THRUSH

A fungus, that is naturally in our bodies, gets overgrown and causes thrush and yeast infections. This fungus thrives in moist, dark area, such as vaginas, nipples, and baby’s diapers and in baby’s mouths. You, the mommy, is more likely to get thrush when your bodies are thrown out of balance. For instance, illness, antibiotic, pregnancy, may cause the thrush fungus to get overgrown to cause yeast to occur. It is very contagious; so make sure that you are always washing hands along with everyone else in the house.

You need to make sure that you rule out any other problems such as mastitis, bad latch by baby, eczema, abscess, psoriasis, etc, because these problems can have some of the same symptoms as thrush. If you or your baby has been diagnosed with thrush, you both need to be treated together.

Symptoms of the mother:
*You will have intense nipple or breast pain during feedings and won’t improve with the baby latching on better or changing positions
*Pain of the nipple or breast coming on suddenly after not having problems with breastfeeding
*Your nipples will start itching or burning, or may look pink or red; the nipples may also appear to have a rash with tiny blisters.
*You may have some white in the folds of your nipples or breasts
*New cracks or olds cracks on the nipples will not heal.
*You will have shooting pains in your nipples or breasts during or after feedings.
*The mother may have a vaginal infection

Symptoms of the baby:
*The mouth of the baby will look white; there will be white patches on the baby’s gums, cheeks, and tongue.
*The baby will get diaper rashes (may be a normal rash or the rash may have raised red dots)
*Baby may refuse to nurse, or pull off of the breast because of pain in the mouth or start making a clicking noise.
*The baby may start to be more fussy or gassy.

Here are some other factors that might increase your chances of getting thrush.
*Prior nipple damage.
*You have had an excess of yeast infections in the past.
*To many antibiotics during pregnancy or labor or throughout your life.
*A heavy consumption of sweets.
*Not changing your nursing pads often enough.
*The baby may also get it from a pacifier or from antibiotics.

To help you with yeast problem or preventing you from getting thrush, you can take some acidophilus, reduce sugar intake, garlic, grapefruit seed extract. Some other treatments for the mother are:
*Nystatin cream or ointment – prescribed by your doctor. This treatment will be the least effective of all the treatments.
*Gentian Violet – this one is over-the-counter. This one will stain your clothing so use some old clothing while using this treatment.
*Clotrimazole – this is prescribed or over-the-counter. This is also a cream, also called Lotrimin or Lotrimin AF
*Miconazole – this is over-the-counter. Can also be called Monistat-Derm cream or lotion.
Make sure that you check with your doctor to see what treatment is best for you. There might be other treatments that I have not listed.

If your baby has thrush, check with your pediatrician to see what treatment is best for your baby. Here is a list of a few treatments:
*Nystatin – prescribed by you pediatrician.
*Gentian Violet – over-the-counter.
*Clotrimazole – prescribed by your pediatrician.
*Miconazole – prescribed by your pediatrician.
There might be some better prescriptions for your baby that are not listed so check with your pediatrician. There is also a cream that can be put on the babies diaper rash that you can get from the doctor.

You need to breastfeed during treatment of thrush. Depending on what treatment is given, symptoms and pain can be gone with in forty-eight hours. If it is a more severe case of thrush, symptoms may last for three to five days. It will be painful and hard to nurse, but don’t give up. Remember to follow the instructions with the treatments and finish all of the medication to make sure the thrush is fully cleared.

To help you make it through the pain of nursing, you can rinse your nipples with water and air-dry them after every feeding. Make sure that you change your nursing pads often. You can also try offering more often short feedings, start the feeding on the side with the least pain, and make sure that you break the baby’s suctions from the breast rather then just pulling the baby off. To help keep thrush away, you will need to boil and really clean you pump, baby’s pacifier, toys, and wash your hands well all of the time. Dry your hands with paper towels for a while to prevent thrush from coming back. Make sure you wash your bra every day and clothing. Thrush is very uncomfortable for both you and your baby. Try not to give up and know that there is treatment and help out there.