pink nipples - the start of thrush?

[weddingcake]

DD 2 weeks old - bad latch to start with so nipples got sore, now feeding well but nipples still sensitive if clothes brush against them etc. Nipple tips are very pink and I'm wondering if this is normal at this early stage of feeding or could it be the start of thrush?

No idea really, but you could get some thrush cream and use it and make up a vinegar/water solution to wash them with before using the cream. No need to wash the cream off before nursing either. I have used this method many times. Catch it early just in case ~ especially if you want to continue to breast feed your Dd. Congrats btw

Can I just buy canesten over the counter and what proportions of vinegar/water do I use? Many thanks by the way.

I think I have same problem (2 courses of antibiotics post birth probably didn't help!) Seems like my baby's nappy rash is thrush as canestan is helping (apply 2-3 times/day). My gp told me to put same cream on nipples initially and see if that helps. It's just the 1% canestan cream - I got it on prescription but you can buy over counter. Has your baby got white spots on roof of mouth? If so go to GP as prob oral thrush and she'll need drops - mine hasn't got any sign of oral thrush yet but am keeping an eye out. Good luck!

I just did a 50/50 solution.

Also, when Dd had oral thrush, the drops didn't work and just made her covered in spots, I was told to make up a really weak solution of bi carb of soda/water and apply it on a cotton bud to babys white oral spots. Worked very quickly(don't use the same bud twice in the solution, so if you have 5 spots to treat, use a different end each time).

Yes to canesten over the counter ~ as dilbertina says, it's just the 1%.

Dilbertina, I had IV antibiotics during labour as I had/have GBS+ and I've had internal breast thrush around 11 times so far. Dd is 2.4 now though, so not quite as terrible as it sounds.

By the way, I got some individual cotton wool pads and soaked them in the vinegar solution, put a load in a zip lock bag and was able to have them at the ready and also easy to take out and about...use one side on one breast, turn over and use the other side then bin it. Just in case you were wondering, not trying to make you feel silly

Hiya, I've had internal breast thrush 3 times so far and I was told that the drops are not a lot of good, they certainly didn't help the one time dd was given them. The reccomendation is now daktarin oral gel ( a blob on your finger and rub it into the mouth tissues / tongue etc) as far as I know and there is also an alternative to the canesten because so many women found it sensitised the nipple too much. Pretty sure the alternative is also daktarin, then also you are reccomended to have a 10 day course of high dose fluconazole. Thats the bit that gp's have a problem with - if they haven't come across thrush in deep tissue before they are disinclined to believe its necessary.

It really is necessary. Once I was treated properly the thrush was gone completely by day 10.

BTW. have never heard of the vinegar / water solution on cotton wool, can I ask what the theory is behind it?

I have no idea. I was told by a lovely lady from Le Leche League. She also told me about the bi carb treatment for baby, though she did say that they are not 'allowed' to recommend that anymore because it is salt, but you use such a minute amount that there really isn't a great problem. You use that 4~6 times a day.
You use the cream/vinegar after every feed. You don't need to wash your nipples before feeding either.

I found that the Clotrimazole cream(which was the one the GP prescribed ~ I assumed for the value of it)plus the vinegar solution had it sorted within a week maximum.

solo I was misdiagnosed as "just having a poor latch" for 6 months with dd1, yes it was agony and apparantly I went white every time I fed her. By the time I was diagnosed the thrush was so deep in the breast tissue that it took the triple action of daktarin for baby, fluconazole and clotrimazole for me,( probably explains why it took a bit longer to clear up) I reacted badly to the clotrimazole ( which is fairly common apparantly) and was switched to the daktarin. Although you can take nurofen during breastfeeding it depends on the age of the baby as the nurofen molecule is appantly small enough to pass through into the breast milk. You are absolutley right about not needing to wash boobs before feeding, I was told to just wipe off any visible cream. Have never heard of the bi carb treatment either I was told that before the fluconazole was used the best option was gentian violet, but I have never investigated that one.

Hi weddingcake, just wondering if you have had any success in your treatment?

I only ask because this sounds a little like the symptoms I had and I was mis diagnosed with thrush and was in agony for ages while I went through the various treatments.

Turns out it was nipple vaso spasm - where the blood vessels to your nipples close up and cut off blood supply, starts off with nipples going pink, then red, then purple and white as it gets worse.

It can start off from some trauma to the nipple - eg a bad latch and is often triggered by the cold.

If this sound at all like your sypmtoms please let me know and I can give your more info - don't want this to turn into too much of an essay if it's not the problem.

I gave up breast feeding (very upset to do so) in the main due to sore nipples. Now almost a week since gave up and the ends of my nipples are still sore to the touch even through 2 layers of clothing. Towards the end I was having problems letting down which meant I squeezed my breasts v hard to try and release the milk (ended up giving myself mastitus). No sign of any white flecking on my nipples or babies mouth, been to docs and they didn't think it was thrush. Maybe it was nipple vaso spasm. What was the cure for this? Thanks.