Here's the skinny on thrush. It's evil. It's the dumbest ailment known to nipples. I can't get over how much information is out there on the Internet, and how useless it all is. Symptoms of thrush are so vague and all over the map there's no way of determining if you or your baby have it, unless you have the classic "white spots," which is also an ambiguous descriptor because there are NO pictures of nipples with thrush on the internet that are helpful.
Every site I visited (foolishly, I know) had the same descriptions, with the disclaimer, "May or may not" before each one.
Your nipples may or may not show signs of redness.
Your baby may or may not have white patches on the inside of his mouth.
Your breasts may or may not have shooting pain.
Your baby's saliva may or may not be shiny.
Your nipples could be red, pink, purple or white.
What good is that?! "May or may not" does not help me figure out what to do with this insipid yeast. I can't believe what a pain in the ass it has been trying to get rid of it...that is, IF I ACTUALLY HAVE IT.
The baby has no symptoms, but one of the symptoms of thrush is that the baby could have no symptoms. Did you get that? Confusing, ain't it?
The only symptom I had was shooting pain in my nipple. And when I say "shooting" I really mean it felt like someone was stabbing me with a knife over and over again. It was as if the milk had ground glass in it. This happened maybe 15 minutes after feeding the baby.
When I looked up "shooting pain," a hundred sites came up, all citing the dreaded THRUSH. I could not get over how hysterical people were about this thing. It was worse than mastitis, worse than plugged ducts...it was the invisible enemy, and one that multiplied at an exponential rate. After reading several dozen pages, I realized one thing...I was screwed.
I started cleaning everything with bleach (not vinegar.) I did six loads of laundry, with bleach. I used several remedies, including grapefruit seed extract (liquid) and extra virgin coconut oil (solid like butter) on my nipples (and the gse in his mouth.) I called the advice nurse several times, the lactation specialists, my obgyn's office, and my friends who had experienced this hell before. The doctors wouldn't see me, nor would the specialists. They all said the same thing. There is no definitive diagnosis for thrush. They could only go by my description, because all nipples look somewhat different. None are "obviously" thrush nipples. What?!
Everyone was saying something different, yet one thing remained: Do NOT reinfect yourself. Treat yourself and the baby at the same time. Strangely, the only person who did not agree with this assessment was the baby's pediatrician, who took one look in the baby's mouth, shrugged and said, "He doesn't have thrush." I had to strong arm a prescription for Nystatin out of him."
Eventually, I got in to see a nurse practitioner. She took one look at my nipples and said, "They're puffy and meaty." Translation: You have thrush. She sent in a prescription for Diflucan and sent me on my way.
The problem with thrush is that if you have vague symptoms that kinda sorta match the usual symptoms, there is no answer to the question, "Do I have it?" It's a horrible guessing game that always ends the same way. You treat it anyway, because your fear of the thing makes you paranoid.
This game of "thrush" or "not thrush" messed with my head in a terrible way. It stressed me out, gave me bouts of hysteria at any given moment, and really exhausted my patience. If you ever get it, I wish you luck and recommend you go to your happy place immediately. Otherwise, every tinge, tickle, or funny feeling you get in your breast will make you break into a cold sweat.
The sites I found helpful were few and far between, but for what it's worth, here they are:
Jay Gordon - Information on Thrush and how to treat it with Grapefruit Seed Extract
How long does Candida live on surfaces?
Babycare Advice - Very detailed and informative
Pinstripes and Polkadots - How to disinfect laundry, and other interesting information on bleach vs. vinegar
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