Purple People Eater

No, Ian isn't the purple people eater and Kaleb didn't try to color his face. Some of you mom's out there may recognize this look. Yes, you guessed it, YEAST! It is the dreaded thrush. I have never had this with my other boys so it's all new to me. The purple on his face is called Gentian Violet. It is a little bit of a long story so your welcome to read or skip it.

Earlier last week I noticed a little white spot in Ian's mouth. It reminded me of a little concur sore. I remember thinking how weird it was that a nursing baby could get a concur sore. Well a few days later I started noticing redness and itching on my chest. I had read about yeast infections in nursing mothers so I got a little suspicious. A little while later I was holding Ian and I could see more white spots in his mouth. Well, a light went off in my brain and I made the connection. We both had a yeast infection. Thanks to my antibiotics for mastitis all the good bacteria had been killed and in walked Mr. Yeast. Yuck!

I put it all together Friday night so I couldn't go to my regular doctor since they were closed for the weekend. I decided to go to an urgent care the next morning. The nurse practitioner checked us and confirmed my suspicions of yeast. She told me to go to the pharmacy and get gentian violet. I basically paint it on my self three times a day. I was also supposed to swab some in Ian's mouth three times a day as well.

When I nursed him for the first time after painting myself purple I noticed not only did it dye his face(which made me chuckle every time I looked down at him.) but it coated and dyed the inside of his mouth as well. I thought that was probably sufficient for him so I didn't swab any in his mouth.

I was told to use the gentian violet for 3 days. When the third day came there still wasn't much improvement. I called my OB to see if I should continue using it beyond the 3 days. They told me I should but said I should call my pediatrician to get a separate medicine for Ian. I left a message with the nurse about an hour before they were going to close. In the message I gave them a brief summary of what was going on. I didn't think I would hear from them till the next day but they called my about 20 minutes later.

First they told me to stop using the gentian violet. They said a baby can overdose on it. They never recommend that to their patients. It can be toxic to ifants. If too much is used it can cause ulcers in the babies mouth and throat, dizziness, hard time breathing and more. Thankfully I didn't put it in Ian's mouth on top of what he got from me when nursing. Luckily he is fine. They went on to ask me what urgent care I went to and if I knew the name of the nurse practitioner. They prescribed something for Ian and told me to call my OB to get a prescription for Diflucan.
I am just glad I didn't put it in Ian's mouth directly and I am glad I called the OB on the third day instead of just continuing it. I know a lot of mothers swear by gentian violet and I am sure it has worked but I would constantly be worrying that my baby is getting to much. I am grateful that we found this out when we did. It isn't worth the risk for me.