Breast and Nipple thrush can cause toe-curling breast and nipple pain.

This is no fun when you’re doing your very best to breastfeed for as long as you can.

Understandably, you’ll probably want to get rid of a nipple thrush infection as quickly as you can.

A fungal infection can often be treated with over the counter antifungal medication; for nipple thrush, however, topical antifungal cream alone might not be effective.

Signs of nipple thrush

Not sure whether you have nipple thrush?

The following symptoms might be a clue, especially if you have several of them:

Shiny or flaky skin on the nipple or areola
Itchy nipples
Sore nipples
Shooting pain deep in the breast
Yeast infections elsewhere in the body (e.g. vaginal yeast infection)
White patches on baby’s tongue or inside the mouth
Diaper rash on your baby’s bottom.

Does nipple thrush affect babies?

Nipple thrush is easily spread from a mother’s nipples to her baby’s mouth.

If a mother has nipple thrush, her baby might develop oral thrush, which can make the baby’s mouth sore. As a result, the baby might refuse the breast, become irritable or even lose weight.

A baby with oral thrush can also pass the infection back to the mother. That’s why it’s important to treat nipple thrush in both mother and baby, to break the cycle.

You should continue to breastfeed your baby while you treat nipple thrush.

Your breast milk also supplies your baby with valuable probiotics (among many other important things); although some formulas do contain some probiotics, they are no substitute for live breast milk.

How do I treat thrush on my nipples?

If you suspect either you or your baby has a thrush infection, seek professional medical advice. Your healthcare provider might suggest a common over the counter treatment or antifungal medication such as Fluconazole, Daktarin or Nystatin.

Natural treatments for nipple thrush

Making lifestyle and diet changes can also help address the root cause and might prevent future occurrences of nipple thrush or other thrush infections. Rebalancing healthy bacteria in your gut can help sort out fungal problems for good. No matter where in your body you might have thrush, the problem often begins in the gut.

If either you or your baby has been prescribed antibiotics recently, this could increase your risk of yeast infections. If you take oral contraceptives, they can also increase your risk of thrush.

Synthetic vitamins and stress can leave you more susceptible to thrush. A good naturopath can recommend a practitioner strength, quality multi-vitamin. Stress can be hard to reduce if you’re a new parent (especially if you also have nipple thrush) but you can brainstorm ways to reduce your stress. Even if that just means saying ‘no’ more often.

No matter what treatment path you decide to take, include making changes to improve your diet, as this is also a powerful weapon against thrush.

Foods that contribute to yeast infections

Here are the main culprits when it comes to any form of thrush:

Sugar. Thrush loves sugar. You need to eliminate as much as possible. This means no soft drinks, sports drinks, ice-cream, cordials, fruit juices, chocolate, and sweets
Grains. Grains spike blood sugar levels. Avoid grains in all forms, including breads, cakes, biscuits and cereals Instead, opt for things like hearty salads, omelettes, soups and stir-fry meals, which are full of protein and vegetables
Processed foods. Processed meats and dairy products (such as most sweetened and flavoured yoghurts)will do much more harm than good. Try eating more foods that are consumed in their natural form (i.e. fruits and vegetables).
Alcohol. Alcohol can aggravate thrush infections due to the sugars it contains. It is also a toxin and that can damage your immune system.
Caffeine. Cut back or eliminate caffeine wherever you can. There are some great herbal teas you can have instead; just don’t go completely cold turkey at first.

For information on breastfeeding safe teas, you can read BellyBelly’s article Tea While Breastfeeding | Breastfeeding Safe Teas And Teas To Avoid.

Natural remedies for thrush

There are lots of things you can do at home to help treat thrush.

Here are some suggestions in no particular order:

Nipple thrush treatment #1 – Probiotics

Probiotics increase the amount of good bacteria in the body. Thrush is like a battle of good soldiers and bad soldiers, so if you have nipple thrush, the bad soldiers are winning. By taking probiotics, you’re giving the good team more soldiers.

Many people are aware that some yoghurts contain probiotics but you can never be sure of their potency, due to shelf life. Often these yoghurts, or other foods, contain only one strain of probiotics; there are many existing strains of probiotics, all with different functions.

Remember, you need to treat yourself and your baby.

You can purchase probiotics especially designed for breastfeeding mothers.

Nipple thrush treatment #2 – Coconut oil

As well as using virgin coconut oil in your foods (or in capsule form) you can apply it topically for a range of conditions, due to its brilliant properties. Coconut oil is useful for a range of nipple problems and nipple thrush is no exception. You can make a paste of coconut oil and bicarbonate of soda, even adding some probiotic to the paste.

Nipple thrush treatment #3 – Vinegar and water solution

A simple vinegar and water solution can be effective for treating many things, even a minor nipple thrush infection.

Place the solution directly on your nipples, preferably after a breastfeed, not before.

Nipple thrush treatment #4 – Air dry your nipples

Give your nipples plenty of air time; ideally, try to spend some time in the direct sunlight.

Sunlight helps kill yeast, as yeast thrives in dark and moist environments.

Nipple thrush treatment #5 – Keep breastfeeding and check your latch

Many breastfeeding problems, including fungal infection, can result from an incorrect latch. A shallow latch can cause cracked nipples or tiny blisters where bacterial infections can grow.

It’s worth checking with an International Board Certified Lactation Consultant (IBCLC) to ensure your baby is latching correctly at the breast.

If you are struggling with the pain of breastfeeding and you don’t know what to do or whether you can keep going, you can also call the Australian Breastfeeding Association. There’s a free helpline, staffed with fully qualified volunteer breastfeeding counsellors.

Nipple thrush treatment #6 – Grapefruit seed extract

Jack Newman, MD and IBCLC, recommends trying oral grapefruit seed extract (N.B. not grape seed extract) for nipple thrush:

‘The active ingredient must be “citricidal”. Use tablets or capsules: 250 mg (usually 2 tablets of 125 mg each) three or four times a day orally (taken by the mother). If preferred, the liquid extract can be taken orally: 10 drops in water three times per day, although this is not as effective as the pills and the taste is quite bitter. Oral grapefruit seed extract can be used before trying fluconazole, instead of fluconazole, or in addition to fluconazole in resistant cases’.

Find out more: Citricidal Liquid Extract.