What is Thrush? And do we have it?

curlylocks

So baby girl is one week old now. I've been breast feeding since day one in the hospital. Baby was in the nicu for three days and put on antibiotics bc I had a fever during labor. Breast feeding has been a learning experience but after our lactation consultation on tuesday I thought I really had the hang of things. Then my nipples got really sore (I mean so sore I've been taking 800 mg Motrin to dull the pain). I have continued to gently pump but can't stand to breast feed. Baby doesn't have any spots on tongue. But upper lip has this solid white line I can't rub off. Sorta like when ur lipgloss gets tacky but this isn't going away.

 

I have an apt Monday with the lactation consultant again but does anyone have any recommendations to get through the weekend?

 

tokenhoser

Lots of info here: https://kellymom.com/bf/concerns/child/thrush-resources/

Pain + antibiotics + white you can't rub off does make thrush a strong possibility.

Care plan:

If you have yeast on your nipples:

• Wash hands often (before and after nursing, after using the bathroom, and before or after changing the baby?s diaper). Use hot, soapy water and paper towels.
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• Nurse frequently for shorter amounts of time. Start nursing on the least sore side. Numb the nipple with ice wrapped in a washcloth before beginning to nurse. Take Advil (unless you are allergic to it) around the clock. If it becomes too painful to nurse, you may want to pump your milk temporarily and feed it to your baby by cup or bottle until the pain lessens.
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• Try drinking green tea 3 or 4 times a day. It may help cleanse your system of excess yeast, and all evidence points to its benefits, so it certainly won?t hurt to try.
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• Eating yogurt, while helpful, is not enough to treat a yeast infection by itself. Another supplement that is often helpful is Caprylic acid. The usual dose is 1-2 capsules with each meal. These products can be found at most health food stores. Working with a herbal specialist to adjust the dosages may be helpful.
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• After nursing, rinse the nipples with a solution of one cup of water plus one TBSP of vinegar. Air dry well. Apply antifungal creams like Lotramin AF or Gyne-Lotramin (containing clotrimazole) or Monistat (containing miconazole). These are available without a prescription. Your doctor may also prescribe an antifungal cream like Nizoral (containing ketoconazole). Although Nystatin has been the most popular prescription antifungal used for many years, it is no longer the first choice of treatment due to resistant strains of yeast that have developed.
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• If pain is severe, apply the cream sparingly after each feeding (6-8 times per day) for 24 hours. Then apply 3-4 times daily. The cream is absorbed quickly, and does not have to be removed before baby nurses. If you feel that some ointment remains on your nipple, you may want to gently press a damp warm washcloth on the nipple and areola before nursing. Avoid wearing nursing pads, but if you have to use them be sure to change them at every feeding. Keep the nipples as dry as possible.
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• Decrease consumption of foods containing high amounts of sugar and/or yeast (such as beer, wine, sodas, bread, desserts, etc.).
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• Dietary supplements that may be helpful include: Lactobacillus acidophilus (helps promote the growth of ?friendly bacteria?). Usual dose?1/4 to ? tsp. of powder or 1-2 capsules, 1-4 times daily. Bifadophillus also works well, and does not contain apple pectin, which may limit the supplement?s effectiveness. Acidophilus supplements of up to 24 tablets a day are not harmful, and may be helpful in severe or chronic cases.
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After 24-48 hours, you should feel some improvement. (Sometimes you can tell a difference after just one application. In some cases, symptoms temporarily get worse before they get better ? so be sure to continue the treatment for at least the fill 48 hours. If you don?t see improvement by then, try a different antifungal cream. Just as certain antibiotics are effective against certain strains of bacteria, certain antifungal creams are effective against certain strains of yeast. Without culturing the yeast (which is very difficult to do) you don?t know exactly which strain you have, so if one medication doesn?t work, try another.

• Another effective antifungal treatment that is inexpensive and available without a prescription is gentian violet. It can be used on your nipples and in the baby?s mouth or diaper area. Be sure to consult your health care provider before beginning treatment, because it is strong medicine and be dangerous if used improperly or too long. It is very messy (it looks like purple ink and stains anything it touches, including baby?s mouth and lips, and clothing or bedding). It usually comes in a one percent solution, which you may want to dilute down to a ? percent solution, especially is using it in the baby?s mouth. Apply to nipples, baby?s mouth or diaper area once or twice daily for no more than three days. You may continue to use a topical ointment at the same time. Apply with a cotton swab, especially at bedtime when the baby is more likely to go for a longer stretch without nursing. Wear old clothing, since it does stain. If you get stains on clothing, try alcohol, bleach, or aerosol hairspray to remove them. Stains on the skin will usually fade in a few days. Applying a thin coating of lanolin to the baby?s lips may minimize staining on his face when gentian violet is applied to his mouth or your nipples.
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• Expressed milk should be fed to the baby while you are both being treated for yeast, and not saved for later use, since refrigerating and freezing the milk does not kill all the yeast.

 

Faith 21

Look for it to be blistered and white. I used to get this a lot from my medicine if I did not wash my mouth out really good after taking my meds and it always appeared on the upper and lower inside of my lips and the only thing that helped with the pain was cold things.