Gentian Violet???

It is an old time medicine used on babies who had thrush. It is called violet because it is truly purple. Do not get it on anything that you do not want to be purple.

We used it when my son had thrush. It worked great to treat it (only took one or two treatments), but it was very messy and stains.

It is good for thrush and bad diaper rashes, but like Trisha said it is SUPER messy!

Treat your nipples and you can treat the inside of babys motuh as well.

I will never forget waking up to a bluebery faced babay who had been nursing all night while I was using it to treat thrush..to cute!

My understanding is that it is all natural. It's used to treat thrush in the mouth. I used it with my son many years ago and had good results. However, a word of caution...it stains EVERYTHING it touches!!! Good luck!

J.,

Yes, it's natural. I'm assuming you're looking into it due to thrush. It's a natural anti-fungal. Very, very messy. It will stain everything, so don't put on any clothes you're attached to while it's in use! If you're breast feeding put it on your nipple to decrease and chance of your breast to become infected and let your baby nurse. Usually, thrush will go away on it's own and for the most part does not cause the child discomfort, but if you're nipple gets infected it will cause you pain and you will just be passing the infection back and forth. Also, start taking a good probiotic (good bacteria). This will help to start regulating the bacteria in your gut to combat future infection.

It's an over the counter product - but I think it is man-made. It's actually a dye used primarily to stain bacteria in labs, but it also has some anti-fungal properties that make it useful in treating thrush. It's about as safe as anything used for thrush. Everything has a risk for allergic reactions and other problems. It does have a bit of alcohol in it, but most pediatricians are not concerned because you use so little of it at a time.

Watch out though! It's messy stuff, and stains clothes so easily. If a mother is breastfeeding, make sure that the nipple is also treated. Sterilize pacifiers and bottle nipples to keep the bacteria from being transferred back and forth. Check out Kellymom dot com for more information.
http://www.kellymom.com/newman/06gentian_violet.html

I felt like it was more trouble than it was worth. I'm assuming you and your child have thrush. I would say move straight to the hard stuff -- antibiotics. The genetian violet stains EVERYTHING purple, including your little one's mouth. You won't believe the comments people make about your little purple-mouthed infant. My 3-week old and I had thrush for two solid weeks and it was such horrible pain -- worse than natural childbirth for me. There are special diets and applications you can apply to your breast that won't stain your clothes or your kid. You might want to google the diet -- it is something to cut down on the amount of yeast in you. Also, you can get through it. I'm glad we made it becaue I nursed him for 14 months just like my daughter and I would hate to think about the outcome if I had given up in the midst of the pain.