Breastfeeding Woes

Get help! Seek help from a lactation consultant or visit Dr. Jack Newman's web site. www.drjacknewman.com He has great advice for Candida/yeast infections. I'm a lactation consultant and almost every mom I work with who has yeast is wearing DISPOSABLE bra pads. Don't wear them, they are a big cause of yeast. Yeast is hard to get rid of, so seek professional help.

Thrush is a problem to consider. I breast fed three children. After every feeding I used a disposable nipple cup. It drys the breast and keeps it dry until the next feeding. Right before you put it on use some coco butter sold it the drug store very inexpensive. Coco butter will seal the nipple and make it easier to breastfeed the next time. It also helps with thrush for both you and the baby. Next child use coco butter on the nipples before the baby is born. It helps so much with tender nipples.

...after every breastfeeding....make sure you don't put your bra on while you're still wet....Get a little sun if you can. Ask the doctor which kind of topical ointment you can use in order to make sure it's safe for the baby. Hang in there, breastfeeding is very noble and your child is lucky. Good luck!
L.

This happened to me several time while breastfeeding my 2 kids. You can actually use Miconazole topically on the nipple area (the same type to treat a vaginal yeast infection). Just be sure to wash very well with soap prior to pumping and/or breasfeeding.

Be sure you tell your pediatrician because your baby also has thrush which needs to be treated, as well.

Both you and your child will need treatment as your baby likely has thrush in the mouth at the same time - and if both are not treated it will be passed back and forth. If you haven't, see your doctor(s).

Good luck.

you need to keep nursing! I had a nipple infection when my baby was just days old and you have to keep nursing even though it's painful. I never had a yeast infection though...but if you stop you can get really painful clogged milk ducts. Also let your breasts COMPLETELY dry after nursing. Sit there with them out in the air. Also you can squeeze out a little milk and coat your nipple with it. Breastmilk has antibacterial properties. I have heard you can even squirt it on little wounds (small cuts or scrapes). Breast milk is "magic" :) I used to make the mistake of putting my bra back on right after I was done nursing. I had really itchy and hot boobs and it just didn't feel right. i called the lactation consultant and she's the one that said to let them fully dry and put the milk on my nipples, oh and then let them fully dry after that. Hope it helps, but do not stop nursing/pumping

If it is definitely a yeast infection (thrush), you should get treated right away. Since it is Sunday, call you OB and have them call in a prescription for some Nystatin cream. If your baby has the thrush also, which they usually will - they will have white in their mouth. They will also need to be treated with a liquid Nystatin. It is important you both are treated because you can pass it back and forth. If your OB needs to see you, go tomorrow! A prescription of Dyflucan is important to get, also. It's an oral med for you. You will need it for at least 10 days. All the research shows this, yet many OBs don't do it. My lactation consultant said at least 10 days right away. The most important thing is to get on this right away. My daughter and I passed thrush back and forth, and it got into my milk ducts. It was very painful. This happened because I wasn't put on Dyflucan right away. Make sure also to change your breast pads often and wash your bras a lot. If it doesn't go away after your first round of Dyflucan, call you OB for another 10 days. That is what it took for me to get rid of it! Best of luck! You can get through it and breast feeding is worth it!

If you have not called your Dr. yet call right away! This ia big thing! It took me ten day of meds and two weeks of pumping and dumping to get rid of a nasy yeast infection that had traveled into my milk ducts. The meds had to be so strong that I could not nurse at all and it made my milk a pale green color. It was VERY painful and the infection was so bad that that I had to use vinegar or bleach to wash everything. I had to work very hard to make things better and in the end had to stop nursing because my milk production was greatly decreased and my 7 month old was not getting enough milk. Blessings! I hope your feeling better!

Ok here it goes. I had the longest, worst case of thrush with my 3rd.

You can make your own solution of half vinegar half water and put it on your nipples after nursing.

Make sure you stay as dry as possible.

You can also make your own nipple cream with antibacterial/anti-fungal and something else which escapes me at the moment but I can send you the mixture via email.

Oh I also got some VSL#3 I think it is called. It is a probiotic sold at peoples pharmacy. It made me feel immensely better.

You can treat yourself and the baby with nystatin, diflucan or gentian violet. It seems as though Nystatin might not be as effective as it used to be. Sometimes I just debated going straight to gentian violet.

If you have a mild case any of those should help. But if it is a bad case that is more persistent you can find some great information at: http://www.breastfeedingonline.com/newman.shtml

Good Luck!
J.

The baby has the infection also, it should be treated at the same time. I had this problem with my daughter and was told to use peroxide it worked she fought it because am sure it tasted bad but it was gotten rid of. Please check with your Dr. also.

This works so well--it even worked on a friend who tried the prescription stuff with no luck:
Mix 1 tsp baking soda in to a cup of warm water till it dissolves. Each time after your baby breastfeeds, scrub your nipples (gently, of course) with a washcloth/q-tip/whatever with the mixture on it. Also make sure you wipe out your baby's mouth--tongue, roof, sides, everywhere you can get. The key is being diligent and staying with it until it is really gone. I kept stopping too soon and it would come back. When I finally kept doing it for a week or so it stayed gone. Good luck. Those are never fun!

K.

Please contact a breastfeeding-friendly pediatrician or a lactation consultant. I know of a lactation consultant in the B/CS area. Let me know if you need her name and number.

A good article / resource can be found at: http://www.llli.org/NB/NBMarApr06p58.html

Good luck getting rid of the yeast infection and thrush!

Call your OBGYN for yourself and pedi. for your baby. They can treat the both of you. I am assuming you have not been treated. Yeast in the breast can be painful so I would not delay and your baby more than likely has thrush in his or her mouth. You may already know this, but again I am assuming. You will probably need treatment with Diflucan and your baby with an oral fungal solution. Perhaps some of the moms have a more natural remedy, but I would "nip it in the bud" so you can nurse comfortably. Blessings!

The best thing for yeast infection on your breasts is to make sure they are air dried (as best you can) after each feeding.
You can wash them with a gentle soap and, but usually warm water should be good.
After breastfeeding, wipe your nipples with the a wet wash cloth and air dry or fan your nipples dry.
Yeast love warm, wet, dark places and bras, diapers, vaginal areas are perfect places for yeast to party.
If there is cracking or the baby has yeast on his/her tongue, you should call your child's MD to ask for an appointment for nystantin. If you have it enough that it hurts, call YOUR doctor for nystantin.

Hope this helps.
P.

I'm currently going through that, I put Nystatin (prescription) oral suspension, the same thing that my baby is taking. The doctor said to try to have as much air as possible, so no bra for periods of time. And also, change your nursing pads as frequently as possible to avoid moisture around the niple.
Good luck

My oldest son is almost 9. We had this (called thrush) when he was an infant. I used gentian violet. This is purple liquid that kills the yeast. I put it on my nipples and he had quite a purple face! It did the job, though. Good luck!

I carried on breastfeeding and pumping. But you have to be extremely careful about being clean. You can only use a towel once to dry yourself after a bath then it needs washing on high temperature and I was told to use bleach and vinegar in the wash as well. Also bras and tops can only be worn one day then have to be washed. All pumping equipment needs to be sterilised after every use as do any nipples for bottles which is normal anyway. Also I had to use a cream on my nipples and my son had to have a medicine called niastatin (not sure that's right spelling) put in his mouth. After a week we were clear.

Hope this helps.
S.

If you're sure that it is yeast/thrush...expose your nipples to as much fresh air as possible. Use a hair dryer to warm and dry after bathing. Gentian violet is also a common treatment and is easily available--it is also good for ring worm which you'll deal with later on in your child's life.

Check this site:
http://www.bflrc.com/newman/breastfeeding/gentviol.htm

Hello,
I used Grapefruit Seed Exctact (GSE) from Whole Foods. It is all natural and digestible for you and baby. I used it on my child's mouth for Thrush, as well. You use 10 drops of GSE to 1 oz of filtered water, mix and apply with a q-tip. No double dipping. It is a very effective disinfectant, it tastes like soap. Try and do it every hour, on the hour for a few days and see if that helps. You could probably look it up on line, because it has a ton of uses, like cleaning toothbrushes. I would take it internally for Candida (15-20 drops with cranberry juice). I remember that air drying ur nipples helps alot, yeast luvs to grow in warm, dark areas, I understand ur pain. Stay away from Diflucan, it will only come back, and hides the bigger problem, of Candida through out your body. Good luck!

Ask the doctor, thrush/yeast can get transferred to the baby's mouth so you both should be treated.

You may need to go to the doctor and get a prescription for something. When you nurse, your baby can develop thrush in his/her mouth from this. I did hear that you can wipe the nipples after nursing with equal parts of warm water and vinegar mixed. I never tried this and am not sure how effective it is. Good luck!

call the dr ASAP!!!!!!

Call your doctor and your baby's pediatrician. Your doc will give you a diflucan pill and give your baby a medicine in a dropper for thrush. Very easy to manage. But hurts like nothing else in your life. I had it in my left breast and I felt like someone was trying to rip my spine out through my nipple. And I'm sure it wasn't any fun for my daughter either. You should feel better within a day or two. Make sure you clean the nipple with a warm cloth and mild soap and rinse well right before feeding. That should help decrease the risk of infection, but not by much. And just so you know the drops for your baby are rancid smellling, but that's normal. Hope you feel better soon.