How to avoid thrush?

[Fi]

Hi all,
I've only had thrush once in my life, last pregnancy, but I'm really worried I'm going to get a dose now.
I have a gross thing on my nose (my nose is huge, its all covered in scabs and has been weeping for about 2 days, plus my glands are up), I went to my dr today, and she has said I've either got a cold sore (which I've never had before) or I have a Staph infection.
So she has taken swabs, and is sending them away, plus I have a followup visit on Thursday for the results, but she has given me a course of antibiotics in the meantime. Apparently Zovirax is not recommended in pregnancy.

I'm stressed out that since I am already completely run down (another long story) being on these antibiotics is just going to result in me getting thrush, which will mean another week of cream up there as I have been advised not to take the one dose treatments in pregnancy.

Any suggestions on what to do to avoid it? I was thinking about going and getting some yakult. Will that do it? Is there anything else I can do. I was thinking along the lines of inner health plus, or perhaps ensuring only cotton clothing, but since I'm not a pro in this, I dont really know what to do.

Any suggestions would be great

[BellyBelly]

You need some In-Liven Fi - 13 strains of pro-biotics and mega strength - see the banner in the forums - others have been able to rid long standing thrush when nothing else was working Also cut back on sugar consumption they feed on it. In-Liven is organic so not fast tracked in foecal matter like other brands and it will make you feel GREAT.

[Tigergirl1980]

Eating youghurt is good and you can also insert a finger covered with natural yoghurt up in there too, that's supposed to work really well.

[Lucy]

All of the above! In-Liven, yogurt up your hoo ha, totally cut out sugar and yeast, cotton knickers (or no knickers and fresh air if you are able!)

The pessary canestan (6 day course) is OK in pregnancy......I always use it as a preventative measure JIC if I have to take antibiotics.

Good luck Fi.......it is a shocker, I know, and I have only had thrush in pregnancy (and nipple thrush with Charlie and BF) so I have been on a mission this pg to avoid it......hope your nose gets better too.......

[DoulaRelle]

I have actually just been to the chemist about thrush today and checked with the chemist as we are sort of TTCing and when he checked his little book, he said that difflucan 1 is not really recommended in pregnancy, but the canasten once only cream or pessaryt is fine!

[Melinda]

Yoghurt is definitely good - eat it every single day if you can.

FWIW, I had the start of a cold sore towards the end of my PG with Jacob and talked to my OB about it and he said I could use Zovirax. Every chemist under the sun said no, as they say that the active ingredient, acyclovir, is not safe during PG, however my OB said it was fine to use?! Go figure.....anyway, I used it and Jacob turned out ok. It's a matter of personal choice I would think though and obviously it's best to follow the professional advice that you personally have been given!

Poor sausage.....I hope things are looking up for you soon and you avoid the thrush. You do sound a bit run down mate.

[BellyBelly]

You shouldn't take pro-biotics when on anti-biotics as the anti-biotics will only kill off the pro-biotics So start the pro-biotics after the anti-biotics

Prevention is always better than cure in my books, Fast-Tract is pure pro-biotic and more potent than In-Liven and more easy to take too, tastes better. Start with Fast Tract, I should have said that before! Der! Inner Health only has a couple of strains of pro-biotic, In-Liven and Fast-Tract are far superior and also organic.

https://www.bellybelly.com.au/misc/mivitality-inliven

What kills good bacteria in the body?

Antibiotics
Birth control pills
Steroidal / hormonal drugs
Fluoride
Chlorine
Coffee / Tea
Carbonated drinks
Synthetic vitamins
Radiation
Stress
Preservatives
Additives
Pesticides
Fertilisers

[AnyDream]

Hi, Understand the dilemma. Hope the nose thingy heals up soon - not pleasant!
I find I can usually beat a mild case of thrush by being really careful to eat a super low-GI diet for a few days. Eating a tub cultured biodynamic yoghurt really is good (but it might take a few days for the benefits to be felt). Also garlic and garlic capsules can be good (but I'm not sure about appropriate dosage in pregnancy - I remember taking quite a lot to deal with intestinal bugs when i was pg and had no problems ). The other thing you can do is use creams like canesten etc externally only until the lifestyle measures get your internal balance back again, as a compromise.

Re cold sores - if that is what it is, I have had excellent results from using Blackmore's pimple gel when I've got one coming up, it seems to stop them in their tracks. Also good for other pussy skin conditions. It has tea tree oil, myrrh and echinacea in a gel that you rub in. Might be worth a try?
:-)

[BellyBelly]

Click the link in my last post Brooke it explains both of the products which are amazing. There is a general chatter thread for it in the Health section as many BB women are on it (including myself) and are raving about it. it's BRILLIANT.

[Melbo]

I'm another one who has found success with plain unflavoured yogurt up the hooha. Do it at night though or you will be feeling slushy all day.

(Excuse my plain speaking).

[Fi]

Thanks heaps for all the suggestiosn guys. I feel like a twit cause I have just eaten a bread filled morning tea with a cup of tea....... But at least I'm wearing loose cotton undies Just goes to show how little I know about this huh?
Nothing itchy going on yet. Hopefully all will be OK. Last pregnancy (the one I m/c) I got it right at the beginning after a dose of sex - shane is currently sleeping in the spare room, so not much chance of that. Other than that, I've never had thrush, so here's hoping I wont this time!

Last time the pharmacist made me call the royal women's hossy in Melb to check with them about thrush creams, and they confirmed that as long as it was the 7day treatments, it would be fine in pregnancy.
As for the Zovirax - apparently there is inconclusive proof either way, so Dr said to avoid it.

My nose is gross - just ask Bec. Its twice the normal size and covered in scabs. Total grossout!!

[BellyBelly]

Your body is low on good bacteria, which is common in pregnancy - see the article on common pregnancy ailments on the main site which has lots of info on thrush. Creams etc will kill it, but if you dont boost your good bacteria you may well just get it again if you have so much of it. It's also a symptom of a problem, perhaps you could look at what's causing it and fix that rather that the symptoms? Sounds awful you poor thing...

[Lucy]

Fi, if Shane is ever let out of the spare room, (so to speak!) and you do DTD, make him lube up with Canestan........my pregnancy thrush always seemed to be triggered by DH/a shag, so I now enforce it!! (Apparently blokes, no matter how "clean" they are, can carry thrush without any symtoms........)

[Kar]

Fi
the other thing that I found really set thrush off for me was washing my girly bits with normal soap. The pH is all wrong and sets up the right environment for an invasion. So just when you think you are being incredibly clean and preventative - you in fact cause yourself big problems.

Either just use water to wash your girly bits or get a soap or equivalent with a low (acidic) pH. Alternatively some shampoos have low pH. You can use that instead. If you can't find any of those then rinsing the area with a 1 in 5 dilution of white vinegar will also help keep the pH in the right range.

I also avoided all white flour, yeast and sugars.