Let’s talk (whine) about yeast…
Lizzie has really been struggling with yeast infections over the last 6 months or so, and too be honest I’m losing my mind. I just feel so bad for her and so frustrated that I can’t “fix” it. The last few infections started as thrush, and then a few days later she shows signs of a vaginal infection. What toddler (unless breast feeding) gets thrush at almost two?!?! I’m sad to admit it, but this is one of those things that I’m a little less natural minded about. Yeast is no fun, and I just can’t stand to see her uncomfortable ya know? The first sign warrants a call to peds and a Nystatin script. It’s just a battle I can’t win naturally thanks to those pesky antibiotics. But I’m working at changing that. Will I be successful? Who knows, but what can it hurt? I’ll still run for Nystatin, at that first little blister, but it certainly can’t hurt to try and stop it before it gets to that point.
Over the last few months, the yeasties seem to be getting more aggressive. The infections come closer and closer together, and I am starting to see the effects on her health. For one, she is always uncomfortable. How sad is it when “my booty hurts” is one of your kid’s first sentences? LOL Another concern is that her immune system seems to be affected by the constant infections and constant antibiotics. She just seems to always catch one bug after the other.
So what am I going to do other than whine? I’m embarking on a new adventure, and yeah, I said embarking, and I’m calling it an adventure. The goal…. basically overhaul her diet. It’s overwhelming… abnormally overwhelming to me for some unknown reason, but it’s almost Spring and Spring is the time of new beginnings. Not too mention that the garden is calling. It so much easier to eat healthy when you can pick it fresh. It’s the nature of the beast.
Lizzie has pretty much always been on a pretty low sugar diet but now it’s time to do the limbo… how low can we go? Her yeast is obviously worsened by it, but I don’t feel comfortable cutting fruit out of her diet. She’s becoming such a picky eater, and fruit is our fall back guy. When she won’t eat anything else, he saves the day. So the goal will be to eliminate all of the other sugars that we can (without losing our minds in the process) and slowly cut back on the fruit and see if there is any change. Wish me luck. I’m a little more concerned about mutiny from the men in the family than I am Lizzie! The boys like their sugar!
The next step is probiotic consistency. I give her probiotics randomly when I remember, and when we can afford it… which reminds me I should get on line and find a cheaper probiotic! But I digress… I need to be consistent and keep better journals of both the foods that she eats and the probiotics so that I can be more scientific about the results. I mean what is the point of doing it if you can’t figure out if it’s really helping? We were actually told by both peds and uro that probiotics were basically a waste of time and money because the antibiotics will kill off any good bacteria, making it a moot point (is that how you spell moot? Really?). After doing some research on my own, I still feel that if dosed at the right amount, at the right time, there is a chance that it may be beneficial not just with yeast, but also her immunity issues and constipation. So what can it hurt?
As for the yeast issue itself, I was a little surprised to find out that not as many kids deal with yeast issues as I would have thought while on prophylaxis for VUR. Maybe it’s just the people I know LOL, but in most of my “groups” it’s not been a big issue. I think I just assumed that it was pretty common.
My theory (which is worth a hill of beans) is that she has a major yeast overgrowth due to the constant high doses of antibiotics she received that first year (like 10 rounds). We have never been able to eliminate the yeast because it was followed by a constant low dose abx. I’m worried that unless we can find a more natural way to control the yeast, she may be battling it for years to come.
So that is the new project. We’ll see how it goes, and how she tolerates it all (along with the rest of us). We will be making some other adjustments in her diet as we learn more, but for now, high fiber – low sugar seems to be the goal. Sounds yummy huh? I know your just waiting for your dinner invitation….
The debate about Prophylactic Antibiotics…
A lot of people have asked my opinion about prophylactic antibiotics. Are they safe? Are they effective? What kind of side effects do they cause? My first recommendation is always to do some research. Some kids do great with antibiotics, others don’t do well at all. You also need to weigh the risks versus benefits.
I’m not a fan of daily antibiotic therapy. I personally (and this is my personal opinion based on experience and research – not medical advice) feel like antibiotics are ineffective in preventing recurrent infections, and come with a lot of complications. Our Lizzie had 8, yep count them, 8 kidney infections before her first birthday. She was on prophylactic antibiotics for 7 of those infections.
After the first breakthrough infection (6 weeks after her first), we decided to change her antibiotic. We hoped that this time we had it right, and it would prevent further UTI’s. We did this after each infection. She had infections while on amoxicillin, bactrim, suprax, and furadantin. We even spent a few months alternating her antibiotics every week, in hopes that we could “confuse” the bacteria and keep them from colonizing. No such luck.
I suppose my biggest fear with daily antibiotics is the chance of resistant bacteria. On two separate occasions, Lizzie got a resistant strain of bacteria (psuedomonas). I will always believe that this was because of the daily low dose antibiotics along with monthly high doses from recurrent infection. Both times she had to be admitted to the hospital for 3/4 days, and both times she had to have a pic line. A pic line is basically a longer term IV, that allows you to give IV antibiotics from home instead of remaining in the hospital.
Antibiotics are very hard on the body. They disrupt the flora in the gut, and can cause major issues. This is a big concern for us, because of Lizzie’s constipation and yeast problems. Lizzie goes through cycles of being constipated and having a really loose stool. We can’t know if that is due to her condition or because of her daily antibiotic use. Because of that, it is very hard to diagnose and treat her bowel issues.
Yeast is also something that we deal with a lot due to antibiotics. The antibiotics don’t just attack the bad bacteria, they attack the good bacteria that you need to be healthy. Lizzie has had multiple yeast infections and we just got over a bad case of thrush.
Don’t get me wrong with all of this, I don’t think antibiotics are evil and I’m not against them in general. Antibiotics have literally saved our daughter’s life, so I know first hand how amazing they can be. I also understand that there are children who are more prone to UTI, and less responsive to antibiotics. But I do feel like antibiotics are over-prescribed, and can be dangerous for young children. There are studies showing that children on antibiotics at a young age are more prone to health problems such as asthma later in life.
So how do you balance it all and make the decision? Again, this is MY opinion, with no medical expertise. I would avoid antibiotics if I were able to do so. I might try heavy doses of probiotics along with more natural ways of avoiding UTI’s (cranberry juice, showers rather than baths, etc) before trying antibiotics. There has been some study on the effectiveness of treating VUR with probiotics, with positive results. This article has some good info. If there was a breakthrough infection, I might start prophylaxis, but I would consider going ahead with Deflux injection or reimplantation. There have been studies supporting Deflux injection before using prophylaxis.
All that being said… I’m a hypocrite, and Lizzie remains on antibiotics to this day. Because Lizzie’s case is so complicated, all of the specialists we have talked to have insisted that she stay on them. As much as we hate it, we don’t feel comfortable going against medical advice. It made the decision a lot easier when they threatened to quit treating her if we went against their advice.
So if your stuck with antibiotics, what do you do? My suggestion are:
- Probiotics – Florastor is one of the best to take while on antibiotics. It has a better chance of colonizing in spite of the antibiotics. It should be taken at least 2 hours before abx, but I try to give it half-way between doses.
- Watch your child’s sugar intake. This has really helped us in the yeast department.
- A healthy diet is imperative for helping to control the gut. Adding fiber to prevent constipation and making sure they are getting plenty of fruits and veggies.
- We also try to limit foods that have had exposure to antibiotics. This includes milk,cheese, beef, and chicken. Your best option is to buy foods that state on the label that they are antibiotic free (many companies are doing this now, Tysons, Kraft), or buy organic. If she is already taking daily antibiotics, I don’t want her to ingest extra doses, ya know?
- Lots of unsweetened Cranberry juice and water. Some studies show that cranberry juice can help reduce incidence of UTI and resistant bacteria. It can also be given capsules. Great to add to a smoothie, then your little one never knows it’s there!
Be sure and check out our links page under antibiotics, for some great info of prophylactic antibiotics.
