months old and sobbed that, "I guess this is just how my breastfeeding experience is going to be" (I WAS DETERMINED TO BREASTFEED!). She listened and teared up listening to me (by this point, they knew that if they gave me the "Just stop bfeed" I'd go off so they had long since quit). (It got so bad that I got a pump and would do that a day or two just to get a smidge of relief --- it didn't suck quite as hard as he did and I'd turned it down to slow.).

Anyway, we got off the phone. My mom called me immediately back and said, "Honey, I just prayed and I don't know if this is from the Lord or not, but this thought came to my mind as soon as I ended my prayer. Go and dip your nippl_s in warm salt water...this is an ancient remedy for all sorts of things....can't hurt to give it a try." (now keep in mind, I had tried yeast ointments, bacterial ointments, -- you name it). I did as she told me and within 2 days I was 95% better and by the end of the week I was completely cured.

 

I called that Dr. (Saenz) and wrote Dr. Newman about it so they could at least put it out there as an if-all-else-fails option.

 

Whatever it did, it cured me.

 

Hope this helps!

:grouphug:

But, please pass on a big hug from me.....I KNOW how horrid the pain is.....that wasp nest going down my one-piece bathing suit and those 64 stings had NOTHING on it (seriously!!!).

 

I always joke with my husband that if I could muster that much determination on weight loss I'd be a size 4 by Christmas.

[RanchGirl]

Grapefruit seed extract solved thrush for me when I was nursing, but it's been so long ago that I don't remember the exact process.

[Joyofsixreboot]

Great advice from all. I would add that mom and babe both need to be treated or they just keep infecting each other.

[LittleIzumi]

The APNO (the ointment compounded by the pharmacist) and the gentian violet should help. Other things my midwife had me use that actually helped were raw garlic (or garlic oil capsules from fresh garlic) taken every hour, and grapefruit seed extract on the nips & baby's mouth, and Diflucan. I was also on probiotics, not sure if it helped, & she recommended oil of oregano and coconut oil but I didn't try them. :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

[LittleIzumi]

Also what she wears on her chest should be washed on HOT with 20 drops of grapefruit seed oil to kill any yeast on it.

[Guest dss0530]

The poor dear & baby. I have a 6 month old and have been experiencing some major plugged ducts and burning sensations w/ extreme pain. I kept thinking it would resolve itself but finally after 2 weeks I called the doctor. I figured out it was a yeast infection after consulting with a lactation consultant at our local hospital. My doctor prescribed 200mg of diflucan. The lactation consultant suggested using a cream like gynolotrumin (don't know how to spell it?) which is an over the counter cream for yeast infections. The lactation consultant said to make sure you wiped this off well before nursing. She also gave me a home remedy to try, mix 1 C of water w/ 1 TBSP. of baking soda and use it as a cream or paste to try and put on the nipple. Hot compresses and massaging the breast also help with the pain. I hope that things will improve for both of them.

[emeraldjoy]

Such great, great advice already. Pretty much any treatment that I have ever known to work has been mentioned, so I don't have any advice in that department.

 

However...

 

After dealing with this extensively with two of mine...(mmmm? It was the boys, wonder what that means??).....the best advice I have is treat is as early as possible. I got to the place where I knew the "feeling" on my breasts and I would treat both me and baby right away and it would be gone so quickly without the agony. The horrid pain comes with the cracking and such....so in the future, the earlier the treatment the better. It is so much easier for it to clear up and then the torture can be bypassed. It truly is some of the worst pain ever....ever!!

 

Please pass on to her my empathy as well as kudos for sticking with it and being so serious about breastfeeing. She and her baby will both be greatly rewarded for her audacity!

[BatmansWife]

Thank you everyone so much for your helpful advice and sympathy. I have copied and pasted each and every reply and e-mailed them to her. I know that she'll appreciate all of your help so much. Keep any advice coming.....I'll continue to forward any other information if there is any more. Thanks again....and to all of you: :grouphug:

[msjones]

BTDT :(

My heart goes out to your sister; my pain from nursing with thrush was worse than labor pain. I was in agony -- sweating and crying during every feeding for weeks.

 

What finally worked for me (and I realize some 'purists' may object...) was to pump and bottle feed for a week while both of us did the diflucan (?) treatments. It was exhausting to pump and bottle feed around the clock, but it gave my skin time to heal. Baby did fine with the bottle, and I was so relieved to get better. He went right back to nursing with no trouble when I was through with the pump.

 

This was the suggestion of a lactation consultant who was horrified at the miserable condition I was in.

 

Best wishes to your sister and her new little one.

[lailasmum]

I had this with my son. The pain was unbelievable. We went the route of gentian violet and that worked so well, tried two prescribed treatments first and they made it worse but at least one of them turned out to have sugar in it. I remember the one that seemed to increase the thrush most was nystatin.

 

There is a method online somewhere where you dip a cotton bud in water then in the gentian violet and put it in the baby's mouth in the evening when they are asleep (just once a day) so they suckle the Gentian violet off it and it spreads around their mouth without getting absolutely every where. Then you coat your nipples, put in breast pads and go to bed. Much less messy than coating your nipples then letting them suck the GV off you. You continue for about 5 days.

Edited June 25, 2011 by lailasmum

[BatmansWife]

Thank you all again. I got a reply from my sis early this morning (2:08 a.m.). Here's what she said, "thank you thank you! for all that info. I'm in tears as I read this. I'm going to definitely try the salt water one, and another person sugested a vinegar rinse. So I'll do that too. It is the worst pain I've ever experienced and now that I got the Diflucan and Dr. Newmans Cream, it is feeling a bit better, but still hurts. So I know I need to do more. Please forward any other suggestions/stories from these ladies." Thank you everyone. I know she appreciates the cyber hugs too and to know that you all went through this and she can too.

 

I had this with my son. The pain was unbelievable. We went the route of gentian violet and that worked so well, tried two prescribed treatments first and they made it worse but at least one of them turned out to have sugar in it. I remember the one that seemed to increase the thrush most was nystatin.

 

There is a method online somewhere where you dip a cotton bud in water then in the gentian violet and put it in the baby's mouth in the evening when they are asleep (just once a day) so they suckle the Gentian violet off it and it spreads around their mouth without getting absolutely every where. Then you coat your nipples, put in breast pads and go to bed. Much less messy than coating your nipples then letting them suck the GV off you. You continue for about 5 days.

 

Thank you so much. I just e-mailed her this.

[TXMomof4]

Poor, poor girl! I had never-ending thrush with dd3 AND she had a bad latch that took weeks to get corrected. That was quite possibly the most excruciating pain I've ever experienced. The gentian violet worked ok clearing up her mouth, but I had to have diflucan before we stopped passing it back and forth.

 

Kudos to her for sticking through it!

[BatmansWife]

Poor, poor girl! I had never-ending thrush with dd3 AND she had a bad latch that took weeks to get corrected. That was quite possibly the most excruciating pain I've ever experienced. The gentian violet worked ok clearing up her mouth, but I had to have diflucan before we stopped passing it back and forth.

 

Kudos to her for sticking through it!

Thank you....just sent this to her. :001_smile:

[happyhomemaker25]

I know it's been mentioned but the only thing I had to use was probiotics. It was a powdered form for her that I put on my finger and let her suck off right before I nursed. For me I took a pill and ate lots of yogurt.

I have heard the violet treatment works well.

I never had thrush as bad as some of you. I had GBS so two bags of antibiotics during labor and then she had a slight infection so she ended up with a lot of antibiotics right after labor.

As soon as my pediatrician read the lab report she started both of us on Probiotics. She told me we'd have thrush and colic horribly if we did not because of the antiobiotics.

We never had colic and only a mild prickly itchy rash every now and then if I forgot a probiotic treatment.

[kilo90]

I'm SO sorry for them! I got over my thrush just last month. "Only" battled it for 6 weeks this time as opposed to 3 months with my previous baby. Seems like doctors want to do things in layers. The first time I had thrush I did as I was told and tried nystatin first, then went on the candida diet, then gentian violet, then grapfruitseed extract, etc. The thing that finally did it for me was the diflucan. (Was treating baby with the nystatin, gentian violet, etc along with myself) As the weeks went by without things working, nursing became more excruciating. But at the time no doc would approve the oral med without trying "everything else first." :glare: I get this, but life was miserable and I was tired of experimenting. This time around when I felt the thrush starting I tried to nip it early and changed my diet, started with the grapefruitseed extract (oral and diluted drops for nippled and laundry), & oral acidophilus. It definitely helped as nursing was not agony, but it got into my ducts and none of this seemed to tackle it. Went to the doc and said "I've tried all this for a month... can I please have diflucan?" She gave me a 2 week supply and it did the trick. I think she was more sympathetic than most drs would be because she had dealt with thrush with her baby. There is obviously not one perfect treatment for everyone. I know many folks swear by gentian violet, but it did not help me. And I know folks who say diflucan did nothing for them. All this to say, I would encourage her to find someone who is aggressive in treating it. Or a lactation consultant who works with a doc/hospital that will "go to bat" for your sister. Bless her heart for enduring! I did not want to give up as I knew nursing was best for baby AND I didn't want to end nursing on a bad note having nursed my first 2 babies painfree. In the end, when she gets through this she will be so glad she persevered!

[Cera]

I used grapefruit seed extract and it worked within 48 hours.

[ilovemy6kids]

OUCH!! I am cringing remembering how bad this hurts. I was trying the creams and meds and it did not fully clear up until I stopped wearing a bra. I had been washing it every day, but when I stopped wearing it for about a week or 2 it was totally gone.

SHeri

[ktgrok]

She needs to treat for bacteria too, and see a board certified lactation specialist about his latch, positioning, etc. Trauma is damaging the skin, allowing the infection to set in. read this: http://www.drjen4kids.com/soap%20box/yeast.htm

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

BTDT! The Gentian Violet did help us, though. All ds2's early baby pictures show him with a purple mouth!

 

I hope they all feel better soon.

[scrappyhappymama]

Oh, the poor mama!! That is SO miserable, but it sounds like she has a great attitude!!

 

With my second son, I had a terrible case of cracking and thrush. I WEPT while he nursed, or really even at the thought of nursing him- he'd cry to eat & I would cry too! :grouphug::grouphug::grouphug:

 

The Newman's cream really helped me and the baby, along with the gentian violet, to clear up the thrush. So I think she's gotten great advice there (and bless that pharmacist for being willing to compound it for her in the middle of the night!).

 

On the nipple cracking, I worked with a lactation consultant for several weeks to try to resolve it. I did end up pumping on the worst side for a few days, just to give my nipple a break (although even the pumping was no picnic either). What we finally figured out was that my son was latching properly at first, but I had overactive letdown, so after a bit he would slip into a poor latch. We finally solved this by using a cross cradle hold on I would cup my breast in my other hand and rest the side of my index finger against his chin to sort of hold his mouth open enough. Then I could feel immediately if he started to slip into a shallower latch and could pull his chin down to keep him latched properly, or delatch him if he was choking on too much milk. That finally allowed me to heal up, but not without a (TMI?) permanent crack on one side. :001_unsure: Oh, the things we bear for our sweet babes. :) My fabulous lactation consultant ended up using my situation as a test case for her LC Trainer certification, since we tried just about everything in the book along the way.

 

The best news though is that once I finally got healed up, I was fine. And went on to nurse two additional babies with no issues.

 

Hope your sis and nephew are feeling much better SOON!!!

[74Heaven]

May not be a popular remedy, but I had thrush with my firstborn, which added to FTT problems. Dr. thought it was just sore ni**les.

 

Anyway, OB prescribed tylenol with codeine & that was very helpful to help me get thru the unbelievable pain Baby was screaming while I got the courage up to have baby latch on. My dh thought I was evil - but the pain was so intense, I had to work up a 5-10 seconds before I could let the baby latch on (I was anticipating the pain & cringing and just getting up the nerve to nurse because it was so horribly painful.)

 

I was pretty all natural like then, and didn't want to take anything but it was so unbearably painful to latch on and then nurse. This was after a few weeks and the doctor misdiagnosing me.

 

The only other advice is for her to go immed. to a midwife to get some help to help her work thru this terrible time to *keep* nursing. Totally support and praise her for working thru this. Superhuman effort required!

Lisaj

[pfamilygal]

My daughter had very bad thrush when she came home from the NICU. What worked for us was painting my nips with extra virgin coconut oil before each feeding and then sprinkling them with probiotic powder. After the feedings I took grapefruit seed extract (diluted with a few drops in a couple ounces of water) and swabbed the inside of her mouth.

[LittleIzumi]

I had this with my son. The pain was unbelievable. We went the route of gentian violet and that worked so well, tried two prescribed treatments first and they made it worse but at least one of them turned out to have sugar in it. I remember the one that seemed to increase the thrush most was nystatin.

 

There is a method online somewhere where you dip a cotton bud in water then in the gentian violet and put it in the baby's mouth in the evening when they are asleep (just once a day) so they suckle the Gentian violet off it and it spreads around their mouth without getting absolutely every where. Then you coat your nipples, put in breast pads and go to bed. Much less messy than coating your nipples then letting them suck the GV off you. You continue for about 5 days.

 

If it's twice a day you generally stop after 4 days for safety reasons :). If it hasn't improved things within that time frame, more won't help anyway though. Nystatin didn't do anything to help my thrush either. :glare:

 

ETA: And grapefruit seed extract is diluted 10-20 drops in 1/4c of water before application.

[tex-mex]

BTDT :(

My heart goes out to your sister; my pain from nursing with thrush was worse than labor pain. I was in agony -- sweating and crying during every feeding for weeks.

 

What finally worked for me (and I realize some 'purists' may object...) was to pump and bottle feed for a week while both of us did the diflucan (?) treatments. It was exhausting to pump and bottle feed around the clock, but it gave my skin time to heal. Baby did fine with the bottle, and I was so relieved to get better. He went right back to nursing with no trouble when I was through with the pump.

 

This was the suggestion of a lactation consultant who was horrified at the miserable condition I was in.

 

Best wishes to your sister and her new little one.

I also pumped while going thru a horrible bout of mastitis (cracked nipples, sores, oozing, and the pain... aiiiiyyeeee.). It helped. One thing my MIL told me to do back then (16 years ago) was to apply heat on the breasts/nipples. And don't wear a bra -- go all naturale. It helped speed the healing process. I recall having a small pillow filled with buckwheat hulls and lavender that could be heated in the microwave. It worked along with antibiotics, nipple cream, tylenol, and pumping. HTH

 

ETA: I get nauseous whenever I smell lavender nowadays. I thank that pillow for that memory. ;) LOL

Edited June 25, 2011 by tex-mex

[Mandamom]

I was another one suffering from severe yeast/thrush issues while I was nursing my 2 girls. I struggled through severe, stabbing pain, scabs, etc. and it is the most horrid memory of the years of nursing I did.

 

I ended up convincing my midwives to give me a 2 week dose of Diflucan, which helps inhibit the yeast overgrowth (from what I understand it does not kill the yeast) from getting any worse. The Diflucan ended up reducing the symptoms significantly so I thought I was cured. The yeast came back.

 

I requested a longer dose of Diflucan and this time while I was on that I decided I was going to drastically increase my intake of probiotics. I was taking about 5-7 capsules daily of a strong probiotic (Vitacost with 35 billion IU per capsule and 15 different strains of probiotics) to rebuild my system.

 

After this point I did not have anymore nursing issues and over the years I have rebuilt my system. I had to take 4-7 capsules daily for a number of years (while maintaining a poor diet :tongue_smilie: ) to return my system to normal but now I can easily take a maintenance dose of 1-2 daily and no further problems. My girls are now 9 and 11 years old.

 

I tried the gentian violet, grapeseed oil, vinegar, salt water, lanolin, and whatever else I read about and nothing worked. I figured out later my system was just so messed up that none of those surface treatments were going to have much of an impact.

 

I really wish the best for your sister. i remember the agony of nursing through this and I wish that her agony ends soon.

[Chaqar]

Newman's APNO really helped with the pain, but didn't knock it out for me. I had also tried grapefruit seed extract (applied to affected area and taken orally). After 3 1/2 weeks I finally kicked it after applying plain (no sugar!) yogurt on my nipples and letting DS suckle. I had done this on just one side and the next day that side felt healed, so I applied it to both sides and just let it all air dry. I also ate some of the plain yogurt twice daily.

 

If that hadn't worked, my doctor had just prescribed Diflucan and I had gentian violet ready to go, too (although one study has linked it to cancer of the mouth).

 

The pain is awful. I hope she gets relief soon!

[BatmansWife]

I'm so thankful for all you ladies and the numerous replies I've gotten. I've sent every reply to my sister. The last time I e-mailed her I told her I hope I wasn't overwhelming her with info. Here's what she said,

"You are definetely not overwhelming me. Every single minute that I'm not asleep or busy or nursing, I'm reading about thrush. So I need to read these stories....it helps to keep me going. I cannot believe the extreme pain it causes. But the nipple cream seems to be helping...the one side is not oozing pus anymore and is looking a teeny tiny bit better. It takes a few days for the fluconozole (sp) to start working. But I'm able to nurse on one side w/out excrutiating pain, and the other side I'm pumping until it heals, we have to give Cal that milk from a bottle, which I hate, but hopefully I'll heal soon and can just nurse him instead. Thanks so much for sending the replies, if there are anymore, keep em coming. I have the gentian violet on the way, and also some grapefruit seed extract. I'm gonna try it all!!!!"

 

Poor sis. :crying: I wish I lived closer to help her in some way. But thanks to all of you I am able to help her in passing along your words of wisdom and stories. I really appreciate that.

 

 

[LittleIzumi]

Oh, if it really won't go away, don't forget about The Candida Diet. It basically eliminates anything the thrush can eat in your diet, period, for weeks, so the thrush all starve & die off. It's hard but it works.

[ktgrok]

If there is pus it is bacterial! She needs to be treating that. The all purpse ointment has an antibacterial agent but if is the over the counter version she may need something stronger. Bactroban ointment can be prescibed. There is a lot of evidence saying that what people think is resistant thrush is actually a staph infection. Which is why the yeast treatments don't work very well...it was never yeast in the first place. The article I linked to before goes into more detail about this. The basics are that there is trauma from a bad latch/poor positioning which allows the bacteria access. The latch needs to be addressed, and the bacteria need to be killed.

[BatmansWife]

Oh, if it really won't go away, don't forget about The Candida Diet. It basically eliminates anything the thrush can eat in your diet, period, for weeks, so the thrush all starve & die off. It's hard but it works.

 

I'll mention this.

 

If there is pus it is bacterial! She needs to be treating that. The all purpse ointment has an antibacterial agent but if is the over the counter version she may need something stronger. Bactroban ointment can be prescibed. There is a lot of evidence saying that what people think is resistant thrush is actually a staph infection. Which is why the yeast treatments don't work very well...it was never yeast in the first place. The article I linked to before goes into more detail about this. The basics are that there is trauma from a bad latch/poor positioning which allows the bacteria access. The latch needs to be addressed, and the bacteria need to be killed.

 

I just forwarded this reply.

[Chaqar]

I read somewhere that if candida doesn't have any sugar, it can feed off protein. This site claimed that you cannot completely starve it off--you would starve first! We always have some yeast present in our bodies; it only becomes a problem when it is out of balance--an overgrowth.

 

This same site (sorry I can't remember the link) claimed that the BEST thing you can do (long term) is to restore balance by reintroducing "good" bacteria. I mention this since it was the yogurt that finally healed me! Also, anything rich in immune-boosting properties will help.

[MomsintheGarden]

You've gotten a lot of great replies! I will chime in with my experience.

 

My twins and I had it. It was absolutely excruciating! I tried the following, which helped reduce our systemic yeast but did not get rid of it:

- gentian violet

- nystatin (rx by clueless pediatrician, it had sugar in it)

- 2 weeks of diflucan

 

After these did not work, I did some research and found Erica White's Beat Candida Cookbook. I pretty much followed her advice, which included doing four things at once:

- taking caprylic acid, a natural antifungal that is only found in mamma's milk and coconuts (that's why the coconut oil worked for someone above). You can get in in capsule form in many health food stores. The book tells you to ramp up your dose from 1 to 8 capsules/day, then back down again after about a month or so.

- the candida diet. If you have a systemic yeast problem and don't eliminate sugar in all of its forms, you will just keep getting yeast again. The diet is no fun to do if you are nursing and hungry, but it works very well. Basically meat, veg (no corn or potatoes), eggs, with some other stuff carefully thrown in here and there. No desserts or fruit. I had to keep up the diet for 6 months and be careful not to have sweets for a few months after that. She should be able to find many library books and internet resources for the diet.

- Probiotics. You can have a modest amount of plain yogurt, or take these in capsule form.

- Vitamins C and D to pump up the immune system. Make sure they do not contain sugar in any form.

 

This plan worked for me as well as a friend who had twins and also suffered from thrush. I had die-off, but basically felt much better in just a couple of days. But whenever I tried to eat a few carbs or (gasp) sugar, especially ice cream, I could feel it coming back.

 

A couple of other things:

- I definitely agree with having her wash all of her tops/undergarments (top and bottom) in hot water. I also laid mine out in the sun for a few hours, inside out, so the UV rays could kill the yeast.

- She should consider having her husband do a yeast treatment as well.

- Keep in mind that most doctors are clueless about thrush. They think that diflucan and/or nystatin cures everything.

 

This is no fun! I hope your sister and her baby get better soon!

 

GardenMOm