sick and Bfing

[sg784]

Im nursing 6 week old dd and Im very sick...Strep I assume, Throat kills, angry red with some white patches/flecks, low fever, headache, body aches and ear ache. DS, 18 mos is also nursing and sick. Not sure what hes got as he's too young to really tell me. only physical sign is boogery nose,

I know my BM will help keep DD from getting sick, and will help DS get better faster, but what about , um for a lack of a better term "nipple contamination"? If DS has something different can he spread it to DD? Should I assign them each a boob? sorry if this sounds stupid....

[StrawberryFields]

Originally Posted by sg784

I know my BM will help keep DD from getting sick, and will help DS get better faster, but what about , um for a lack of a better term "nipple contamination"? If DS has something different can he spread it to DD? Should I assign them each a boob? sorry if this sounds stupid....

I don't have any real information about the topic but just wanted to pop in and say that you are not alone so don't feel stupid! When dd was born ds was really sick with a respiratory thing. Since she was brand spanking new and all, I had the same concerns you did. So I just washed off with soap and water after ds was done nursing. I continued to do that throughout her newborn period if ds was sick and she was not. Don't know if it is actually necessary or not, but it is what I felt most comfortable with.

[Llyra]

I think that if baby and older child are already living in the same house, breathing the same air and being cared for by you, baby is already being exposed to whatever illness is in the house, and whatever exposure might come from sharing a nipple is really not gonna matter too much. So I wouldn't worry about it or take extra precautions. I would be careful with soap and water on the nipple, since this might uncomfortably dry the nipple. If you do that, make sure to use lanolin or something else that will moisturize and still be safe for the kiddos.

The only time I'd think about "nipple contamination" and consider washing would be in the event of a GI illness, since most of the viruses that cause those are spread through saliva/vomit/feces and avoiding sharing saliva is really a great way to prevent them spread of something like that. In that case, I would wash with soap and water after each kid nurses, for a day or two.

[Hokulele]

I have the same concerns, but the pp is right. They are already swapping germs all over the house, so they are already going to catch what the other one has. Sometimes, when one is very sick, I will wash off my nipples, or shower, after nursing the sick one just to be ultra safe.