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How to get rid of Thrush in baby and mother

Posted by Lana in Featured, Mama and Baby | 0 comments

Got Yeast? It’s sneaky…it can show up just about anywhere, and unfortunately is very hard to get rid of once it’s gotten all comfy and settled in. Normally, we have yeast in our bodies, but when there is an overgrowth, it is called Candida. There is so much information on the web concerning the issues of yeast/ thrush, it made my head spin. I had heard of it, but thought only people who didn’t properly wash their baby’s bottles had issues with thrush. Boy, was I wrong!

After the birth of my second baby boy in July 2009, I started nursing him just minutes after he was born. Since I had previous experience nursing my first son (without any issues), I figured I didn’t need any assistance from the nurse. She even commented on how well it seemed to be going, so I gave myself a little pat on the back. Soon after that first feeding, I was sore; but that was to be expected. Later, when I tried nursing him again, he had a hard time latching on, and wouldn’t open his mouth wide enough. I made the mistake of letting him nurse anyway, and ended up with cracked nipples. It was extremely painful every time he latched on, and soon, I was in tears during every feeding, and I started experiencing shooting pains through one of my breasts. One night, I woke up with a fever, and wondered what could be wrong. I called my doctor the next morning, and without seeing me, diagnosed mastitis. They explained that the cracks on my nipple had allowed bacteria to seep in, thus causing the infection.

After my diagnosis came a round of antibiotics that I took without hesitation. I needed to feel better fast; especially with two babies to take care of! I started to feel better immediately. Soon I noticed my baby had a white tongue, white patches on the inside of his cheeks, and his mouth made clicking noise when he nursed. I then proceded to call the pediatrician. “Oh, your baby has thrush,” the nurse stated. My head was spinning. “How, I asked?” Antibiotics were the culprit. It never occurred to me that this could happen. I knew antibiotics killed not only the bad bacteria, but the good too, but in my sleep deprived haze, none of it had dawned on me. Why hadn’t the nurse warned me that this could happen? I called her back, and she wasn’t very helpful. As a matter of fact, she was defensive and quite rude. I asked for a course of treatment, and she just had me come in to see the doctor. It seems that yeast/thrush issues aren’t taken very seriously by some obstetricians, because mine told me that it would go away on it’s own! I conceded that he knew best, and went home….but it didn’t go away. That’s when I decided to do research on my own.

I called my local la leche league, and spoke with helpful lactation consultants who provided good information. To find your local la leche league, go to http://www.llli.org/

The la leche website has a good explantation of yeast/thrush and a list of symptoms:

Persistent nipple pain in the early weeks of breastfeeding, or nipple pain that appears after several weeks or months of pain-free nursing, may be caused by thrush which is a yeast infection of the nipples. Additional symptoms can include

Itchy or burning nipples that appear pink or red, shiny, flaky, and/or have a rash with tiny blisters.

Cracked nipples.

Shooting pains in the breast during or after feedings.

Intense nipple or breast pain that is not improved with better latch-on and positioning.

Deep breast pain.

You may be at higher risk for developing thrush if you or your baby has had a recent course of antibiotics, your nipples are cracked or damaged or you are taking oral contraceptives or steroids (such as for asthma).

Be sure to examine other causes of nipple and breast pain. Positioning and latch-on problems are the most common causes of pain. Breastfeeding isn’t supposed to hurt!

In addition to the information above, if your baby makes a clicking noise while nursing, it is due to soreness in his mouth. Although thrush isn’t considered serious or dangerous for your baby, it can make feedings uncomfortable, and cause excess gastrointestinal distress. When I was told this, I thought, “Now, why isn’t this considered serious?” It broke my heart to think of my little baby suffering that way.

My son’s pediatrician prescribed Nystatin; which after much research was found to be resistant to the newer, stronger strains of yeast. So, it was basically useless. And get this; yeast feeds on sugar. Can you guess one of the ingredients of Nystatin? Yup…sugar. Hello? What? Needless to say, it didn’t get rid of the yeast in my baby, which prompted my all out war on the yeast beast!

Unfortunately, the overgrowth of yeast can also spread through your digestive tract (and your baby’s) causing excess gas, and an itchy bottom. It can also cause fatigue. There is a lot of information out there about Candida, and the Candidia diet. I was told to reduce my intake of sugar while treating yeast, but upon further investigation, I came across many websites claiming some pretty outlandish, unattainable diets to rid the body of Candida. Below is a remedy I used to treat not only my lactational yeast issues, but to help rid my entire system of Candida as well:

Take a probiotic to help restore the healthy balance in your gut. Culturelle, Align or Florell are good. You can also get acidophilus from your local pharmacy without a prescription.
Liquid Grapefruit seed extract -I used Nutribiotic(found in health food stores) – Mix four ounces of water to 10 drops. Use a cotton ball and wipe down your nipples before and after breastfeeding (and every hour around the clock). Then, use a large cotton swab, and coat your babies mouth with the solution. If your baby takes a pacifier, soak it in the solution when they aren’t using it. GSE is bitter, but my baby didn’t seem to notice. See grapefruit extract explanation here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grapefruit_seed_extract GSE can also be taken orally. I dropped 5 drops in a glass of orange juice or V8 twice a day. Warning- it is extremely bitter, and MUST be mixed with a liquid that will mask the taste. Be sure and mix it well with a spoon so it doesn’t settle to the bottom of the glass. GSE can also be taken in pill form.
Mix a pea size amount of an anti-fungal cream(vagisil, or lotrimin - each treat fungus, so if one doesn’t work, try the other), polysporin ointment, and hydrocortisone cream. Apply to nipples before nursing (it won’t hurt the baby), and after.
Mix two tablespoons of Raw Organic Apple Cider Vinegar in a large glass of water and drink two to three times a day. See more information here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Apple_cider_vinegar
Change out nursing pads after every feeding.
If your baby has a bumpy, red diaper rash, use an anti-fungal cream instead of diaper rash cream to treat the fungus.

You MUST continue this treatment for two weeks AFTER the symptoms subside. This ensures that the overgrowth of yeast has been restored to the proper balance; otherwise, it will come right back. I didn’t heed this advice, and sure enough, I got yeast again. I know this round of treatment seems time consuming, but if you set up an area in your bathroom or kitchen with the solutions ready, it only takes seconds to rinse with the GSE solution and apply the ointment combo.

Some websites I visited advised washing your bras in bleach and drying them on high heat to kill yeast. Also, boil any pacifiers or bottles your baby uses for at least five minutes. I realized that by changing out my nursing pads often, I didn’t have to worry about getting yeast on my bras as much, so don’t fret over washing everything in bleach! As for the bottle issue, I wasn’t using bottles at the time, but I suppose it wouldn’t hurt to boil them. Although I did read that soaking bottles and nipples in a grapefruit seed extract/water solution will also kill yeast.

If you pump, take note that freezing the milk doesn’t kill the yeast, so once you’ve gotten rid of the baby’s thrush, be aware that there is a chance of a recurrence if the baby drinks the pumped milk.

Don’t think that by switching to formula, you are going to get rid of yeast faster. If you have intraductal yeast, it will still be there after you wean, and treatment will still be necessary. The baby will still have to go through a course of treatment as well, so please continue nursing!

One final note: Be sure and take the time to laugh each day, and enjoy yor baby, because this too shall pass. I wish you luck in your battle with the yeast beast!