Thrush Natural Remedy & Breastfeeding When Medication Doesn’t Work

If you’re experiencing nipple thrush, breastfeeding a baby who has oral thrush, and medication didn’t help then you’re probably here looking for thrush natural home remedies like most moms do.

Breastfeeding infants and mothers after childbirth can pass the thrush infection back and forth from the mother’s breast to the baby’s mouth so it’s important to treat both areas.

Thrush is a yeast infection (usually caused by recent antibiotic intake) that can be present in your baby’s mouth or on your nipples if you are breastfeeding. 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.

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Thrush Symptoms While Breastfeeding

• Unusually red nipples, shiny or flaky.
• Cracked or bleeding nipples.
• Itching or burning nipples.
• Shooting pains deep within the breast.
• Pain that continues throughout a nursing session or even after feedings.
• White patches and white “milky” tongue inside baby’s mouth. The white coating usually sticks to the mouth and cannot be washed away or wiped off.
• Yeast infections in other locations (diaper area, vaginal, feet).

Oral And Nipple Thrush Natural Home Remedies

The pediatrician usually will send you home with a prescription for nystatin which I found to be not really effective. And besides, it contains artificial sweeteners and gastrointestinal adverse reaction are the most common adverse effects of nystatin [1].

Even the prescribed compounded cream I got from pharmacy (APNO) which contains an antifungal (Miconazole), antibiotic (Mupirocin) and a corticosteroid (Betamethasone) didn’t help much.

Based on my own experience, the use of Grapefruit Seed Extract brings a more rapid relief and eliminates the yeast imbalance without side effects. It is a broad-spectrum antimicrobial compound synthesized from the seeds and pulp of grapefruit.

GSE is an extremely potent and effective broad-spectrum bactericide, fungicide, antiviral and antiparasitic compound. Tests have shown that is dramatically more effective than Colloidal Silver, Iodine, Tea Tree Oil and Clorox bleach.

​How To Use GSE To Treat Nipple Thrush

In 1 once (30ml) of distilled water dissolve 5 to 10 drops of GSE, apply the solution on your nipples after each breastfeeding session. You can use a cotton swab or your clean finger.

If the treatment with GSE solution leaves your nipple area dry, I suggest applying a coating of some natural oil (olive oil or coconut which is also anti-fungal).

First apply the GSE solutions, allow that to dry, then apply a coating of oil. If it’s still too dry, try a more greasy or buttery mixture like a combination of melted mango butter  (or shea butter)and your oil of choice.

If using all this steps without interruption, it will typically clear up the thrush within a few days.

How To Use GSE To Treat Baby’s Thrush

Use the same GSE solution to swab your baby’s mouth as well, as the yeast multiples very rapidly in wet warm places.

Using a cotton-tipped swab, or a gauze wrapped on your finger “paint” your baby’s tongue and gums before and after each feeding.

Start with 5 drops per oz. If the thrush is not improved by the second day, increase the mixture (drops of GSE) per ounce of distilled water.

If after 2-3 days, reaching up to at least 15 drops, you see no improvement, I would consider using other treatments, but this is usually very effective.

My home remedy for nipple thrush and for my baby’s oral thrush looked like this:

1. First I applied the GSE solution to the nipples, while it was drying I used the some solution to clean my baby’s tongue and mouth with a gauze wrapped on my finger.
2. Then I would feed the baby, and repeat the same procedure afterwards. This time after cleaning the nipples with GSE solution I would finish with a coating of greasy nipple cream or oil.
3. Soaking the nipples with a vinegar and water solution (2 tablespoon apple cider vinegar to 1 cup water) or baking soda in water (1 tablespoon per cup) after feedings was also helpful. I did this additionally to the GSE treatment, like 2-3 times per day.
4. To repopulate the good bacteria and to avoid further yeast reproduction I would give my baby to suck on a pacifier dipped in probiotic powder.
5. For me: taking good probiotics and avoiding sugary foods and dairy in my diet helped a lot!

Additional Natural Home Remedy For Thrush When Breastfeeding

• It may also be necessary for Mom to eliminate sugar from her diet until the yeast infection is gone (yeast feeds on sugar) or even the entire breastfeeding period and take probiotics regularly. I tried many brands and found the most effective to be ProBiota – it’s dairy free, has no other filling, SCD and GAPS compliant and free of common allergens.

• Make sure your baby receives a dose of probiotics too, choose a high quality probiotics designed specifically for infants -like this  ProBiota Infant Powder with 10 Billion CFU’s. Usually other kids’ probiotics contain only 3-5 Billion CFU so if you want better results, consider more bacteria per capsule as many of them die before reaching their destination.

• Improve thrush symptoms by increasing the water intake or a breastfeeding friendly tea, fluids help flush everything out more efficiently.
• Consume more fermented foods and adopt a clean whole food diet. This will help reestablish your gut flora in the long run.
• Take an immune boosting formula, whether is something homemade or a supplement.

Colloidal Silver For Thrush

I also tried using colloidal silver as a thrush home remedy but it didn’t show much improvement. Even though it is considered a potent antibacterial agent, it’s fungicidal effect is weak [2].

Other Things To consider When Treating Thrush

If your nipples are too sore and is too painful to breastfeed, try pumping your breasts and offering baby milk by a small cup or through a bottle. At least for 2-3 days until your nipples are better. Just make sure you are sterilizing pump parts and feeding utensils after each use to avoid reinfection.

I also didn’t collect the milk I pumped during the thrush outbreak. Freezing does not kill yeast, so I didn’t want a reinfection to occur again. But this is totally up to you.

A weakened immune system is at the root of what causes thrush. This is why it commonly affects babies in their first days of life.

An infant’s immune system doesn’t mature until around 3 to 4 months. With time, when the baby is exposed to more good bacteria, it forms it’s own flora that can balance out the yeast overgrowth.

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If you still don’t find a relief always talk to your healthcare provider and a lactation consultant about other possibilities.

Disclaimer: The information, including but not limited to, text, graphics, images and other material contained on this website are for informational purposes only and not intended for medical advice. Please refer to my full disclaimer for more info.

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