Thrush not shifting :-(

[Dozeyland]

just will not go away.

in DDs mouth.. weve been using daktarin, and i took the fluconazole the other week.

maybe i need another tablet?

and keep applying gel?

Hey I feel your pain. How many tablets did you take? I only shifted it when I took a course for about ten days. Had to take a leaflet from the breastfeeding network to show dr which stated higher dose was needed. Will dig out. Link and send

I totally sympathise. I've had 3 weeks of tablets and it's still there. I think it's just so easy to reinfect yourself with bras and towels and bed sheets etc...

Here is the leaflet. www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/thrush-and-breastfeeding.html

My GP gave me fluconazole for 2 weeks as well as daktarin for both of us. I've been trying to take probiotics too. HTH

thrush is a symptom of having candida as a homeopath i would recommend you do a week without any yeast or sugar and that will clear it without you having to go down the antibiotic route, which I'm sure you're keen to avoid.

Someone told me that thrush thrives in sugar (and makes you crave sugar), so try cutting down. Can't tell you if that works, as not stuffing 6 biscuits into my mouth with every cup of tea is an impossibility.

Fwiw antibiotics are not for the treatment of thrush as its fungal not bacterial! Cutting out sugar and alcohol will help with persistent Candida overgrowth.

ow often do you sterilise dummies when dcs got thrush?

how often to change breast pads, bras, etc?

sorry, typing whilst feeding.........

on top of the very useful tips here i recommend using white vinegar mixed with water on the nipples a couple of times a day. I would sterilize things once a day, if i remember correctly.

Grapefruit seed extract tablets helped me shift thrush.

Change breast pads after every feed. I'd also swap dummies for a newly sterilized one often, at least as often as you apply gel to your LO's mouth

The white vinegar and water really helps - 1T white vinegar in 1 cup water. I stopped after my hv said it would make me sore and relapsed!

eyeofhorus: "thrush" is the common name for candida albicans.
It is a fungus, and not a bacteria. Antibiotics treat bacterial infections. Antibiotics tend to make thrush worse not better as the "good bacteria" are killed allowing the fungus to thrive.
Homeopathy has been shown to be of no clinical benefit. As one would imagine diluting something repeatedly until the concentration of it is undetectable is unlikely to be of any benefit.
You have made yourself look less than professional with your woolly advice.

I had 2 courses of fluconazole with DS1, but still had it. In the end I went to the health food shop and took super strength acidophilus, grapeseed extract and also smeared manuka honey over my nipples (oh the happy memories). It went after that. Good luck, it is completely demoralizing and you are doing an amazing job to continue.

www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/pdfs/BfN_Thrush_leaflet_Feb_2009.pdf direct linky for the BfN leaflet.

you need to take the fluconazole for 7-10 days after an initial higher loading dose.

and yes as well to the grapeseed extract. that worked a charm to get rid of it finally for us after several course of fluconazole.

Oh how I remember the agony. I took fluconazole (eventually) and took 150mg dose initially folowed by 50mg a day for ten days, it took until the last day to clear up. I continued to use Daktarin cream throughout this time and for another 2 weeks after. You need to treat thrush for a couple of weeks after all symptoms have gone to really kick it. I put the cream on after EVERY fed (and some times in between as well!). Thrush thrives in/on sugar and BM is really sugary so wash you boobs after feeding then apply cream. As others have mentioned, washing with diluted vinigar is good (this changes the pH of your skin and makes it a more difficult environment for the thrush to grow in). If at all possible, use something clean to dry your nipples on each time you dry them - after showers and post feeding wash downs, so you don't re-infect yourself that way. I got a load of flannels. Wash these on a hot wash to kill the pesky thrush off. Try to let air get to your boobs whenever possible. I was often walking round my house bra and topless (or with bra on but cups droped down, very attractive!). I also cut down sugar and took bacteria tablets (like yakult or similar but in tablet form) which I got from a helathfood shop. It took a combination of a lot of things before I got rid of it after about 10 weeks with it. I can really sympathise, it can be so agonising. Well done on keeping going.

I use a muslin to dry my boobs after every shower/bath (god knows I've got enough of them lying around the house!) rather than the towel, to help prevent re-infection.

I realised a couple of days ago that it might have finally gone, but no... must have reinfected myself almost immediately as they're back to stinging like hell.