AGONY!!! Thrush one year in? Anyone knowledgeable please help!

[infinitemonkeys]

I'm hoping someone can help me. I've been BFing for just over a year now, and everything's been going quite well, until a month ago LO had to have a course of antibiotics for an ear infection. About a week ago I noticed a few spots in the corners of his mouth, which I attributed to teething dribble, but now these have sort of grouped together into a whitish blister, and he's also got a bit of a white tongue.

For the past three days or so, BFing has been agony. Like, back to the first few days of BFing, toe-curling pain. I thought it was his latch, but that's fine, and I'm not due on or anything. My nipples look bigger and pinker, and I'm getting occasional deep boob pain between feeds.

I live in a country where there's very little support, but where you can buy pretty much anything over the counter, so I'm thinking of just going and buying Daktarin gel to treat LO and myself at the same time, after much Googling to find how thrush is usually treated. Would this be harmful?

Yes you definitely both need to be treated - are you able to ask for advice at the counter as to what is best?

Thrush can be caused by a wound on your breast - has your baby bitten you at all? I'd recommend getting lansinoh too OTC then you can use that once the thrush has gone - it's a lanolin cream and keeps any wounds air tight so thrush can't take hold

I haven't got any bites or anything - my theory is that his course of antibiotics gave him thrush, which he's then passed to me. I'm desperate for this not to be the end of our BFing journey (that sounds twee, but you know what I mean!) I'll try slapping on the Lansinoh - I have some left over from the early days. According to my extensive Googling, it looks like miconazole (SP?) oral gel for baby and cream for me is the usual option, but as I say, I'm sort of reliant upon what I can find online. Asking at the pharmacy isn't an option - they're not allowed to give that kind of advice and will just refuse to sell me anything and refer me to a doctor, who will tell me to stop BFing .

We had this after DS had some antibiotics. It was the most painful thing ever and nearly stopped us BF. I was in tears of agony each feed, it felt like my nipples were being sliced off with a knife.

I'm really sorry I can't remember what we did - I think it just cleared up after a couple of days.

I know that's not very helpful but wanted to say how horrible it is for you.

www.breastfeedingnetwork.org.uk/dibm/Thrush_and_Breastfeeding_Feb_2013.pdf

You poor thing I remember the pain of this well.
The link above has lots of useful advice.

I needed fluconazole to clear mine up.

Yes, google the breastfeeding network. They have info specifically about thrush. I needed drugs, plus drops for the baby. I sympathise with you, it * hurts!

I had this recently with my 1yo and it developed into mastitis because I could bare feeding from that breast!

I was given nystatin oral from the gp. I also had canesten from my nipple and daktarin for ds.

I've had thrush 3 times in the last tear and nystatin has worked every time xx

Thank you so much everyone for all your comments. I've been applying daktarin cream to me and oral gel to him and it's cleared up and I'm hardly in any pain at all now. Miraculous!

Unfortunately the thrush seems to have passed its way through his digestive system and now he's got the most horrific fungal nappy rash, but we're treating that with the daktarin and a hydrocortisone the doctor prescribed. Hopefully it'll have gone soon.

I am so relieved - I was so worried I'd have to give up BFing, and seeing as I'd come so far it was really upsetting me. Yay for medicine!