Youch.
I would say that you may want to pay an extra visit to your doctor if you're worried.
Thrush is a fungal infection and is caused by an imbalance of the Candida organism in your body. Broken skin
can be a contributing factor. The advice in that situation seems to be to continue treatment even after the symptoms appear to have gone. These are questions your doctor could help answer. Once you've cleared it you may want to also take a look at your diet e.g take a probiotic supplement which will help prevent it reoccuring. Plus make sure you hot wash everything that may have come into contact with the thrush very thoroughly.
Also at 8.5 weeks you should hopefully have your latch sorted and this sort of damage should ideally not be occurring so it really may be worth talking to your LC again in case there's something that needs looking at.
Good Luck. HUG
This will pass and of course it will all be worth it in the end!
Here is some info from the LLL site:
After treatment for thrush begins, the symptoms may appear to get worse for a couple of days before improving. While the pain continues, offer your baby short, frequent feedings, beginning of the least painful side. Be sure to rinse your nipples and let them air dry after each feeding.
If your baby uses a pacifier or bottle nipple, they should be boiled for 20 minutes a day and replaced every week. Don't forget to boil all breast pump parts that come in contact with milk, if you are pumping. (The milk you pump during a thrush outbreak can be fed to your baby but not frozen. Freezing breastmilk does not kill the yeast in it.) Toys that go in your baby's mouth should be washed with hot, soapy water.
In addition to the medical treatment, there are other steps you can take.
Wash all bras, bra pads, nightgowns, etc (anything that comes in contact with your nipples) in HOT water with bleach and dry on hot in the dryer or in the sun.
Rinsing your nipples with a vinegar and water solution (1 tablespoon vinegar to 1 cup water) after every feeding is helpful. Use a fresh cotton ball for each application and mix a new solution every day.
Some women add acidophilus supplements to their diet.
Some women find that reducing yeast and sugar in their diet helps.
These home remedies can be effective but they should be in addition to the medication, not instead of it.
Be careful with hand washing, especially after diaper changes. Babies can get yeasty diaper rashes very easily. If you use cloth diapers or nursing pads, the yeast can be passed through the laundry.
http://www.lalecheleague.org/FAQ/thrush.htmlThis article is also pretty comprehensive although it contains some slightly scary photos:
http://lactinv.com/tscreen.htm
