Bonny writes: > >Because the prescription oral antifungals are marketed directly to the >public (ostensibly so that the patients/clients can advocate for their own >treatment options) it is easy to imagine that they are pretty benign >substances. Not the case here. Prescription meds are not allowed to be promoted direct to the public. Bonny, I think you are being sympathetic to the prescriber, but maybe a bit too kind! In the UK, flucanazole is not licensed for lactating mothers, but it is licensed for infants, in quantities which are far higher than would appear in the breastmilk. I really don't see the evidence of seeking out of knowledge and information. Many, many meds are prescribed off-license in the UK, but docs won't do this with fluconazole because pain on bf is not considered to be serious, because the mother can just wean to formula if she is that bothered about it. We also have problems getting docs to treat asymptomatic babies for thrush. Gentian violet is not an option in the UK. The only way I can bring the topic up is when a mother is desperate I tell her that it's widely used in the US and elsewhere, and I direct her to the Internet. I have never had a mother who has used it, though. > >voice in the wilderness. Very few prescribers are going to risk their >licenses and malpractice records on the exhortations of the one lone voice. >If a patient gets hurt, juries are notoriously unimpressed with that kind of >justification for treatment. That's just the way things are in medicine >today. Things might be different in the US, but doctors are hardly ever sued in the UK, or even reprimanded. I am not exaggerating when I say a doctor usually has to sexually assault many women, or kill several people by incomptence or negligence or criminality, and also be extremely unpleasant and rude to his (it's usually 'his') colleagues for several years before anything serious is done by the authorities. I agree with Bonny's suggestion that getting another practitoner involved seems to help. I suggest to women that they share the information with their midwfe or health visitor who can then discuss the prescription with the GP...then the GP might bend (note: mothers see GPs for themselves and their babies here. Paediatricians and gynaes do not get involved in primary care). Heather Welford Neil NCT bfc Newvcastle upon Tyne UK *********************************************** The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html