where do you get Gential V iolet?

[posterelle]

and what am I looking for exactly? I went to a health food store yesterday, they said they'd never heard of it. I found a flower essence (brand: Bach) called "Gentian", directions were for making a tincture w/it, but I didn't know if that was the stuff.

???

[KathyO]

If you're looking for it to treat a thrush/candida infection, then it's Gentian Violet you want. It gets painted on the affected areas. Here are some directions on how to use it:

http://www.bflrc.com/newman/breastfeeding/gentviol.htm

although I don't know personally how it compares to other available remedies. I DO gather that it looks like heck and stains like crazy, so don't wear your nice clothes!

Hope that helps,

KathyO

[posterelle]

I know how to use it, etc., just not *where* to find it. I looked in a large well-stocked health food store last night, & they didn't have it.

[posterelle]

p.s. I really do know how to spell it. Just can't type one-handed.

[KathyO]

Sorry! But yes, it sounds like you found the right stuff on your first try there. Failing that, try asking a pharmacist. Even if it's not on their shelves, they'll frequently know where to find it, or they'll have it in the back somewhere. (We had to do this when we needed rennet to make junket... a friend who was undergoing chemotherapy was craving it from her English childhood. The pharmacist located it!)

Hope that helps, and good luck!

KathyO

[jubilee]

If you use it, make sure to put a good coat of vasaline around the area you don't want purple. The purple stain lasts for about a week. So, if you are putting it on your baby's tongue, put the vasaline on the baby's lips so you won't have a clown baby with purple lips! My mom always used it on me because I wouldn't use bandaids, so every cut and scrape was coated in GV. It is available at a lot of drug stores in the first aid section, but you might find it at a farm supply store as well since some use it on horses.

[ginalc]

Did you find it?

Once I found it at a health food store, another time I had a pharmacist make some up for me. The health food store brand contained alcohol, the pharmacist's brew did not. It was cheaper through the pharmacist, but he needed a prescription and needed to know the strength (I think it was 1%).

gina, mom to 3
suffered through 2 yeast infections with 2 different babies

[nigele]

Please be careful - a board certified pediatric oncologist informed me that gentian violet is carcinogenic. I would check with your ped before using it.