ETA - Sorry Mods I've just realised that this post might not belong here. Please move if necessary. Thanks.
Does anyone have any suggestions for treating/healing dermatitis of the nipples?
I have a nearly 6 week old and breastfeeding has been painful from early on. I let my nipples get damaged from poor attachment in the first few days
I saw an LC and things improved with various strategies.
But, probably because of the damage and some antibiotics in theatre, I then developed thrush on my nipples. I also got a bacterial mastitis in both sides at the same time. I started ABs for the mastitis, a probiotic and treatment for the thrush (treated BabyGirl too. She has never had symptoms of oral thrush but did develop a thrush nappy rash).
After three weeks and three different thrush treatments my nipples were still extremely painful a quite pink but not shiny. BabyGirl's thrush was completely gone and she still didn't have mouth symptoms. Back to the GP who felt that the thrush was gone and that I had developed a dermatitis of the nipples. He prescribed a steroid ointment which has helped a bit but BFing is still quite painful most of the time. Especially on the right side which has always been the worst. I can actually have the occasional painfree feed on the left now.
The problem is that I should really only use the steroid for a week so Wednesday is the last day. As i said, they have improved a bit but not much. I do also have some atachement issues. Usually when she comes off I have a small blanched ridge but no broken skin like before.
Can anyone help with ideas for getting rid of the dermatitis? I don't use soap/lotions/creams etc on my nipples. I wash them in the shower once or twice a day and pat dry *extremely* gently! I have been using disposable breast pads as the reuseable ones were sticking to the raw areas but was thinking of going back to cloth to see if that helped now that I've healed.
I am going to talk to the LC at the drop-in clinic again on Wednesday but I am reluctant to go back to my GP at this stage. He has been really good so far but last time I was there he murmured something about women putting a lot of pressure on themselves to BF and sometimes thesse things were natures way of telling you enough was enough etc. So I doubt he will push the boat out looking for radical treatments IYKWIM.
Oh, and I did use a niplpe shield for four days when my nipples were really bad. It was great for pain relief/healing but we had problems with milk transfer and BabyGirl lost weight that week
so I really don't want to go there again. Fortunately my supply has been excellent all along and she is thriving.She has gained 750g in the last 2 weeks 
Anyway, this has become very long. Thank you for reading and if anyone can help I would be so grateful.
Regards
Kate
Does anyone have any suggestions for treating/healing dermatitis of the nipples?
I have a nearly 6 week old and breastfeeding has been painful from early on. I let my nipples get damaged from poor attachment in the first few days
I saw an LC and things improved with various strategies.But, probably because of the damage and some antibiotics in theatre, I then developed thrush on my nipples. I also got a bacterial mastitis in both sides at the same time. I started ABs for the mastitis, a probiotic and treatment for the thrush (treated BabyGirl too. She has never had symptoms of oral thrush but did develop a thrush nappy rash).
After three weeks and three different thrush treatments my nipples were still extremely painful a quite pink but not shiny. BabyGirl's thrush was completely gone and she still didn't have mouth symptoms. Back to the GP who felt that the thrush was gone and that I had developed a dermatitis of the nipples. He prescribed a steroid ointment which has helped a bit but BFing is still quite painful most of the time. Especially on the right side which has always been the worst. I can actually have the occasional painfree feed on the left now.
The problem is that I should really only use the steroid for a week so Wednesday is the last day. As i said, they have improved a bit but not much. I do also have some atachement issues. Usually when she comes off I have a small blanched ridge but no broken skin like before.
Can anyone help with ideas for getting rid of the dermatitis? I don't use soap/lotions/creams etc on my nipples. I wash them in the shower once or twice a day and pat dry *extremely* gently! I have been using disposable breast pads as the reuseable ones were sticking to the raw areas but was thinking of going back to cloth to see if that helped now that I've healed.
I am going to talk to the LC at the drop-in clinic again on Wednesday but I am reluctant to go back to my GP at this stage. He has been really good so far but last time I was there he murmured something about women putting a lot of pressure on themselves to BF and sometimes thesse things were natures way of telling you enough was enough etc. So I doubt he will push the boat out looking for radical treatments IYKWIM.
Oh, and I did use a niplpe shield for four days when my nipples were really bad. It was great for pain relief/healing but we had problems with milk transfer and BabyGirl lost weight that week
so I really don't want to go there again. Fortunately my supply has been excellent all along and she is thriving.She has gained 750g in the last 2 weeks Anyway, this has become very long. Thank you for reading and if anyone can help I would be so grateful.
Regards
Kate
