Daktarin Oral Gel

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Just a quick question, my doctor advised to put this on my nipples before a feed and then after a feed (so that DD gets some in her mouth when she starts to feed and then I treat myself after I feed)

Has anyone else done this?

i did exactly the same and the thrush cleared up in a few days for dd and me

That sounds like a good idea and yes, I've done the same, but is your DD getting separate treatment for herself? A dab before a feed probably won't be enough for her.

My bf clinic ladies were horrified that my GP suggested this. Gel isn't absorbed so doesn't help the nipple thrush. Baby needs it properly applied inside the mouth. Daktarin cream for nipples. Perhaps if it 'works', the thrush was going to heal up anyway in that time.

So should I put a bit on baby's tongue as well? She's 2 weeks old?

I presume just a tiny bit?

And did you do it every time you fed?

Thanks

I was also told to do this. TBH I can't see a medical reason why the gel can't be used on nipples. You can't use cream in the mouth as it's not suitable for ingesting, but I don't see why a gel cannot be absorbed into the skin in the same way a cream is.

You're not supposed to use daktarin gel for newborns because of the risk of choking (it's quite thick) so they prescribe nystatin now I think (hasten to add - I'm not a HCP - this is only based on what I was told when DS2 and I were treated for thrush).

You have to squirt it into their mouths four times a day after a feed, so it stays in the mouth as long as possible.

But you need to see a GP to get it prescribed - I'm not sure why your GP would have advocated treating you but not the baby? Maybe your GP has some good reason for suggesting it this way round, but from what I was advised the tiny amount on your nipple would not be enough to treat the baby, especially since it wouldn't stay in the mouth long but would be washed down with the milk.

Nystatin isn't much good, the oral gel is fine so long as you don't squeeze a big glob into their mouth!

I was advised to put some on my nipple before a feed, and then smear a little round the baby's mouth afterwards with a clean finger (I used it on ds from a few days old too).

You can wait and see if the gel clears up your nipples too, but if it doesn't get some daktarin or canestan cream to apply to you nipples afterwards. I had mixed advice from GPs about cream vs. gel - one said the gel would be sufficient to treat me too, but when it didn't clear up I saw another one who said the gel wasn't designed to work on the skin and I needed cream (it did clear up then).

So there are mixed reviews about this - I hope it works?

I t seems to have stopped the itching on my nipples - it hasn't gone that far that feeding is extremely painful.

But it seems to have worked for some of you {hopeful emoticon}

I am using DAktarin oral gel now, it has helped a tiny bit with surface pain but not at all for constant deep breast pain so I now have fluconazole 200mg each day for 14 days.

I have had terrible advice from nurses, gps, and even my specialist ob/gyn who was sympathetic but had little experience of thrush in breasts said no point treating dd yet as she has no signs of thrush until we see if the fluconazole makes a difference for me. The problem is that no one seems to know anything about it so advice and treatment is haphazard.