My son has had thrush for sometime now. He has also has runny eyes,a cough, and congested breathing. His Dr. finally put him on Nystan for the thrush. We ran out of medicine before it cleared and the "cold" syptoms returned. Has anyone had experiences with thrush being a precursor to a different issue? Or thrush coming with other "side=effects" other than pain and white lesions?
How old is he? If he is 6+ month old I'd give him probiotics daily with his food. That'd help to improve his immune system to fight off cold, congestion and thrush.
Good luck.
Thrush is SEVERE Candidiasis (Candida fungus) that has run wild in the body. It us usually due either to having had Chemotherapy, or antibiotics, and can even be caused by food allergies. Another big thing that can cause it is eating too much sugar.
My experience with having had YEARS of severe systemic Candida is that the only way to get over it is to a) eat NO sugar, as in no bread, no dairy, no sugar of ANY kind. (you can read the book "The Yeast Connection" for more information). On top of that, then you get a probiotic (friendly bacteria) supplement - Super Supplements has really good ones - Jarrow has a good one Called EOS and there is also Dr. Ohira's probiotics which help knock out yeast. For me, those work better than any other kind. You may have to open the capsules and put in in water. You can try a chewable kids variety, however, they often have sugar in them.
What happens if there is a low bacteria count in the body, yeast IMMEDIATLY takes over. however, if you eat pickled things such as Sauerkraut, salad with vinegrette dressing, and get on major probiotics, that will help more than the nystatin.
The "Cold Symptoms" show that your son has systemic candida. I can't swim in pools any more because I get flu symptoms from Candida, it's so bad.
FOS feed bacteria, however it isn't much good unless you actually have some in the body to feed. Every day I would pump the probiotics in twice a day, cancel ALL sugar (tell the school not to give sugar, as well) and he should get over it in time. This is usually not solved quickly, in my experience.
Have you tried something called violet purple or something like that? It is in the natural section of the pharmacy. It can be really messy and doesn't look good because it turns your childs mouth purple but it worked for me very quickly. I had a similiar problem getting rid of it for my youngest and the pedi suggested this and it worked wonders.
It seems that your little guy is fighting a yeast causing allergy - try cutting out all dairy, wheat and corn products as well as all sugars while clearing up the thrush. Once it has cleared, slowly add each back in, paying close attention to individual response. If this is a nursing baby we are talking about, you must treat both of you...and of course, if its the toddler, the whole family will have to eat the same in order for him to comply. Another option is to have your child tested by an allery doctor. Good luck!
I have had alot of experience with this and was hospitalized with it when I was about 10.
Any time that I have had to take an antibiotic since then I get it. The only thing that keeps me from getting it is for me to get on NATURAL PLAIN yogurt,acidolphis and be very careful how much sugar and starches I eat.
Nystatin is very hard on the system and it also can give a headache that you cannot get rid of.
He needs to have some good bacteria put into his intestinal tract to balance things out and that is what the yogurt and acidolphus does.
It really sounds to me that he may have a milk allergy. Everyone is right about pacifiers and bottles...he can just be reinfecting himself if he is using the same ones.
Hope this helps...L.
You don't say how old this son is. If he's using a pacifier or still nursing you need to take some precautionary steps to stop the re-infection, like boiling his pacifiers and cleansing your breast after each feeding, and maybe even going on an anti-fungal medication yourself, as the thrush can invade your milk ducts and you re-infect with each feeding without knowing it. The pain can be pretty intense for a little guy, making it hard to eat and swallow. Go back to your pediatrician and have him re-checked, get a refill on the anti-biotic. I've heard that eating yogurt has some positive effects, but again, check with your pediatrician. And if you're nursing, go see your ob-gyn or family care physician to get checked out and possibly get a prescription to remove the fungus from your milk ducts.
I wish you a speedy recovery!!!!
We have battled some serious thrush before and I have found the Nystatin to be pretty much useless. What helped for us was natural, unflavored yogurt (just swish it around in his mouth with a clean finger several times a day) and sprite. Yep, I did not want to believe it either and was hesitant because of the sugar, but the sprite (lemonade works too) cleared it right up. I just gave one or two ounces from a bottle twice a day.
Also make sure to sterilize all of his pacis, bottles, nipples and chew toys.
We also usually experienced thrush in connection with colds/ear infections, because the antibiotics given for the ear kills the beneficial bacteria that usually keeps the yeast in check. Thrush can happen even weeks after you have already stopped giving the abx because their flora is so off balance.
Sorry for the short answer but hopefully helpful. Two good sites with info http://www.askdrsears.com/html/8/t083100.asp and http://www.drjaygordon.com/development/bf/thrush.asp. also you can get powdered probiotics for infants at health food stores--same stuff that is in yogurt--perfectly safe for infants.
It sure sounds like thrush. However, nystatin isn't very good because it really messes up the liver. It did mine anyway. It has taken a long time to get it back to normal. When my liver was down from the nystatin I got formaldehyde poisoning. (PS all statin drugs do this to the liver) Believe me it is not a good thing to go through. If you could go to a naturopath and go the natural way I would. I know a great doctor in the clackamas area that will work with you. Let me know if you are interested.
I also have heard (not substatiated yet though but working on it) that thrush (aka candida - fungus) is a symptom of a heavy metal toxicity. I can let you know more about this if interested - just e-mail me and I will give you information on this issue. At least what I have.
N.
SAH wife, mom, grandma and Wellness Coach
