Mornin' everyone!

Ugh.  What an ugly topic.  But so necessary for us to know more about.  Back
in the mid 80's when I first started in this business, thrush used to be
about last on my list of things to check when we were dealing with nipple
pain.  Now it is number 2 after positioning issues.  i think we are all
seeing an epidemic of it... I blame overuse of antibiotics and more resistant
strains.

According to my dear husband-the-pharmacist who is seriously lactation
trained :) Nystatin oral is not absorbed into the blood stream (which is why
it doesn't appear in the breast milk), but is only effective in the GI tract.
 That's why when it does seem to work on the deep breast pain as Karen G. and
Fiona mentioned, it is curious.  Because yeast is so prevalent, it can be
used on infants if they get a yeast infection (systemic, in hospital),
therefore is considered safe for nursing mothers.

The hype about gentian violet aside (causing cancer in lab rats - does anyone
know how much they had to have applied/drink before any effects showed up?) I
still think that if the thrush is resistant to nystatin (which you should
know within a couple of weeks), then gentian violet is the next best.
 Generally clears it within a couple of days.  If it would cause cancer with
two or three days worth of application of 1/2 to 1%, then it is truly more
carcinogenic than cigarettes!!!

Have we let our paranoia overcome our common sense?

Thanks Yaffa - your explanation of the why of the 8th day is appreciated.

By the way, I'm leaving to do a bf conference in Ft. Wayne.  Will take the
Lactnet info with me, so we should see a few more subscribers within the next
couple of weeks.

Bye

Jan