Healing a Crack

[liberal_chick]

Really it is more like a hole, but regardless it is KILLING.ME. Ds had a bad latch for the first nursing session he ever did and it apparently got this hole started. I fixed the latch for subsequent nursing sessions, but it seems to be more and more painful every day. To the point that I dread nursing on that side and have to basically grit my teeth and curl my toes to get through the first minute or two (after that the pain greatly diminishes).

I need tips on how to get this thing to heal. I'm leaving it exposed to the air as much as possible and putting BM and lanolin on it.

[aphel]

Oh mama, how sorry I am!

I've had persistent thrush for about 8 weeks, so I had horrible cracks that were at least partially due to the infection. Lansinoh was never really enough for me, I moved on to Dr. Newman's prescription ointment early on, though that has some drawbacks and I didn't want to use it long term (steroids, antifungals, etc.).

Eventually, what really helped us (besides treating the thrush which I hope you don't have!) was to switch positions. Instead of cradle hold, I switched to football for a good week, so there was no pressure on the affected area. After weeks of trying everything (air drying, sun exposure, lansinoh, neosporin) that really seemed to make a big difference.

Happy and speedy healing to you!

[JenRN]

Poor Mama! I went through the same thing, and it's miserable! I would literally bawl everytime I had to nurse DD on my left side.

Here's what my lactation consultant told me to do:

1. Make sure the baby is latching properly. It's never going to heal if a bad latch keeps opening it.
2. If it's scabbed - putting a warm washcloth on the nipple for a few minutes before a feeding will help soften the scab and take some of that initial excrutiating pain away.
3. Here's the miracle that helped almost immediately. I felt such great relieft after using it once and was healed within a week - Use hydrocortisone cream 1%, antibiotic ointment (i.e. Neosporin), antifungal ointment (i.e. Monistat). Place a *dab* of each onto the nipple after feedings, not enough to make the nipple white, just shiny. I always put on the hydrocortisone cream first because it made it feel so much better. She said it's perfectly safe for baby to nurse without wiping it off.

[annettemarie]

I'm going to move this out to the main forum, as unfortunately, it's a fairly common problem. Feel better soon!

[nicky85]

See a pediatric chiropractor or osteopath for latch problems! Baby's jaw may have been pushed out of alignment during birth. Go to icpa4kids.org to find a chiropractor near you.

[July09Mama]

Aww, that really hurts! I'm so sorry! I had the same thing happen from a bad latch early on, and the only thing that really helped me was to use a nipple shield for about a week. I know they can have some serious side-effects, so I'd hold off until you feel you really need it, but for me it seriously provided just enough pain relief during nursing that I was able to keep going. I honestly think I might have quit without it. I will say, though, that it still took a long time to heal; maybe a month? But the pain decreases as it gets better. Good luck!

[Galatea]

Newman's all-purpose nipple ointment (you can make it at home from yeast cream, cortisone and antibiotic cream) with a gel soothie pad on top healed mine in 36 hours! In the meantime, I pumped and/or used the football hold.