Thrush in a newborn - poor poppet :(

DD who is 4 weeks was diagnosed with thrush today :(

She has been extremely distressed on the breast the last few days and screaming to feed but at the same time pushing away from the breast very upset. I've still managed to feed her enough (wet nappies etc) but I couldn't work out what was going on with her/us.

The GP has given her Nilstat oral drops 0.5ml to be taken 4 times a day orally.

He has told me to apply Canesten cream to my nipples but to wash them before feeding. The Pharmacist was surprised I was to use the Canesten cream on my nipples.

I'm to wash using non soap washes otherwise it will be alkaline which the fungus likes.

Has anyone else had a newborn/baby with thrush and what did you do to clear it up? Are there any other techniques I can use to feed her to reduce her distress? I haven't ever pumped before (I don't even have a pump). The ABA told me to get it sorted ASAP as it may affect my supply - I don't think it has so far, and that she may go off my breast if it causes her pain and distress. I find this distressing!

I'm really annoyed with another GP as I had a swab taken over 2 weeks ago as I had a suspected uterine infection and they never rang me with the results (that I had thrush!) even after I followed it up several times in the week following the test. They said someone would ring me if there was a result :wall: sure I didn't have an infection but I had thrush. We could have avoided the pain for DD the last few days. The irony is after been dosed up with ABs after her birth due to a tear, the GP gave me MORE ABs which would have only exacerbated the problem...

Its been a really distressing day as DD has been pretty inconsolable and only able to nap between crying so is now overtired too.

How annoying!
You're on it now - it'll get better within the next few days I guess. Well done keeping the feeds up, it can be challenging when they're in this sort of discomfort. How are the nipples? I know they can get quite sore with thrush.
Dont' forget to dose yourself with some probiotics too
If she's distressed at the breast, one thing you can try is changing the setting. Feeds in the bath for eg can be a nice distraction.

You can use Nilstat or Daktarin on your nipples rather than Canestan, and you don't have to wash it off before feeding.
:hug: hope it clears up soon.

You poor things :hugs:

DD and I passed thrush back and forth to each other for many months before we got it cleared up. I would use the oral daktarin too on your nipples. You can feed with it on and it treats you both. My Dr told me to use both Nilstat and Daktarin. I hope things improve soon babe, thrush is not fun at all xo

I will third using the nilstat or daktarin. Bunny and I got thrush couple of months back and they just gave us the one tube of daktarin. Treats us both at the same time which is really awesome, that way it was out of the way very quickly. No months of transition back and forth.

I used Daktarin also.
Just wanted to add that the pharmacist suggested treating for an extra week once symptoms seemed to have subsided as it will ensure all residual thrush is gone. I had trouble with this as I happened to have lots of visitors around the week it seemed to get better and was a bit lax at applying and of course the symptoms came right back :doh: That said, the Daktarin began to work its wonders within 24 hrs as I caught it quickly. (When I had thrush with my first DD, it was not treated as quickly and took a little longer)

Other great advice is to wash and sun all your bras etc as the thrush will be sanitised in the sun and try to air and sun your nipples if you can too. A course of probiotics is also a great idea to get you fighting the thrush from the inside too.

So sorry you had to deal with this when it could so easily have been avoided. So frustrating! Poor little poppet.

Eating natural homemade yogurt and putting it on your nipples in conjunction with a yeast-free, low-gluten/low-cane sugar diet and increasing the acidity of the stomach by increasing the intake of vitamin C works heaps better than Canestan, Nilstat or dakarin IMO. I know it sounds like a lot more work, and it is (we have to live on this diet permanently at the moment), but the reality is those medications simply treat the visible symptoms (white spots in the mouth etc.), but not the cause - the cause is more than skin deep. If bub has oral thrush, she has candida overgrowth in her gut too. Just like vaginal thrush, oral thrush is simply that overgrowth becoming more visible and expanding to other parts of the body. You can just treat those areas, but I personally just consider them "overflow" areas, and treating the gut is the only true cure for thrush. I would suspect her reaction to trying to feed is more to do with the upset tummy caused by the imbalance of bacteria in her still developing gut than pain/sensitivity in the mouth alone. Taking an inner health plus can also help, but the yogurt is better because unlike the probiotic supplements, the good bacteria in foods makes it into the lower intestine, whereas supplements often only survive to the large intestine. Yeast (aka trush) grows little tentacles (like an octopus) that rip tiny little holes in the gut and this causes leaky gut which can lead to food intolerances/allergies among other things, so it's really worth taking the time to treat the source rather than just the overflow areas.

Thanks for all your advice. DH went & got the Daktarin but it says not to use on under 6 month olds, so is it still ok though to use on my nipples? I will continue with Nilstat for DD for now.
DD finally had big sleep & woke up much happier & fed quite well. Trying to keep everything clean & uncontaminated which isn't that easy! Will try the yogurt & I'm on probiotics already.
DD has a vaginal rash & GP prescribed Dermaid which has an active ingredient. I'm wondering whether there is something less strong I could use?

The reason they say not before 6 months is because it is thick and they worry about babies chocking on it if people put it on a spoon and in babies mouth.

Can rub on nipples and apply in baby's mouth wing a finger as long as not a massive blob that could cause baby to choke. Nilstat is much easier to use for baby!

Hope you are both better soon.

The LC I was seeing told me specifically to get the Daktarin for Pie - she said, 'the chemist will give you a spiel about it, tell them your LC said it's ok' - well they still wouldn't give it to me :lol: but I suspect it's probably as Feeb said, the thickness of it, rather than any ingredient in the Daktarin ITMS.
I'd use Daktarin on your nipples & Nilstat for bub, and also second Jackrose's advice.

Thanks again! I'm off sweets/sugar/yeasts now and washing everything, putting things in the sun eating yoghurt etc.

What should I be using on DD red bottom? The GP prescribed GP Dermaid which has an active ingredient which I think is quite strong and it doesn't say its for thrush but for irritations etc. I'm wondering whether there is an alternative I could use?

Try Daktozin on bum - it's an anti-fungal nappy rash cream. I use Caneston laundry rinse in the nappy wash. A naturopath friend suggested acidophilus powder, put on nipples before a feed - it will strengthen her resistance to it. Miss A has been getting bum-thrush (ie: only as an external rash in the nappy area) since she was a week old but hasn't had it anywhere else. Downside of living in the tropics. It clears up straight away with Daktozin but returns within a few days of stopping it. Good luck sweet :hug:

Oh hun we had the same thing with DD2, it's just horrible!

We tried everything and nothing got rid of it - until we tried Fast Track (the liqiud form of In Liven) - I gae her 1ml 3 or 4 times a day and it was gone so fast (and never returned).

You can get it through the BB on line store I think - it is expensive but worth every cent xxx

Can't see the Dermaid working on her bottom, it's a cortisone-based cream and doesn't do anything for nappy rash or thrush. Check with the chemist, often they are better with over the counter medications than drs because they are the ones responsible for dispensing it.

We used pawpaw ointment on nappy rash, but if her's is thrush, then you'll probably need something else.

The MCHN said to use Daktarin for DD's mouth & my nipples when she was around the same age. She aid it was fine as long as you rubbed it into their gums, cheeks etc with a finger & not just squeeze it into their mouth

I feel for you hon. I had cracked nipples/thrush and DD2 had thrush in her mouth from birth and we used Nilstat drops in her mouth and on my nipples and it worked like a charm. She wasn't distressed about it though so I feel for you even more. I hope it clears up really soon.

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We used pawpaw ointment on nappy rash, but if her's is thrush, then you'll probably need something else.

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If she's treating the gut, pawpaw is as good as any other barrier cream.

Killing off the candida will often cause nappy rash, because the bacteria needs to go somewhere and as the gut becomes less yeast friendly it gets evicted out the only way it can.

The LC/GP I saw (and yes she was a qualified LC and GP) said she didnt think Nilstat was much good. She suggested Daktarin as other people have suggested. I also used to wipe my nipples with 1/4 tsp of bicarb mixed with water before and after every feed. If you use breast pads make sure you change those regularly too.

How critical is it to treat oral thrush?

My DS has it but doesn't seem to be bothering him at all. It does explain why I had a small crack on my nipple take over a week to heal, but once that was gone everything is fine. I'm very much of the drug-avoidance school of thought. He does get thrush nappy rash fairly often though, the daktozin works great on that.

Cutting down on sugar though ... hmmmmmm. I like sugar. It shows :shhh:

I think that you should treat it - leaving it alone might lead to cracks that take ages to heal and let in bacteria which would lead to you needing antibiotics - much tougher on Theo than topical thrush treatment.

Hi Dusty - I'm hoping you come back to this thread. I have nipple thrush and I feel like it's pretty bad, although DS seems to be thrush free. I have an app't with the GP on Monday because the Daktarin (on my nipples and in DS' mouth) is not really doing much. I'm also taking probotics and cleaning my nipples with a water/bicarb mixture after every feed (before air drying and applying Daktarin). I'm wondering if you found anything that really worked for you - how did you kick the thrush out of your lives? Thanks.

Hi Julie sorry have to be quick now but I also used disposable breast pads instead of cloth changing them each feed & washed my bras more frequently. Even if bub's mouth looks clear the thrush may still be there so keep using the gel for at least a week after you are both clear. I hope it clears for you both soon :hug: xx

Thanks Dusty. I'm doing all that - going through disposable breast pads by the box! and just washed one of my bras in extremely hot water even though it's bad for it. I think I'm going to need a prescription - I'm really uncomfortable and can't see being able to put up with this pain much longer.

How is it going hun? I hope you got to see a dr and that things are improving. I only had it in one nipple and that was bad enough :comfort: xx

Saw the GP - she could tell from across the room that my nipples had thrush! She put me on a 3 dose course of diflucan to take over 6 days (alternating days) so I've taken 1 dose and maybe have a tiny bit of improvement. She did also say that DS has it in his mouth but very mild. I'm hoping that between the diflucan and the other steps I'm taking it will clear up. It's really an awful thing! I'm a bit annoyed that when my OB put me on antibiotices, I wasn't warned of this and told of certain steps I could take to lessen the chances of getting thrush.

I hope this breaks the back of it hun. I too was so annoyed no one warned me of the risk with ABs. Being a new mum you already have a lot of stuff going on that is new & challenging without having to think through the possible medical consequences. Let me know how you go xx