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Feb 24, 2010
The Identification and Treatment of Thrush
By Cheryl Taylor, CBE Thrush is a yeast infection that can present itself in your baby’s mouth or on your nipples. When thrush is in either of these locations, you may also find the yeast deep in the breast tissue, vaginally or on your baby’s diaper area. When the yeast infection presents itself, it may be in all or one of these locations. Symptoms of thrush may include:
If you or your infant contract thrush and present yourself to your Pediatrician, you are likely to be sent home with a prescription for Nystatin. It is the most commonly used medication when dealing with thrush. There is a liquid medication for giving to the baby, and a cream that can be placed on your nipples. Other treatments used are Gentian Violet and Diflucan. My reservations with beginning with the above medications are that the Nystatin liquid contains sugar to make it palatable enough that baby will swallow it. However, yeast feeds on sugar. This may be the reason why it is often not effective. Gentian Violet is effective, but stains skin purple for several days. I have some lovely photos of my twins with purple faces! Diflucan is very effective, but can cause intestinal distress in mom and/or baby. For these reasons, I prefer to begin with Grapefruit Seed Extract as the first line of defense. I have found that the use of Grapefruit Seed Extract as recommended almost always brings rapid relief and an elimination of the yeast imbalance. Grapefruit Seed Extract is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial compound synthesized from the seeds and pulp of grapefruit. It is an extremely potent and effective broad-spectrum bactericide, fungicide, antiviral and antiparasitic compound. Tests have shown that GSE is dramatically more effective than Colloidal Silver, Iodine, Tea Tree Oil and Clorox bleach against five common microorganisms. In studies performed by Dr. John Mainarich of Bio-Research Laboratories in Redmond, WA, samples of each of the common antimicrobials or sanitizing agents were evaluated for effectiveness against Candida albicans, Staphylococcus aureus, Salmonella typhi, Streptococcus faecium and E. coli. The other antimicrobials tested were considerably less effective than the GSE. GSE is extremely effective in the treatment of thrush. I also find it to be the easiest place to start. If used diligently, it typically will clear up thrush within a couple of days. Treatment of thrush with GSE
If treatment with GSE seems to leave your nipple area dry, I suggest applying a light coating of Vitamin E oil in the following manner: First apply the GSE solution, allow that to dry or use a hairdryer to dry it completely, then apply a light coating of Vitamin E oil. I would suggest doing this 3 to 4 times a day until the dryness is gone. It should only take a couple of days to show significant improvement. The Vitamin E oil should absorb into the skin thoroughly prior to the nursing following the application. I’m a big fan of Lansinoh, but do not use it when dealing with thrush, because it provides a moisture barrier that is counterproductive to getting rid of thrush. Since learning of the powerful antimicrobial that Grapefruit Seed Extract is, I have always kept a bottle in my home for many uses. For more information on GSE:
For prevention of thrush while taking antibiotics: There are times over the course of nursing when a nursing mother needs to take antibiotics. While taking antibiotics, good bacteria are destroyed along with the bad. The absence of the good bacteria, which usually keep yeast in reasonable balance within the body, is what can leave a nursing dyad with thrush. There are several options that may help to avoid this imbalance:
All of these probiotics help to reintroduce to the gut the good bacteria that will help to regain control of the yeast overgrowth in the system. If the infant or child is the one taking the antibiotics, they usually fare better at avoiding thrush while taking antibiotics because breastmilk has a bifidus factor. It promotes the growth of Lactobacillus, a harmless bacterium, within the gut. Growth of this bacteria helps to eliminate the overgrowth of yeast. A toddler or child can also take acidophilus. The powder itself has a pleasant creamy taste and most are happy to lick it off your finger, take it with spoon or you can mix it into a food. 69 Responses to “The Identification and Treatment of Thrush” |
Hi! My daughter has thrush after taking antibiotics. I'm using grapefriut seed extract but can't remember the exact method (i.e. timing of each application or even the number of drops per ounce of water). The above message gives details for what to do if it doesn't improve after two days, but the normal process is not explained. Could you please let me know what to do and for how long? Thanks very much!
The normal treatment recommendation is outlined in the article on Identifying and Treating Thrush: 10 drops of GSE to 1 oz of distilled water, swab baby's mouth and mom's nipples every hour during all waking hours, and baby's mouth prior to nursing and mom's nipples after nursing. If symptoms do not improve after 24 hrs increase the mixture to 15 – 20 drops of GSE in 1 oz of distilled water. When symptoms have gone the time space between swabbings can be stretched out gradually as long as symptoms stay away.
Hope that helps.
After several trips to the doctor(s), I am now convinced that I have a low level yeast infection and one of the most frustrating things is that doctors will not swab my son's mouth and culture it to check for yeast. Why isn't this a standard practice? I'm guessing it is because it is just easier to hand over a bottle of Nystatin and assume? He has a small amount of white on the roof of his mouth which isn't patchy or fuzzy, it just looks like he has lost the pink coloration. None of the doctors can tell me what it is and I have had very occasional pain in my breast and itching. His nursing habits changed around 4 months old and he would nurse and pull off and fuss and nurse again. This has been going on for many months, but I was also told that it could be teething. Would teething go on for 4 months? I am trying this regimen with my 8 month old son and I have noticed that after I swab my nipples I seem to feel a little bit of a tingling/burning sensation. Is this normal? Does this mean that my son also feels a tingling/burning sensation in his mouth? Also, from what I understand it is not typically recommended to give infants citrus fruits so is grapefruit seed extract okay? I've also read that eating garlic (2 cloves a day) as well as the earlier mentioned probiotics can help fight yeast so I'm hoping this will help with any systemic yeast issues.
How many days are recommended on the grapefruit seed extract to kill off the yeast?
I would presume that they hand over Nystatin because it's the easiest thing for them to do. Sadly, Nystatin is only effective about 50% of the time and I'm frequently contacted by moms struggling to get rid of yeast overgrowth in their system and baby's. The good thing for baby is that breastmilk naturally contains lactobacillus which will help to balance out yeast and sometimes is enough to help them get a handle on it.
Yes, their sucking will change with thrush because their mouth is tender. Often you will begin to hear a clicking sound because they are trying to keep a very light suction and it turns loose easily and makes a click when it does. Teething can also cause them to alter their latch and pull off, fussing at the breast, because the pressure hurts against swollen gums. Teething can go on for several months. The behaviors of teething and accompanying pain can go on for a couple of months or more before you even see the teeth erupt. So…yes…it can go on for months!
Tingling in the nipple can be caused by thrush…it can be caused by vasospasm…it could even be nerve reaction to a cool liquid. That's hard to identify by itself. The key would be what other identifying symptoms do you see? Is the skin red? itching? cracking? burning? do you feel pain shooting back into the breast tissue? does baby have a yeasty looking diaper rash?
Using a GSE solution is a topical treatment both for you and baby. It is not the same as ingesting citrus as a solid. Acidophilus and garlic are both good at balancing out yeast and would be a good idea for you. You may also want to add to it some GSE capsules. I recommended treating for thrush until you see all the symptoms are gone and then begin spacing out the treatments each day until they are eliminated instead of stopping the treatments suddenly.
Hope this helps.
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Hello,
I’d like to treat my baby’s thrush with GSE. Does it have to be distilled water that it’s mixed with? Is boiled, cooled water ok? What is the problem with using normal tap water (I’m in London, UK, if that makes a difference)? It’s hard to find distilled water – the chemist says they can order purified water – is that the same as distilled?
Thanks
My reasoning for distilled water has always been one of eliminating as much interaction with other chemicals and additives as possible. I would use the most purified water that is readily available to you and see if you have success with it.
I purchased GSE in pill form (125mg) for myself to help rid body of the yeast while treating my 3 month old as well. How much and how often should I take? Thank you so much for your help!
According to Nutribiotic’s recommendation on their GSE I would suggest a capsule with each meal.
There is further information about some FAQ's on GSE on Nutribiotic's website: http://www.nutribiotic.com/gse-capsules.html
How can the product be non-toxic if it is so potent? – Extensive testing done at independent laboratories and universities around the world has proven the concentrate to be safe for human consumption. It is effective against pathogens because it belongs to a family of compounds known as quaternary compounds. This family is best known for benzylkonium chloride and benzylthonium chloride as well as the infamous Quaternium group, a very toxic antimicrobial preservative used in the cosmetics industry. While Grapefruit Seed Extract is molecularly similar to these compounds, there are some profound differences in structure and function. Studies done to date indicate that there is little danger in either short-term or long-term internal use.
What about using it for my pets? – Since the concentrate is safe for consumption, it is well suited for animal uses. The capsules can be added to the animal's food.
I heard that Artemisia, an ingredient in CapsulesPlus, is toxic. Is this true? – The type of Artemisia in our product is a non-toxic member of the Artemisia family. While its cousins mugwort and absinthe can be toxic, the Chinese wormwood is not. This is similar to a comparison between potatoes and deadly nightshade. Both are related (the nightshade family), but potatoes are not poisonous.
Since you already had the GSE Tablets, why did you formulate the CapsulesPlus? Don’t the tablets work? – The GSE Tablets and CapsulesPlus are two very different products, although there is some overlap. With the addition of Echinacea and the Artemisia in CapsulesPlus, the effects of the Citricidal are greatly enhanced.
hi using gse on my baby aged 8 weeks and taking gse tabs myself. now day 3. nipples show marked improvement but still have occasional breast pain when nursing. no change to baby's mouth as yet. will increase to 15 drops. have already had fluconozole and miconazole for baby? any advice?
How long were you prescribed Diflucan and in what dosage? It could have merely been that the treatment wasn't for long enough. If the GSE is improving it then continue until all symptoms are gone and slowly space out the treatments. As long as the symptoms stay away, continue with the spacing out until you aren't treating. It takes a little longer to completely treat thrush and get rid of it and KEEP it away than most doctors realize.
hi. i was given 150mg stat followed by low level 50mg twice a day for 10 days thereafter. i was also on miconazole cream and baby on gel. my gp does not recommnd any further chemicals for baby and says it will go in time. family history of eczema. from what i have read candida can exacerbate this. baby is v windy and i have similar symptoms. baby now showing eczema on face. baby's mouth is still white.
The proper dose of fluconozale to fight thrush is, according to Dr. Jack Newmann, 400mg uploading dose with 100mg 2x a day for at least two weeks or until symptoms have been gone for at least a week. http://www.drjacknewman.com/pdfs/Fluconazole-2008.pdf