Goodbye To Diaper Rash, Thrush, And Painful Nipples

If you notice that your baby has a thick white coating inside his or her mouth or on her lips, it is probably thrush. Thrush is a caused by an overgrowth of yeast, also known as candida, in a baby’s mouth. Almost all breast-fed babies acquire a small amount of yeast from their mother’s skin. So a very light coating of white on the tongue is common and quite normal. But when the coating is extensive, feeding becomes uncomfortable and difficult for the baby. It often happens that yeast overgrowth in a baby’s mouth can in turn lead to yeast infection of the mother’s nipples causing painful cracks and redness. The yeast in the baby’s mouth can also colonize the baby’s gut and lead to gassiness and frequent or chronic diaper rash, since it comes through in the stool.

The usual medical treatment of thrush is to give the baby oral antifungal medication and to apply antifungal creams to the diaper area. This works for an isolated episode of thrush or diaper rash. But if you find yourself struggling with frequent diaper rash in your baby, or redness and cracking of your nipples, your baby probably has an overgrowth of Candida in his gut. And you probably do too! To eradicate recurrent thrush or diaper rash you will need to restore the normal bacterial balance in his gut, so that the good bacteria will naturally keep the yeast organisms from flourishing.

You can buy a liquid preparation that contains live Lactobacillus Acidophilus bacteria, also known as Probiotics, from any health food or drugstore. There are preparations of liquid Acidophilus made specifically for babies and young children, containing just the right amount of organisms for a baby’s gut, including that of a newborn. These bacteria are the good bacteria necessary for your baby’s gut to properly digest milk. It often happens that if your baby or you have received any antibiotics, the good bacteria in the gut are killed off and then the yeast takes up the space. So it is necessary to actively replace these bacteria. You can put a few drops of liquid Acidophilus directly on your baby’s tongue just before breastfeeding several times a day, or every time you nurse. Two or three drops of live liquid Acidophilus at each feeding is adequate to gradually restore the normal balance in your baby’s gut and say goodbye gassiness and to diaper rashes. If you are experiencing redness, itching or cracking of your nipples, you can also apply a few drops of the liquid Acidophilus to your nipples and air dry after each nursing, then apply breast cream over the Acidophilus. This makes for a more rapid healing and prevents recurrence so you can nurse your baby comfortably for longer.

Dr. Ikenze MD is certified by the American Academy of Pediatrics and is a diplomate of the British Institute of Homeopathy