Fiona,
The initial symptoms of thrush for me are generalized mouth and tongue edema,
to include both lips, with the inside of the cheeks being the absolute worst.
 At first (the first 24 hours) there are no bumpy areas, but by the end of 48
hours, the raised bumps, white in color, are more on the interior cheek areas
with only a few on the tongue itself.  The pain begins from the first
swelling and becomes excrutiating within the 48 hours.  (I lost 6 pounds
during this last bout because it hurt too much to eat anything...not the most
desireable way to lose weight!)  The first time I dealth with this, I felt it
was more of a chemical-type burn than anything else, until the characteristic
white patches appeared and the whole thing resolved with lactobacillus
granules.  The thought of an allergic reaction did occur to me, but I
wondered about it since this seems to be more of a localized reaction.  I
resorted to Mycelex trochar during the latter half of this last episode since
the pain was so intense; within 12 hours of the first tablets, the pain was
tolerable and by 48 hours, all swelling and patches were completely gone.

Does anyone know how to order culture kits for Candidis albicans?  I know of
an LC who cultures suspected thrush for her clients and then refers them for
treatment.  Are there pros/cons to this?  Costs?  Liabilities?  Thanks for
the input.

Kathy Parkes, RN, IBCLC
San Antonio, TX