Janna,

It is very unusual for candida to grow from a milk culture.  That
doesn't mean that the mom does not have ductal yeast.  It may be because
like the yeast in the mouth, it clings to tissue.  You may not get any
yeast to culture from saliva either, even from an obviously thrush
infected mouth.  The difference, of course, is that you can directly
collect the yeast in the mouth and obviously can't get to the lining of
the ducts.  That is why we generally treat candida of the nipple/breast
based on symptoms and the "proof" of the correctness of the diagnosis
comes with the cessation of the symptoms.

Now, keep in mind that staph A. is the most common cause of bacterial
breast infections and that this mom may have a bacterial infection.  I
suppose that is why the ampicillin was givin.
--

Denny Rice, RN, IBCLC
Dallas Texas USA

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