Can I do anything about thrush?

[MrsHende]

Hopefully not TMI for a Monday morning!

I think I've got a spot of thrush. I went to the pharmacy on Saturday and the pharmacist gave me some Canesten but said that they wouldn't normally give it to someone pregnant without a prescription and that I really need to see the GP too. I'm now a bit frightened to take it - am I being silly and actually having worse thrush would be a bigger risk than waiting to see the GP (which may take a while)?

Any advice?!

if it is the pessary you sould be ok. i was told not to take the tablet as it goes in to the baby, not sure if it is true or not? any way i have also noticed natural youghurt is good and that if i have had too much chocolate or sugary foods it is worse. hope this helps x

Thanks Valiant, it's antifungal cream that she's given me so I guess that should be fine. Great, the itching might have driven me crazy!

also try and cut down on yeasty food (bread etc) avoiding sugary food and diary can help too

The cream should be OK. I eventually got a pessary from the GP that cleared it up completely within a few days and I've had no further problems. Before that I tried everything else:

Drinking cranberry juice
Eating natural yoghurt
Natural yoghurt on a tampon
Tea Tree oil in a bath
Being careful about soaps etc
None of which worked

Didn't get round to ironing my pants & trouser crotches - Ironing at all was a step too far!

I'd suggest using the cream sparingly but enought to minimise your discomfort mean time and get an appointment for your GP.

My pharmacist and GP told me I could use the pessary but to insert it with fingers, not the applicator (I guess the applicator can potentially do damage if inserted too high up). I have used this twice and it has cleared it up straight away both times. The cream really just soothes it, doesn't help get rid of the problem. I think recurrent thrush can also possibly be a sign of gestational diabetes so pharmacists usually like you to raise this with your GP/ midwife.

Live yogurt. Must be live. Must not be strawberry.

I had thrush last week - I'm now 11 weeks. I went to the dr who prescribed a pessary. He said I could use it with the applicator. I did and it worked within 2 days. It says on the packet not to use in early pregnancy so I checked with the dr and phamacy who both said it cannot be sold by a pharmacist without a prescription from a dr.

cream and pessary are fine.

Can't give you advice about medication but have you thought of taking probiotics? They sell them in health stores - you can get a strength suitable for pregnancy and among other benefits, can help avoid getting thrush?

Thanks so much guys for all the good advice! Went to the doctor today and she agreed with everything you've all suggested!