Thrush - Burlingame, CA

Hi. Both my daughter (now 3 1/2) and son (4 months) have had thrush. My son had had it for six weeks starting when he was just three weeks old and we were treating it with nystatin when the doctor suggested I also add 1/16 of a teaspoon of acidopholus to one of his bottles daily (he wouldn't breastfeed so I was pumping). This did the trick. There are other probiotics besides acidopholus and both my kids take one daily, which has really helped to strenghten their immune systems.

Hope this helps. Good luck.

Hi YOu can breastfeed with thrush, and there are different treatmenst that are more effective than topical stuff. Go to Breastfeeding.com and search for thrush and look at Dr. Jack Newmans thrush handout. He describes all of the different medications and ways to control thrush.

T. Mclean
birth and Postpartum Doula
Student Midwife

hello, my daughter and I also had thrush when she was 5 weeks old. I got mastitis first then we both got thrush. I used nistatin on myself and her and nursed through it. it took about 2 weeks it seemed like a long time then,but it really wasn't I was so ready to give up,but so glad I didn't She is 10 months & still breastfeed. I ate a lot of yogurt and made sure that I got a lot of air to my breasts. i would even go outside and lie in the sun topless (in the backyard of course) lol try to not wear nursing pads to keep down any moisture. keep breestfeeding and it does take awhile but it will go away. good luck.

My daughter just had a mild case of thrush. The doctor didn't tell me to stop breast feeding. She just said to make sure I wipe down her mouth with a cloth after feedings. I know the milk helps bacteria growth, but just wash up with a cloth and keep doing the meds and he should be fine.

I would also recommend continuing to nurse. My daughter had thrush in her mouth for months. It seemed like it would never go away! She needed the nystantin for three months. But we never shared it back and forth, I never got it from breastfeeding her. And you want to be careful about bottle feeding him for too long without breast feeding. He is going to get used to the bottle, and not want to go back to the breast.

Good luck! and Congratulations.

By the time your medicine runs out, his thrush should be cured. However, sometimes the thrush travels through the digestive system and creates a kind of diaper rash. For this doctors usually prescribe nystatin cream and sometimes you have to give oral/liquid antibiotics to completely knock everything out.

My son had thrush when he was about 1 month old as well. We had the Nistatin(sp?) and the first time he got it, it went away with the RX. The second time it wasn't going away. I talked to his ped and she told me about this medicine, it's not for your mouth and it's purple. I am trying really hard to remember the name of it but I can't right now. Ha, no help there am I? I swabbed it in his mouth and it turned his mouth purple, but it went away within 24 hours. I still have the stuff at home, I am at work right now. If you would like to know what it's called, email me at ____@____.com and I will get you the information. I believe I bought it at Walgreens.

Sorry I can't remember! I will get it for you though! :)

Gentian violet is a purple liquid that is a non-prescription antifungal. A 0.25 or 0.5% solution is "painted" on affected areas, such as the baby's mouth and bottom and the mom's nipples, using a clean cotton swab each time you need more medication. After the purple stain disappears the solution should only be reapplied once or twice. Though gentian violet is quite effective, it should be used with caution, gentian violet can be very messy and will stain anything it touches. I only had to use this once for my son when he had thrush. I never used the nystatin. Boil all pacifiers and things that go in his mouth (except of course your nipples) His mouth will be purple for a day or so. Make sure you get his lips.
You can by this at Walgreens, Longs etc. just call around.

Be careful it is a dye and will stain. It is much easier then giving nystatin over and over and over again.

Hello Dallas's Mom,
I had trush as well with my daughter after I noticed all this white on her tongue... The doctor prescribed Nystatin or something like that; a dropful into her mouth a couple of times a day! They told me to keep breastfeeding while I had thrush; I did NOT stop breastfeeding and it still went away! I put Lotrimon (an antifungal treatment on my nipple after I breastfed) and any time I pumped I made sure I sterilized it first.. anything that went into her mouth or on my breast I made sure was sterilized! Sure enough after a bottle and a half of the Nystatin, the lotrimon, and the steriliyzing it went away and I never stopped breastfeeding! Many people I talked to offered many suggestions in dealing with it! Go online and you will see!
M.

I had two rounds of thrush with my daughter. Usually, it takes one course of the medication, but sometimes it will take two. If you need two courses, make sure it's continuous and you don't have a gap in between with no med. Also, because yeast is so hard to get rid of, you have to boil everything his mouth touches. You should also be treated at the same time with med in case it's in the milk.

Read about candidiasis in infants and natural treatment options. Thrush is a form of that. He needs some probiotics in his diet too!

My son had thrush in his mouth when he was first born too. The doctor told me to use warm water and baking soda to wash my nipples with before nursing. I did not have to stop nursing. The thrush went away in a few days after that. Also, check out probiotics safe for infants or better yet, start taking them yourself. His digestive system is being colonized with healthy bacteria right now.

Hello Dallas'S Mom S,

My ob gyn realy hesitated to prescribe antibiotics for me. She was actually anti-BF. I did avoid breastfeeding, but you don't have to. Use Gentian Violet. It's an old cure, and still works. It will definitely stain, so you must be careful. But if you use it on your son and breastfeed, you'll both be getting treatment too. My son's pediatrician recommended it and it worked really well.

Good luck.
V.

Hello,
I just want to inform you that you can safely nurse while he has thrush as long as you are also treating yourself. If he is using the Nystatin, yellow liquid, then use it on your nipples after each nursing.
My daughter had it for 1 month, I got it and the MD told me to continue nursing, just rub the stuff on myself, let dry and we were good to go. We never passed it back and forth. He said sometimes it can take this long to completely go away.

Good luck and nurse away... trish

Hi,
Thrush can be so hard but take heart, you will eventually be past it. However, with the liquid oral medication it can take a LONG time to go away. My daughter had it as a baby for upwards of 4 months and during that time I continued to breastfeed and did indeed get it on my nipples (which I then treated with antibiotic ointment). Finally at my wits end I saw an ad for oral Diflucan in my OB's office. It is a pill the mother takes for 2 days and it is passed through in the breast milk. For some reason my daughter's pediatrician was content to let us struggle for all that time when there was an alternative. I got it prescribed through my OB and it was gone in 3 days-no joke! I would never use the liquid (I forget the name) again. Good luck!!
C.

Oh I feel for you! We went through a couple of rounds of thrush - but I had it too as we were nursing. It really needs to have direct contact with the medicine - you might try using gauze or a q-tip to actually rub the medicine on the sides of your sons mouth. Also, since you are not currently BF (way to go on pumping!!), maybe try the diet tips: reducing yeast and sugar in your own diet, adding yogurt daily to your diet; maybe this will help him combat the infection as well. You need to continue the treatment even after the signs of the infection go away.
A site that I found had helpful info on thrush:
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/thrush/thrush-resourc...

I would say if he isnt showing signs of improvement after a week, to get back to your pedi and see what else you can try.
Some of the old-school remedies may help, but I always feel more comfortable running it by my Pedi first. :-) Hang in there, and be THANKFUL you didnt get it - it is so incredibly painful and not easy to get rid of once you BOTH have it!
:-( HUGS!!!