nipple infection (yeast)

nicole08709 · April 2014

Has anyone experienced this? My Dr called me in a RX..but was wondering if there's anything topical I can use on top of the antibiotic. I read monistat ? I'm in a lot of pain and want to get rid of this!! Thanks

ginger313 · April 2014

Hi there, I'm a complete lurker in the BF board, but I had a horrible case of thrush along with DD when we were BF. I hope someone here has some advice for you though, as I am expecting in July and would like to BF again. DD was on nystatin from 3 weeks till 3 months, when I threw in the towel and stopped BF.

I took diflucan once, used nystatin cream on my nipples, sanitized EVERYTHING everyday, even tried gentian violet on my nipples, and the thrush didn't go away for the both of us until I stopped BF.

It was such a disappointment for me to stop, and I wish I had seen a lactation consultant regarding this along with my OB and DD's pedi.

From my understanding, thrush is a yeast infection, like athletes foot, jock itch, and diaper rash. It thrives in warm, moist conditions. Air drying is supposed to help. I would assume that eating yogurt with live and active cultures and avoiding a lot of sugar would help your body to cut down the yeast production too, but this is all stuff I have come up with from reading about it, not from a professional.

Sorry for the long response, and good luck!

Naena · April 2014

I also had this, it cleared up right away after I started using the RX. The RX the Dr. wrote was topical, it is called nipple ointment (APNO). I had to get it at a special compounding pharmacy. Hang in there.

seawater · April 2014

Here's a yeast thread from a few weeks ago with lots of different treatment options. I actually never took the prescription and just did a combination of what's mentioned in the post. The APNO mentioned by PP can be made with over the counter creams as well (you can google it or call a lactation consultant for the recipe). It can take forever to get rid of too, so keep at whatever treatment option you choose for a week or two even after symptoms disappear and don't get discouraged. Yeast sucks.

https://forums.thebump.com/discussion/comment/81253004/#Comment_81253004

EDIT: Apparently I can't figure out how to post a link. The thread is called "pink/red nipples" and it's posted on the BF board on April 14th in case it still doesn't work.

nicole08709 · April 2014

Aww thank you so much for responding to me... I'm on week two of breastfeeding and want to give up everyday! ..I'm exclusively pumping now and it seems like this isn't meant to be! -engorged now this infection. It's definitely a huge challenge and waking up to pump every 2-3hrs is exhausting. My dr prescribed that diflucan for three days.. I talked with the lactation consultant and she also recommended that gentian violet and aqueous..also to make sure I'm always changing my breast pads .. I hope this clears up and I get some relief, I don't want to be in pain but I already feel guilty about wanting to give up.. Oh what is nystatian??

sschwege · April 2014

nicole08709 said:

Aww thank you so much for responding to me... I'm on week two of breastfeeding and want to give up everyday! ..I'm exclusively pumping now and it seems like this isn't meant to be! -engorged now this infection. It's definitely a huge challenge and waking up to pump every 2-3hrs is exhausting. My dr prescribed that diflucan for three days.. I talked with the lactation consultant and she also recommended that gentian violet and aqueous..also to make sure I'm always changing my breast pads .. I hope this clears up and I get some relief, I don't want to be in pain but I already feel guilty about wanting to give up.. Oh what is nystatian??

I'm not sure 3 day prescription will do it. Typically the prescription is for 2 weeks with a loading dose on the first day and meant to compliment other treatment, your doc is really pulling out the big guns by prescribing this right off the bat.

Dr Jack Newman is the bible in my mind when it comes to combating thrush. He really knows his stuff:

https://www.breastfeedinginc.ca/content.php?pagename=doc-CP

I would try to also get a prescription for APNO as pp mentioned, sometimes it can be hard to find because not all pharmacies can compound it, but my Walgreens was able to. Also Gentian Violet works well, though stains everything, so wear old clothes. Definitely find a topical treatment to use in combination with the oral meds (Dr Newman writes about it on his site, but uses the generic name Fluconazole). My understanding is the oral meds will stop the yeast from multiplying, but doesn't do much for what's already going on which is why a topical treatment and a probiotic are both good ideas. Good luck!

sschwege · April 2014

Oh and Nystatin is also a prescription med, which you can topically apply. The only problem with Nystatin is that yeast seems to be becoming resistant to it and it's no longer as effective as it once was. Personally I would go for the APNO first, it's an antibacterial, antifungal, steroid ointment.

Naena · May 2014

How are you doing? I should have mentioned this previously. When I had the yeast infection, it was the Lactation specialist that told me I needed the prescription, so I just called my Dr. and request it (I didn't go in to see her). I was feeling all the same things you were feeling. It even hurt to pump. It will get better.

htk1113 · May 2014

My lactation consultant gave me Gentian Violet. She also recommended an OTC topical cream for athletes foot to use after nursing/pumping. I don't have the name of it with me, sorry. But she said I didn't need to wipe it off because it wouldn't get absorbed into baby's system. The Gentian Violet worked in 5 days although it is messy.

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