| THRUSH – What is it? What do I do now? Why won’t it go away? Unfortunately I have quite a lot of experience with thrush. My second daughter started getting ear infections when she was 2 weeks old and had several more until she received tubes when she was 9 months old. Ear infections are treated with antibiotics and the use of antibiotics creates thrush. Thrush is a white cottage-cheese looking patch that appears in your baby’s mouth. It is basically a yeast infection in their mouth. While this sounds horrible, it supposedly doesn’t hurt. If you are a nursing mom, the yeast will get on your nipples. Your nipples will be red and scaly and it will definitely hurt when you nurse. When treating thrush it is important to treat both the baby and the nursing mom. My first experience was when my daughter was 1 month old. She had just finished up her antibiotics for her ear infection. I was nursing her and noticing quite a bit of pain while nursing. I thought she wasn’t latching on properly. Then one night I noticed a white patch on her bottom lip. I opened her mouth and saw the white curd like substance in patches all over her mouth. I panicked and called the doctor after-hours. He called me in a prescription for Nystatin. I was directed to give it to my baby orally, and to use the liquid to put on myself as well. It worked great, within a few days everything was cleared up. About a month later, we went through the same antibiotic cycle. This time, I gave her the Nystatin for about 3 weeks and the thrush was not clearing up. I went back to my doctor and he prescribed Diflucan. I gave it to my baby orally and also got a prescription for a two-week Diflucan pill for myself. This worked great, within a few days things got better. The third bout of the thrush came several months later. This time, I did some research and found out about Gentian Violet. It is a purple liquid you can buy at the pharmacy over-the-counter. I talked to my pediatrician and he said it would be fine to use this, but he also recommended that I take the Diflucan pill to get all of the yeast out of my body. So, I took the pills and then used the Gentian Violet on my baby. Basically, I dipped a q-tip into the liquid. I coated around nipples with the stuff, and then let her nurse. I did this in the morning and before bed for 3 days. It worked great, except for my baby had a purple mouth and I was getting weird looks from people. One thing to note, while I was taking the Diflucan pill for myself, I noticed I was having dizzy-spells. I finally put two-and-two together and read the medication bottle. It said dizziness and nausea was a side effect. I didn’t end up taking the medication for the recommended period because it was making me sick. With the use of the Gentian Violet, everything cleared up. It is such a horrible feeling when something is wrong with your baby. Luckily thrush is very treatable and fairly painless. And don’t let thrush push you to stop nursing! Nursing is a special bond between you and your baby. It is something that can be worked through relatively easily. My Ten Little Toes Lisa Lewis Mother of Two & Owner of My Ten Little Toes |
