More often, thrush of nipples in women can occur when breastfeeding a child. Fungi of the genus Candida can settle not only on the skin of the nipple, but also penetrate deep into the ducts of the mammary glands. Infection occurs if the child has a fungal stomatitis or fungal inflammation of the skin, also if the mother's personal hygiene is not observed if she has vaginal candidiasis.
Symptoms of a nipple thrush
Sometimes the mother and child have no obvious signs of candidiasis in the body, and thrush on the nipples may not be immediately diagnosed.
The main symptoms of thrush on the nipples:
- swelling of the nipples;
- reddening, change of the skin of the nipples (damp skin of bright pink color in the okolososkovoy zone, flaky or scaly nipples, with small bubbles, erosions around the nipples with whitish edges, which do not heal the nipples for a long time);
- itching and pain in the nipples (on the surface and deep inside the gland, the pain occurs when feeding and decreases after it, gives in the back or hand, sharp stitching or cutting);
- normal-looking nipples with cracks, very painful on palpation;
- exacerbation of thrush in other organs, both in the mother and the child (rashes in the mouth, vulvovaginal candidiasis , fungal infection of the nails).
For the diagnosis, in addition to clinical symptoms, sowing of excretions from the inflamed area is used to determine the pathogen and its sensitivity to medication.
How to treat thrush on the nipples?
A breastfeeding mother should not stop breastfeeding when she is taking treatment. Thrush of nipples is usually treated with local antifungal drugs, but if necessary, appoint and general treatment. When there is a thrush on the nipples it is necessary to observe a number of rules:
- Wash hands with soap before feeding the baby, after toilet or changing diapers;
- to start feeding it is necessary from a healthy mammary gland, with strong pains to express milk;
- do not eat foods rich in sugar and yeast fungi,
- wipe the nipples with a solution of soda: a tablespoon on a glass of water;
- for topical treatment, antifungal ointments, creams (fluconazole, ketoconazole, miconazole) can be used;
- Do not use breast pads or keep them dry;
- do not use synthetic, tight underwear;
- do not leave milk for a long time, expressed during thrush of the nipples;
- how to treat thrush of nipples with medicinal preparations of general action - the doctor decides, usually for this use the course of taking fluconazole and its analogues.