Help my baby has Thrush

[RawMomma]

Hi,

My 7 week old son has Thrush. My question is do I need to cut out all sugar from my diet? Meaning even natural sugar that is found in fruit. I have a smoothy every morning and have been wanting to make some raw desserts. But this has been going on for 6 weeks now. I admit my diet before this past Monday has contained alot of processed sugar. I have been craving it like a mad dog. Which explains why its not getting better. But how drastic do I need to go, do you think? Has anyone else dealt with this?

[askcassyfirst]

I personally haven't dealt with this, as I am not a mommy. However, I have had experience with candida, and thrush in adults, as I work for a company which educates people about candida.

If you are breast feeding, you can easily see how what you eat, goes directly to your son, thereby affecting his gut ecology, as well as systemic yeast. Therefore, you will likely need to follow a low glycemic, anti-candida diet for a bit. Also, moms can easily transmit yeast through contact with the breast, so you may have yeast growing on and around the nipple. (think warm, moist, and normally covered by clothing so it is dark. )

Our company recommends using a probiotic supplement, both for the mom and the infant. If you use a powdered type, you can apply it directly to the breast, allowing the baby to consume it while feeding. Probiotics / healthy gut flora compete with the yeast for space and food. WHen there is an imbalance in the gut flora, the yeast mutates, and is able to enter the bloodstream, and become systemic : thrush, skin infections, toenail fungus, etc. You can find non dairy probiotics in your health food store. Just ask for one that is safe for infants. (they have unique types of bacteria in their gut, such as acidophilus infantis.)

I hope that helps. For more info on thrush, and yeast, try doing a search for candida, either through google, or here on the boards. Yeast can be stubborn, but it responds well to a low glycemic diet and probiotic supplementation. (Ie: starve 'em out, and run 'em out. )

Good luck.
Cassy:)

[truthseeker]

Me and my daughter have also been dealing with candida. I also am curious as to if you are nursing or not. I know one thing that has worked amazingly for us is coconut oil. My daughter is 6, I either put it in her smoothies or give it to her by the spoon full. You could put some of this oil on your nipple and that should help ....A LOT.

Something else you may consider (with a bit of reading on your part) would be gentain violet...I don't know anyone yet who has used it and not had their problem totally go away.

http://www.mothering.com/articles/new_baby/breastfeeding/breastfeed-thrush.html

http://www.cyberbabycafe.com/forum/showthread.php?t=106

http://www.pureteatreeoil.com/site/707893/page/255364/site/?source=Overture&kw=thrush

http://www.drjaygordon.com/bf/thrush.htm