# Thrush/Yeast- anyone else just leave it alone?



## malibusunny (Jul 29, 2003)

The bug and I had a close encounter of the yeast kind when I first started working again, and the ped gave us nystatin... it helped for a while but then the symptoms came back on me only. They show up periodically, when I'm stressed or hormonal (like, every time I ovulate or get my period) but only really last two days or so?

The midwife gave me a script for Jack Newmann's triple cream and I used it for one day, but if I'm not treating the bug, how useful would it be anyway?

Anyway, I guess what I'm wondering is if anyone else has just left yeast alone and what the result has been. I've been leaving it alone for about six months or so and it's less and less every time. Will our bodies just take care of it? Is there a benefit to allowing our bodies to just take care of it? What if I use the cream and just suceed in breeding cream resistant yeast?

Okay, I'm just going to be greatful that this is what I consider a "problem" these days.


----------



## cottonwood (Nov 20, 2001)

I've never used anything for thrush. I _would_ have used something the first time, as it was _so_ bad, but I didn't know what it was then and how to treat it. Subsequent over-colonizations have all been mild. I've never treated them and they have always gone away eventually.


----------



## Shianne (Mar 23, 2005)

I usually leave it alone. I do however take acidophilus and cut out sugar and carbs since they tend to feed yeast infections. I also give acidophilus to the little one.


----------



## ahuva (Aug 26, 2003)

I battled thrush for the first 2 months of my dd life, but it was only in her, never on my nipples. I tried a lot of things, including nystatin, gentian violet, diet changes, baking soda, vinegar, and even grapefruit seed extract for a few days. Then I decided the best thing to do was to give up and make peace with the yeasties, as I didn't have a problem and she didn't seem so bothered by it. I still give her probiotics and take them myself, and she still has some white patches in her mouth that come and go, but I figure she'll grow out of it. There's really no harm in overgrowth except discomfort, and I do believe our bodies will find their own balance.


----------



## AnditheBee (Oct 3, 2003)

I have a mild "bloom" right now, too, and acidophilus isn't helping anymore. I'm thinking of trying nystatin, but maybe I'll just leave it since, like you, I alone have the symptoms and they aren't bad. Our bodies do eventually defeat this stuff if we eat healthy.

It might be worthwhile to wash your breast pads and bras in very hot water, though, just so it doesn't get worse. (Question: How hot does it have to be to kill yeast? That's worth knowing!)


----------



## JillChristina (May 24, 2004)

Anyone else?

I noticed that my dd had thrush around 6 weeks or so. We tried the nystatin on her and vinegar rinses/antifungal cream on me (after every feeding). It seemed to help dd for a while but then the white on her tongue was back.

Then we tried gentian violet for her mouth (only one treatment so far) and my nipples. Didn't seem to do much except make a mess.

For well over a month now I've been taking garlic, 6 good probiotic caps, and 6 grapefruit seed extract tablets every day. It has helped me a bit but I can tell when I've had too much sugar as I get itchy breasts. DD's tongue looks pretty coated almost all the time.

I'm stuck between feeling like I should be doing more and hating being bogged down with trying to stamp out the yeast. I'd love to hear from anyone else who's just let the thrush be. Or anyone who has a good, easy way to rid the babe of it. I'm not too bothered by the thrush now but I hate to think it's bugging my baby.

Jill


----------



## kands (Aug 17, 2005)

We have battled thrush since the babies were two months old. For me, it never really goes away, only gets more tolerable. I am just so sick of changing bra pads every time I nurse, dunking my nipples in a vinegar-water solution, painting the babies' mouths with nystatin, taking Diflucan, the whole nine yards. All I do now is take probiotics and leave it alone. Right now I am having a bit of an outbreak and it hurts pretty bad, but I know that in a couple of days it won't hurt as much, so I am just hanging in there until that happens. I use Triamcinolone/Nystain ointment on my nipples once a day to keep the inflammation down.

I am not sure why we have this problem. I had some pretty substantial tissue damage on one side from my son's particularly bad latch (finally got him to nurse correctly at age 6 months!) and this is the side that is affected, so I am sure it has something to do with why I can't get rid of it 100%. But a pediatric dermatologist that we saw said that most babies outgrow thrush by age 6 months because their bodies start to be able to control yeast overgrowth. Of course, that has not been true for my two who still occasionally get yeasty-diaper rashes, but it has gotten better as they have gotten old.

Good luck--I know how NOT fun yeast can be!


----------



## JillChristina (May 24, 2004)

I am happy to report that completely out of nowhere, my babe's thrushy little tongue is clear!!







I have no idea what finally did it. She's been SUPER drooly lately with her hands in her mouth a lot. Could she just have scraped it off?

In any case, I'm just happy to see some improvement in her.

Jill


----------



## cjuniverse (Sep 22, 2005)

My boy's tongue has been white since the first day he latched. My breasts itch some days, some days not. I plan on leaving it be, and nursing through any discomfort. Our bodies can fix themselves if we let them.


----------

