nursing question: not sure my doc is right about how to treat yeast infection

[Anonymous]

My doctor saw me yesterday and prescribed nystatin cream to treat a yeast infection in my breast. I asked if my baby needed treatment too. She said to try out the cream on me first and see if it works before going ahead and treating baby as well. I've never had a yeast infection before and am now reading up on it online and her approach seems odd. It seems like the standard approach is to treat both mom and child. I'm not sure if she's taking this approach because my baby is a bit older (15 mo.) and nurses less frequently? Has anyone had luck just treating themselves for a yeast infection? Baby shows no visible signs in mouth. gums, etc... and does not appear to be having any pain or trouble nursing. Also, how long should it take before my breast starts to feel better? Thanks in advance for any advice on this.

[sybersus]

Is it your OB or your child's ped? I haven't had thrush, but I've heard the standard is to treat both parent and child at once. If it's your OB that gave you the prescription, I'd check in with the ped. Good luck -- hope you feel better soon!

[Anonymous]

It's my general doctor. I just left a message with the pediatrician. Also, doctor didn't say anything at all about cleaning sheets, etc... And I'm wondering how diligent I need to be on that front. Do I need to be washing sheets in hot water daily? Thanks.

[Anonymous]

Just write off your GPs treatment plan and see someone who knows what they are talking about. Does your pediatrician have a lactation consultant on staff? If so, speak with the LC and find out if the doctors are open to treating mother/baby or would be willing to coordinate care with your OB.

If that turns out to be a hassle I'd call Kathy McCue who is a LC and Nurse Practitioner out of Bethesda and she'll be able to treat it properly if she concurs with the diagnosis.

If you piss around with the full course of Nystatin it's likely not going to work and you'll just be waiting around while the infection gets worse. It will get very painful and difficult to get rid of if it gets deep enough in the milk ducts.

[Anonymous]

i'd treat it aggressively. pp is right about it getting worse and being difficult to get rid of. that said, i never treated my newborn because she never had symptoms and the diflucan i took was excreted in breast milk.

[Anonymous]

Forget the nystatin. Thrush is a bitch and goes back n forth like crazy no matter how often your baby nurses.

Go to Kelly mom and follow the tips. It saved us from a lot of trouble. I wish we knew about that the first time around. You gotta wash everything that touches your breast, milk or baby's mouth with boiling water every night until all symptoms are over no matter if baby shows signs or not.

In 3 days we were symptom free.

[Anonymous]

My thrush got so bad that I was in pain and was getting clogged ducts daily. I'm talking about clogs that you wouldn't believe. I went to the OB, got sent for an ultrasound, and even saw a breast specialist at a comprehensive breat center. The LC at our pediatricians office finally diagnosed me and got us on a course of Diflucan...after a month and a half of suffering I was all better in a week.

[Anonymous]

Treating thrush with Nystatin is like treating MRSA with Neosporin.

[Anonymous]

OP here: Thanks for the very helpful (and very funny!) responses. I'm going on Kellymom now to check it out. Will start washing linens now too! When ped calls back, I'll see if they have an LC and if they'd be willing to treat me too.

[Anonymous]

Is it in your breast (i.e, the ducts) or on your nipple? If it's on your nipple the cream is probably fine. I get yeast infections on my nipples from time to time and I just treat it with OTC Lotrimin.

[Anonymous]

kellymom poster here.

here is what I did - and became a pro after our 3rd case in 18 mos :

Got Gentian Violet from wallgreens to apply on my nipple and a steam bag for pacies, chew toys and pump parts.

First wash your nipples with vinegar, let air dry and DON'T BLOW ON IT!

Once it's dry paint it with GV and let dry, proceed with feeding the baby. Make sure you're both naked or wearing old clothes GV stains! Once baby is done again wash nips with vinegar and paint nip again. Let air dry and stay topless. The fungus thrives in dark wet environments so light and air will help to kill it.

Boil/sterilize everything that touches your nipples, milk or baby's mouth every single night including toys, linen and pump parts. Thrush travels back and forth like crazy.

Increase your intake of probiotics, give baby more yogurt.

Stay topless whenever you can, try wearing cotton bras and avoid nipple pads. If you must wear them toss it as soon as it gets wet.

It would take me 3-4 days to go symptom free and an extra day of treatment to get rid of it for sure. GL

[Anonymous]

I think your doctor's approach seems odd too. I never had a yeast infection before I had a baby either. Now that I've read up on it, I think it was from all of the antibiotics I got during labor since I was GBS +. Baby's per prescribed Nystatin for both me and baby. It would sort of work, but the thrush would come back. I just thought that BF was supposed to be tingly and painful. Anyway, we both finally had to get Diflucan which cleared us both up once and for all.

Genetian Violet stains everything, so if you have a spitter, beware.