Can't nurse from breast feeding infection yeast overgrowth?

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Breast pain, sign of breast feeding infection yeast overgrowth can make nursing your baby nearly unbearable. What can you do? The joy, closeness, and bonding experienced by moms in breast feeding their baby can't be fully described with words. But a trade-off for a good number of mothers is experiencing breast feeding infection yeast overgrowth. It is a very real problem -- you enjoy breast feeding your child and you know it's good for her. Yet, the sheer discomfort and pain from the breast feeding infection yeast overgrowth sometimes make this "task" unbearable and at times, something a mother simply does not look forward to.

If you are one of those women, rest assured, you are not abnormal. Suffering from a breast feeding infection yeast overgrowth is more common than you think. Chances are, you're probably in the 75% of women who have experienced a vaginal yeast infection. If you've never had a vaginal yeast infection, count yourself very blessed!!! First of all, how in the world did you get the breast feeding infection yeast overgrowth? Well, if your baby has thrush -- that is a yeast infection in her mouth -- and you are breast feeding, your baby can pass this yeast infection to your breasts.

The yeast organism is very common in the human body. It exists on our skin, in our mouths, in our intestines and genitalia. In a healthy body, candida (the technical name for yeast) co-exists with other bacteria; they keep each other in check. When this "checks-and-balances" system somehow fails, the yeast overgrows and cases some form of yeast infection (vaginal yeast, thrush, etc.).

Here're some symptoms of thrush --

• white patches and or increased redness on the inside of the mouth, the lips and cheeks that can't be washed off easily.
  
  
• refusal to latch-on
  
  
• click or poping sounds while nursing
  
  
• pull off the breast
  
  
• diaper rash

Here're some symptoms of a breast feeding infection yeast overgrowth --

• red (or deep pink), burning, cracked, itchy, flaky, or shiny nipples
  
  
• deep, shooting pain or tenderness/discomfort in the breast during or immediately after nursing. This pain may be from the nipples spreading throughout the breast to the armpit area to the back.
  
  
• Tiny, white blisters or fuzzy, white patches on or around the nipple
  
  
• vaginal yeast infection

Note -- you and your baby may not have or exhibit all of the above symptoms to have a yeast infection.

Again, how can you tell if you have a breast feeding infection yeast overgrowth? It is not abnormal for your nipples to be a little sore from breastfeeding. However, to have cracked and/or bleeding nipples is not normal. It shouldn't be painful to nurse your baby. If you experience pain in your breasts or nipples from breastfeeding, take it as a symptom that something needs to be corrected. Now some women may have some blood (but no pain) during the first week of breastfeeding -- this shouldn't be alarming as this discharge could be the result of increased blood flow to your breasts as your milk producing tissue grows to lactate. This condition is harmless and does not need treatment -- it should resolve itself in a few days.

Now just because you have cracked or bleeding nipples doesn't automatically mean you have a breast feeding infection yeast overgrowth. Most cases of cracked or bleeding nipples is improper positioning of the baby to the breast. Improper positioning can also cause severe nipple pain. So try correcting your breastfeeding position -- you would be amazed at how even a slight adjustment in position can soothe (or even cure) your painful, cracked nipples. If this is the case for you, check for a poor latch-on technique. Make sure your baby is facing your nipple and tummy to tummy with you. Also, make sure she opens wide so that she can take a mouthful of both nipple and areola. Be sure that the baby's lips (particularly the bottom lip) is everted and covering almost the entire areola. Or, try shorter, more frequent nursing sessions. With shorter amounts of time in between nursings, your baby will be less hungry and not nurse as hard. You can also try changing positions each time your nurse -- at least the pressure from your baby's gums will be one a different part of your breast each time.

Painful, cracked, or bleeding nipples could also result from improper use of your breast pump. Some brands of breast pumps can create excessive suction and cause hemorrhaging under the skin. Some brands of breast pumps can also handle the breast too roughly and break cappilaries, causing undue injuries to the already delicate breat tissue. Here's a brand I like that comes with a soft cup instead of the traditional rigid funnel cup -- it literally adheres to your breast without you having to hold on to it! Here's the same soft cup manual pump for moms who don't need all the frills of a full package. This soft cup manual pump truly is awesome ... it expresses milk in almost no time at all and the soft silicone cup makes the whole process easy and nearly stress free. For those who prefer a rigid cup, Hollister makes a good one.

Another cause of painful, bleeding, or cracked nipples can be eczema or excessively dry skin. Any number of reasons and conditions can cause super dry skin such as the chemicals and ingredients in your soap, powder, deodorant, anti-bacterial cleanser, perfume, residue from laundry detergent, or even the lotion you apply to your breasts. Living in a very dry climate can also cause severe dry skin. What can you do about this? If you're using any of the above items (i.e. soap, lotion, etc.) on your breasts & nipples, stop. All you need to keep your breasts and nipples clean is a water. Also, try rubbing a bit of breast milk on the nipples (and the let them air dry) after you nurse your baby. The milk will help heal the cracked nipples. If the cracks are severe and deep, you can try applying a small amount of medical-grade lanolin on your nipples. This will relieve your pain and allow the cracks to heal much faster with no scabs. There is no need to wash this off before feedings. Here's a good site for this stuff.

Now if you've tried all of the above and you're still seeing no relief from your cracked nipples and painful breasts, you may very well have a breast feeding infection yeast overgrowth ... and chances are, you baby would have thrush even if she does not have the tell tale white spots in her mouth. So if this is the case, what can you do?

First thing is -- go see your doctor. It is best to have your doctor diagnose and set you on a treatment plan. Now diagnosis for a breast feeding infection yeast overgrowth is another hurdle. First, you have to come up with a yeast culture (some kind of "discharge" like when you get a vaginal yeast infection, you have the "cottage cheese-like" discharge) -- not an easy task when the breast feeding infection yeast overgrowth is on the nipples. Second, most obstetricians' offices do not have the lab and equipment to perform this test. What this leaves you then, is in most cases, your doctor will diagnose you simply from the symptoms she can see (i.e. cracked, red nipples, etc.) and what you tell her ... yes, this is frustrating indeed. Once your doctor diagnoses you and your baby with breast feeding yeast infection overgrowth and thrush (respectively), she will most likely prescribe you an oral antifungal medication like Nystatin. What you would do with the Nystatin is to apply it to the inside of your baby's mouth (on the white spots) for several times a day for up to ten days. Your doctor may also tell you to apply some Nystatin (or Lotrimin -- clotrimazole as active ingredient) to your nipples. When treating a breast feeding infection yeast overgrowth, it's often necesary to treat both mother and child. Treating only one but not the other will only allow you to pass the infection back and forth. Is there no end to this "burning nipple hell"???

And no -- don't think for a minute that if you just stop nursing your baby, your breast feeding infection yeast overgrowth will just go away and your breasts will stop hurting.

So, please take precaution and treat both you and your baby. Typically, Nystatin will bring relief to your breast feeding infection yeast overgrowth within 24 to 72 hours. With any of these antifungal medications, you don't have to wash it off your nipples before nursing your baby. In general, these topical medications are quickly absorbed within 10 -15 minutes and the amount your baby will take in is insignificant. To make sure that you eliminate all signs of the yeast infection, however, treatment with Nystatin could take up to 2 weeks. In general, side effects from Nystatin are rare. Sometimes high oral doses may cause nausea, diarrhea, or abdominal pain. You need to treat your breast feeding infection yeast overgrowth very aggressively. Why? Because if you don't get rid of this infection the first time around, chances are it will come back with a vengeance. Worse yet, the breast feeding infection yeast overgrowth could spread to your milk ducts. And once the yeast gets into the milk ducts, it's bad news because it's extremely difficult to get rid of. Click here for more information on Nystatin (treatment for your breast feeding infection yeast overgrowth) and here for Lotrimin AF (yes, I know this is for athlete's foot, but trust me, it's the exact same product, just repackaged for a different part of your body!).

Want to read more about breast feeding infection yeast overgrowths, treating with Nystatin and other treatment alternatives? There's always more to say, but this page is getting a tad too long, so click here to continue ...

* Photo courtesy of Grzegorz Niewiadomski, Lodz, Lodzkie, Poland