Is it Thrush??

[TayNRobbiesMom]

DS was born 3 weeks ago tomorrow. Nursing has been going fairly well (thank goodness) but in the past few days Ive noticed my nipples are red swollen and sensitive...DS doesn't show signs of thrush and seems to have a good latch. Nothing is helping (sleeping w/o bra, Lanolin, expressing milk on nipples) they are burning...could it be thrush? any help GREATLY appriciated as I need to triumph LOL we've been doing so well...

[bronco4grl]

Do you have a shooting pain in your breasts? That's been the first symptom the times I've had thrush. It sounds like it could be thrush from the way you're describing. A LC could tell you for sure. Babe will get white bumps in his mouth if it's thrush. Ped could diagnose babe.
Mom to Timothy 17 mon

[LianeV]

Some of the telltale signs of thrush is that the pain is a burning type, that it continues throughout the feeding and that it may hurt for quite a while after you finish nursing. (Usually if it's a positioning thing the pain will recede after the initial minutes of a feeding.) Pains in the breast may also be noticed, but not necessarily.
Your baby may or may not have signs of thrush. Your Dr. can prescribe medicine to fix thrush. My favorite home remedy is to get some plain yogurt and put it on your nipples like a salve and just let it sit there for a bit. The cold will feel soooooo good and the yogurt will begin to change the environment on your nipples. It's important, I think, to use the plain yogurt because of the sugars in fruited ones. Do this either before or after you nurse, or both. Just use a damp, soft cloth to pat away the yogurt before you nurse.

Meanwhile, try not to close your nipples up inside your bra with pads over them as soon as you finish nursing. When you can, leave the flaps down and maybe just let your shirt drop over them so they can get some air. Sometimes nipples stay too warm and moist and this can make them more easy to have problems.
Hope this helps and you feel better soon. Just remember, nursing isn't supposed to hurt and shouldn't be something you suffer through. There's almost always an easy fix.