Please help. What is causing my nipple pain?

[CCF]

I've been breastfeeding my baby (my first) since his birth in early August. He latches, as far as I can tell, the same way on both sides. One side feels fine. I could let him nurse for hours there if he wanted. On the other side, I have fairly severe nipple pain, and can barely stand to let him get satiated.

The pain is definitely in the nipple, not the breast, and it's not a general soreness. It's a sharp pain. It feels as though there are a few distinct points causing the pain. The surface of this nipple looks different than the other: there are a few rough spots, that almost look like blisters, but are not white, or clear. They're just the same color as the rest of the nipple.

Could these be blebs, or milk blisters? All I've read says that they are white, and also that there would be a clogged duct behind them. I don't think I have a clogged duct. I don't feel any clogged milk building up in that breast. The nipple is not cracked, or sore in any other type of way.

Please help. I couldn't bear to let him nurse on that side at all today, and instead pumped every couple of hours. Pumping hurts a little, too, but nowhere near as badly as nursing.

[annettemarie]

I'm going to move this out to main forum where you'll get more traffic.

[MountainMamaGC]

It could be a number of things.

You could be pregnant. (Not to scare you)
It could be thrush.
It could be a milk blister.
AF could be coming soon.

I hope that helps. In the mean time slather on the lanolin.

[mom2happy]

Sounds like thrush or a milk blister.
You can try keeping that breast exposed to air for a few days.
Dont cover it even if you are leaking everywhere. For every feeding or time milk squirts out just rinse the nipple with a white vinegar and water mixture.

[CCF]

Originally Posted by annettemarie

I'm going to move this out to main forum where you'll get more traffic.

Thank you, Annette!

[CCF]

Originally Posted by Lydiah

It could be a number of things.

You could be pregnant. (Not to scare you)
It could be thrush.
It could be a milk blister.
AF could be coming soon.

I hope that helps. In the mean time slather on the lanolin.

Thanks, Lydiah and mom2happy. I don't think it's pregnancy or mentruation-related, and based on the descriptions I've read of thrush, I don't think it's that, either. Might be a milk blister, but, again, I thought that would be white (?).

I made an appointment with my midwife tomorrow, and hope she'll be able to help.

In the meantime, like you siggested, I'm using lansinoh and airing out as much as practical.

Thank you for taking time to reply!

[Anna Phor]

I get milk blisters (at least that's what I think they are!!) and they are absolutely *tiny*, so while they may be white, it's extremely difficult to tell because they are so small. What I feel is a sharp point of pain on the nipple, and sometimes it's surrounded by redness. I've had clogged ducts before too--that feels quite different (more like a bruise-ish pain, deeper in the breast).

Here's what helps; a hot shower where I let hot water sit on the nipple (but don't burn yourself!!), followed by a little hand expression of milk. If I do that, sometimes I can see the whiteness in the blister. The aim is to try to get a squeeze of milk to come out of the sore place. If that doesn't work, you can try to get the baby to nurse it out right after your shower. Once it comes out, I feel a sharp pain but then almost immediate relief.

I found that I had these mostly around the 4-5 month mark, which was just after I went back to work and was switching up between exclusive nursing on weekends & nursing/pumping weekdays. Adjusting the size of the pump horns helped. (Dunno if that's useful to your situation, though.)

good luck!!

[is it puppies?]

I found that I had some latching probs on one nipple and not the other and I got an actual blister on my nipple at one point even, and sometimes it would just have sharp spots of pain- which were for me easily remedied with a warm wet facecloth held against the nipple. I do this now whenever I have anything uncomfortable enough on my nipples (which is really not often anymore) and it works like a charm, but I haven't had any severe problems! I think I read this remedy on Kellymom.