Ask My Little Buddha
How do I tell if I have thrush and what is the best way to treat it?
Thrush is a yeast infection that breastfeeding babies get in their mouths, moms usually have a yeast infection on their nipples at the same time.
For babies, the symptoms are thick, white patches on their tongue (different from milk patches which are thin) and/or the sides of their mouths. Moms may experience shooting pain throughout nursing and red, irritated (itchy, burning, flaky or bumpy), sore nipples.
Often thrush happens without an obvious cause. Antibiotics can be a source because they kill the normal bacteria that keep the yeast from growing. We’ve found that wearing damp breast pads in bras triggers thrush.
While it’s common, thrush can be confusing to diagnose. Breastfeeding nipples may appear slightly red as usual (especially when nursing a newborn) and the shooting pain during feedings may seem like normal letdown. It’s important to get a diagnosis as soon as possible, a delay in treatment can make thrush worse and harder to clear. If we sense something is different than normal, we call our lactation consultant or pediatrician. Visiting in person is important so they can see what we’re describing.
Conventional treatment is nystatin (an antifungal) medicine for baby and nystatin or hydrocortisone cream for mom. Moms apply a cream to their nipples after nursing, and wipe it off before the next feeding.
For babies, we use a cotton gauze (like a first aid square), and rub their nystatin medicine on the yeast patches in their mouths. By applying it directly, they swallow less of the medicine.
The yeast infections for moms does not always respond to nystatin or hydrocortisone cream. A prescription cream of bactroban, lotrimin and hydrocortisone is very effective in these cases.
Alternative treatments include applying baking soda, grapefruit seed extract or gentian violet.
Whichever approach we try, we take acidophilus/bifidus for us and our babies, and cut down on sugars in our diet–both reduce yeast in the body. Disinfecting bras, burp cloths, pacifiers, etc. is also important.
Kelly’s had thrush a few times, once with a nine month old and then a newborn. The first time, it got better within a few days of using nystatin. With her newborn, she went undiagnosed for a week. The thrush got very painful during nursing. After trying grapefruit seed extract, baking soda, and nystatin, she used the bactroban cream and it got better within a few days.
Thrush can be confusing and scary at first, but once we figure out a plan to handle it, we feel calmer. We may try alternative approaches at first, and if we don’t notice a change within a day or two, get additional help. There are also oral medications for moms, which can be discussed with a pediatrician.
For more information, alternative and conventional treatments, and how to disinfect toys and clothes:
Kellymom (no relation)
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