Diagnosed as "Eczema" - ive never had eczema before!

[motherhendoula]

Eczema on my nipples?  and no where else?  Any one experience this?  I have a red, dry, sometimes itchy rash in a ring around the base of my nipples - i assumed thrush because....what else could it be?  this has been going on for about 4 months - it comes and goes and for the last two weeks has been here and getting worse. 

Took the baby (6 mos) to his doc - he has no thrush.   I saw a dermatologist who told me it was  "eczema, brought on by a break down of the skin barrier"  and to use hydrocortisone cream after i had stopped nursing...as in possibly years from now....

should i seek a second opinion from another dermatologist?  My midwife recommended many herbal things i could do (for thrush) and frankly, they arent working.   I also have heard that hydrocortisone is OK while breastfeeding  - but i havent tried it yet.

i guess i need help sorting out which direction i should go here!

[Thandiwe]

Not sure how much help I really will be, but if thrush treatments aren't working, then why not try treating the eczema and see if it helps?

Maybe an herbal cream for healing?  I'm guessing you've tried applying lanolin several times a day, airing your breasts after nursing? 

  Sounds painful!

[BeeBU]

sometimes they use the word excema like they use the word "dermatitis" as a generic skin condition.  I was diagnosed with it on my hands while I was pregnant.  You could try increasing your OMEGA 3 oil intake.  I found that if I don't take my cod liver oil pills it'll get worse. It also helped the patches of "excema" my DD was diagnosed with on her legs

Just my experience though, not sure if it works for everybody.

[mrskingred]

I'd treat the excema if that is what it is. Have other conditions like "ringworm" been ruled out. I got ringworm on my hands while I was pregnant  - it wasn't properly diagnosed until my new baby developed classic ringworm rounds on his torso where I had been holding him while bathing him. He was treated fairly simply, but mine persisted until he was almost 2 years old.

I hope that you find a cure soon. Good luck!

[lunarlady]

I had that and it sucked.  Basically my DD would sort of drool during feedings, and the wet skin got dry and chapped.  Not on the nipple, but on the skin just around.  I assume because the nipple itself has some resistance to being wet and slobbery that my normal skin lacks. 

Here's what helped me (and I did clear it up!  I'm at 4+ years of BF, and struggled with that for about 8 months early on.)

Sunning my nipples (this is tricky if you're a modest urban mama, but I did it in my bedroom with the window open.  If I lay on the floor nobody could see me.)

Olive oil massage of the sore parts, whenever they were dry and itchy.  (I didn't mind if DD ingested a little olive oil.)

All cotton nursing pads, bras, and even shirts for awhile.  (Disposable nursing pads and lily pads always made it worse, and my pretty lace covered non-cotton nursing bras also irritate the area.)

Drying my nipples carefully after nursing.  I even tried a hair dryer on the cool setting a couple times. No putting the lovelies away wet.

Sleeping topless so that the area could get some air and less irritation.  (DH loved this one.)

I also tried lanolin, motherlove nipple cream, calendula lotion, and even some hydrocortozone cream one time, but none of those seemed to help to much.  Bathing actually helped when I did baking soda baths, but that seems to always help with any skin issues I have.

Good luck!

[motherhendoula]

Thanks for all the help ladies...i think i overlooked the crux of the problem....i think i have a poor latch while nursing lying down.  I tried to nurse only sitting up and in the last 48 hours this is about 75% gone.   I am a plus sized mom and very BB - i wasnt comfortable nursing while lying down when LO was first born ...but he was a great sleeper  then - around 4 months old (he is 6 mo now)  he started waking more often at night - and i would just grab him and stick him on while lying down.....

so, annoying as it is - i guess i will have to prop myself up and nurse sitting up for a little while!  I just cant believe that THAT was what the problem was!!