Irritation during pregnancy (warning: might be too much info)

[LadyNoor]

Okay, some of you might find it's a bit too much info here and I apologise.

About a month a go I had thrush, and I went to my GP and she said it was ok to use Once Pessary. It seemed to work and the thrush gone. But the itchiness & irritation on the minor labia (inner lips) is still here. Not always, comes and goes. I seem to have much more discharge with this pregnancy than my first, and I think it has caused that irritation and itchiness. My midwife suggests to not to wash private area with soap, no matter how gentle it is (I usually use J & J top to toe), and just rinse with tap water. And she also suggests to put on a little water-based lubricant to help with the irritation. It seems to also work but does not eliminate the problems completely. I change my panty liners & undies frequently during the day, so I don't think hygiene is the problem. And I don't know about other women, but when pregnant my private seems to swollen and opens so the inner lips keep rubbing to my undies, maybe this contributes to the irritation too.

Does any pregnant woman out there experiencing these kind of problems at some stage during the pregnancy? And how do you cope until birth? I needs some inputs please as I still have 2 1/2 months to go and it's really uncomfortable!

[Muffy]

I would go back and see your GP, just to be on the safe side and to make you more comfortable

[Daydream Believer]

You can get a product from the supermarket called Femfresh for cleaning down there, its near the pads & stuff. I dont know what its like though

[MummaSue]

Are you maybe having a reaction to the panty liners you're using?
I have a lot of d/c and use liners and had to change brands a few times because I was getting irritated "down there" and it wasn't thrush or any infection.
Changing liners really helped and now I use a nice plain brand that I got at my natural health shop. Have had no problems since.

Hope you get some answers soon
Sue xx

[grub17]

i haven't had thrush but am pretty engorged down there with all the extra blood and such... I bought a heap of cheap men's undies as they have 'ball space' lol and i find not as constrictive on my bits... particularly in this nasty warm weather.

hope that helps and good luck sorting it out. oh the joys!

[Miss E]

Just wanted to let you know that you are not alone, I had exactly the same problem when I was pregnant. TBH I think it had more to do with the swelling and those bits being exposed to rubbing when they're not used to it. I also had a lot of discharge so would wear a pad (I found the cottons brand ones really good and the least irritating). If you can, don't wear any undies at night and try and wear a nightie so your bits get a bit of air and time without being irritated.

[Alan]

Hi LadyNoor
It sounds more like irritation than thrush. Changing your brand of liner may help and going without undies as often as you can is also a good idea. If you suspect that you still have thrush then you can buy a number of treatments over the counter so no real need to go to the doctor. Just be gentle when inserting the applicator.

[LadyNoor]

Thank you all so much for replies & inputs!

I feel relief already knowing it's common amongst pregnant women. As grub17 nicely put it, "oh the joys!"

I will hunt different brand of liners and try them until I find the one that's not irritating. I've been using the same brand for years and it's non-perfumed, so it didn't cross my mind this could be the problem but maybe being pregnant making me more sensitive this time.

I have been knickers-less in the past few weeks, as much as I could when I'm at home. So the liners probably the main problem. My 'pregnant undies' are bigger than what normally I use when not pregnant, so should be enough room there. Although I'm keen to try and see what wearing undies with a 'ball space' feels like! Sounds comfortable!

[HollyC]

I had thrush a while ago and saw a gp who said just to use canesten. I used the three day cream, and it improved, but still wasn't back to normal. I told my OB the next time I saw him and he said that pregnant women really need to use the 6 day pessary. After I used that things improved.

[BellyBelly]

Thrush During Pregnancy - Why You Are More Prone To Thrush

J&J are the WORST products for mother or baby... anyone really. They are petroleum/petroleum by-product products and if you google a site (I think it's called not too pretty) they have a toxic meter for all the major beauty brands and J&J rates very high especially for baby products. I would steer clear of it as well as douches, they all can affect the vagina's pH and natural flora.

It could be an irritation like Alan said, but if you have thrush then definitely get onto the probiotics asap, especially the good ones.

[Curly]

Yes I have this. I use Femfresh and roomy cotton undies and I also keep myself...ahem...nicely trimmed.

I had also read you aren't supposed to use pessaries or Canesten during pregnancy and to try natural yoghurt, but I found that once I was doing the above the irritation went away and I never needed to try the yoghurt, so it wasn't thrush, my skin was just extra sensitive.

[kawazuki]

i have this as well.. its annoying isnt there all the time, i find if i dont shave and keep hair to a minimum its worse. but bepanthen helpes me, soothed and stopped any infection, start at about 30 weeks and im now 40 weeks today.. so i can sympathise, and i find hot days or cold days dont affect it when i use bepanthen

[LadyNoor]

Thanks for more replies ladies.

I took another dose of Canesten, 6 days cream (thanks HollyC for sharing your doctor advice, though I can't use pessary as they seem to slide back out of me!). It improved for about 2 weeks then I noticed the thrush is trying to get back again (itchiness is the first thing I noticed). I haven't used soap since the first episode but have bought today the Femfresh, haven't tried it though.

Kelly, I'm sold. I've bought Fast-track priobiotics which I've started today after a long waiting delivery that got somehow mixed up, and perhaps the xmas rush had got the delivery delayed. Finally it arrived!

I start with 25ml dose twice a day and will see in 3-4 days if things improved. If not I think I'll up it to 3 times a day, if things improved I'll reduce it to once a day until birth (I know it benefits your body even when you're not pregnant but to me $70 per bottle + delivery is quite pricey!).

[studymum]

I have found thrush to be so persistent while I am pregnant, I dont get the full symptons or full blown thrush everytime but an itch that can hang around externally like you have described. If I left it untreated it would just get worse and it also caused my swelling to increase badly.

I found inserting the creme for the full 6 days would solve it for awhile and it would come back, so I have just resorted to applying it externally to where the itch exists and only going the full treatment when it is full thrush. I also used ice packs to reduce the swelling, and eat a heap of acidophilus yoghurt. Heard about some people actually using the yoghurt down there but I dont think I would be to keen to try that one.

My ob recommended laying down with no knickers on and letting everything have a good 'dry' out once a day, as the extra moisture and temp during pregnancy makes it heaven for the bacteria, no warm baths and only loose cotton nickers.

My first pregnancy I just treated it each time with canestan and it was alot worse, this time I seem to control it better by doing other things.

[LadyNoor]

Studymum, thanks for sharing.

I'm now applying the cream externally, it helps with the itch. I've been taking Fast-track for 2 weeks now. With these I seem to keep the it under control, I haven't had a full blown thrush since but it's not completely gone. My midwife suggested to go and ask GP for antifungal treatment (not sure what it is, will find out then meeting her/GP).

I wonder how thrush will affect labour? My midwife said it will not bother the baby but it will be uncomfortable for me, especially with stitches/grazes.

Has anyone birth while having thrush? What was the outcome? Was the thrush went away afterbirth? Did the baby somehow affected? Just in case I can't get rid of it I'd like to hear others' experiences.