THRUSH

Thrush is a yeast infection which can affect anywhere in the body. Commonly thrush can be found in a baby’s mouth or mother can have nipple thrush when breastfeeding. It is important that both mother and baby are treated at the same time even if only one person has a confirmed diagnosis. If you or your baby have been diagnosed with thrush by a health professional there are some self-help measures that can help reduce the likelihood of reoccurrences. The following may be helpful:

• Wash hands carefully and frequently, particularly after nappy changes.
• Boil any dummies, teats, bottles or expressing equipment for at least 20 minutes daily in between your normal way of sterilisation
• Only use disposable breast pads during this time and change them frequently
• Use separate towels for each family member
• Wash any toys that have been in baby’s mouth in hot soapy water and dry well
• Wash all towels and clothing that come into contact with the yeast in hot soapy water (above 50° C) and air dry in sun if possible
• Ironing helps to remove the infection and stop the spread
• Some mothers find Acidophilus capsules help to restore bacteria which helps prevent thrush over growth
• Reducing sugar and yeast intake has been known to help whilst breastfeeding.
• Do not freeze breastmilk whilst infection is present

All the above measures should be continued for at least 5-7 days after symptoms have resolved to prevent re-infection.