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Breastfeeding
mrs.forrister
member
Thrush questions
mrs.forrister
member
Both of my nipples burn and sting like hell! They are a little pink but not too bad. LO doesn't have any signs of thrush in his mouth or on his bottom. I also have a yeast infection so that's why I'm thinking it is definitely thrush.
Do I call my OB for an antibiotic? How long will it take to go away? Do I need to stop nursing and just pump until it goes away so he doesn't get it? TIA.
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Re: Thrush questions
Thrush sucks...and sounds like you may have it. There's great info here: https://kellymom.com/bf/concerns/child/thrush-resources/
It's important that both of you are treated so you don't pass it back and forth...and not with antibiotics - thrush is yeast and actually is made worse with antibiotics ;-) You'll need antifungals. There are some over the counter things you can try. And taking probiotics is a big help.
Definitely no need to stop nursing! If it is thrush, it sounds like you are catching it early so it should clear up quickly for you.
Breastfeeding Counselor with Breastfeeding USA
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I had thrush soooooooo bad that I was in tears 1 week after LO was born and I was seriously considering FF even though I wanted to EBF. I had ductal thrush and in addition to pink, shiny, burning nipples, I had a sharp burning pain that would shoot from my nipple all the way through my body to my shoulder blade. I also developed a crescent moon crack in my right nipple (my nipple looked like the top layer was peeling off) It was bad, really bad.
I talked to a lactation consultant and this is what we ended up doing (some of which I still do now at 6w3d):
1. I called my OB and she gave me a two week course of fluconazole, an oral anti fungal med.
2. I keep my nipples dry and make sure I wash them with soap and water once a day.
3. EVERY TIME I fed LO I put on a cream made of equal parts hydrocortisone ointment (not cream), polysporin ointment and miconazole or clotrimazole vaginal cream. This is a rough approximation of the APNO cream but I didn't need to get it compounded, I just mixed it in a small Tupperware container. I discovered I have a sensitivity to hydrocortisone so now I just mix together the polysporin and miconazole and I only apply 3-4 times a day instead of after every feeding. After applying, I cover it with a fresh nursing pad. Never reuse nursing pads when you have thrush ( I've gone through like a billion boxes since then).
4. I wash all my bras and tanks in super hot water and only wear them for one day. I sterilize my pump everytime I use it and sterilize all her bottles after every use.
5. I took probiotics for the first few weeks but then kept forgetting to take them so I've pretty much stopped but it was useful to begin with.
6. My LC recommended a nipple shield but LO hated it and it was very inefficient. My LO had a good suck even at 1 week so she could take my breast from hard to soft in 15 minutes but after 15 minutes with the nipple shield it would still be hard. The nipple shield did help with the pain but after a day of the fluconazole the pain became bearable so I never used the nipple shield more than once or twice.
Sad to say, thrush can last forever! I thought I would be done by now and most of my pain has gone away but the crack is still not healed so I'm still working on it. I would not stop nursing to try to avoid passing it to your LO. For one thing, if you end up pumping, he could still get thrush because the milk will most likely be inoculated with yeast as it leaves your nipples. But also, he has already been exposed anyway. FWIW, my LO has not yet gotten thrush, even with as bad of a case as I had. I think that might be because my LC told me not to wash the cream off before I fed so my LO was getting some of it in her mouth as she ate (I double checked with my pedi who said this was fine and I'm a pharmacy student so I did some research about the drugs and references said it was fine too). Oddly enough, I only ever had the searing pain in my right breast, the left one never got as serious of an infection.
Anyway, good luck! It can be hard to beat and be really depressing since it takes a long time to completely clear up. But hang in there because it does get better.