Any ideas?

[VOBetz]

My daughter is a month old. She has nursed from birth, without artificial nipples or formula. She's gaining weight steadily.

The problem is that when she was 4-6 days old my nipple cracked. The crack is located on on the side just about where the nipple meets the areola. The crack is fairly large, maybe 2-3 mm wide.

I've worked on our latch & positioning and have had 3 different lactation consultants tell me that we are doing well. I know she has a large amount of nipple and areola in her mouth. She is drinking regularly. It is still uncomfortable/painful to nurse on the injured side. It feels like pinching, lasts through the feeding, gets better during a letdown and continues for a few minutes after nursing. However, the crack is not getting any better 3 weeks later.

I've tried lanolin, antibiotic ointment, all purpose nipple oinment, saline rinses, keeping it moist with soothie gel pads and then exposing it to air as much as possible. I've tried each for at least 4-5 days, and was using the APNO for about 9-10.

I'm out of ideas.

[RootSnort]

What about neosporin + pain ointment?
Or what about prescription Lidocaine gel over the bad spots?
Just wipe it all off before nursing, perhaps with a lanolin diaper wipe.

[mama24-7]

Ouch!

How about changing positions so her bottom jaw is no where near the injury? Breastmilk has healing propertiies - try applying that in addition to positioning her differently. You could also try nursing her on the side that w/o the cut then switching her to the cut side after you've had a let-down.

Good for you both for sticking through this!

Sus

[2boyzmama]

Have you tried pumping? I wonder if the pump shield will rub in different spots allowing that spot to heal. Beware, though, that it may make it worse, so try with caution!! If you find that it's less painful to pump, then nurse her on your non-effected side and pump the sore side. Your supply will adjust quickly, don't worry about that. After a few days you might find it starting to heal, and as a plus you'll have built up a nice supply of frozen milk! As an aside: When pumping, I find it helpful to rub a bit of lanolin on the shields, otherwise the friction bothers me. Oh yeah, try a larger shield, too, less likely to rub on your sore spot then.

Good luck! Good for you for hanging in there.

Mama to Ian (3-17-05) : and Connor (3-3-07) : :

[RootSnort]

The extra-large Medella pump horns will keep the plastic way away from the wound, so there will be no rubbing.

[alegna]

It took a full 6 weeks for my cracked nipples to stop hurting.



hang in there!

-Angela

[VOBetz]

Originally Posted by alegna

It took a full 6 weeks for my cracked nipples to stop hurting.



hang in there!

-Angela

Did you have to do anything to help them heal, or did they just heal on their own?

[alegna]

They healed on their own. Dd's latch got better as her mouth got larger. I did use lanolin, but that was for comfort, not healing.

I don't DO anything to heal a skinned knee, why would nipples need help to heal?



-Angela

[babygrace]

Originally Posted by alegna

They healed on their own. Dd's latch got better as her mouth got larger. I did use lanolin, but that was for comfort, not healing.

I don't DO anything to heal a skinned knee, why would nipples need help to heal?



-Angela

is skin on the knees and the super sensitive skin on nipples really comparable?

another point, you can keep a skinned knee fairly dry, not so the case with bf'g nipples.

[alegna]

Okaaaayyyy... when you bite your cheek, do you do anything to help it heal?

I think that the human body is great at healing itself.

-Angela

[babygrace]

Originally Posted by alegna

Okaaaayyyy... when you bite your cheek, do you do anything to help it heal?

I think that the human body is great at healing itself.

-Angela

the cheek is already a moist area, so the healing mechanism is different. no doubt the human body is good at healing itself, but a breastfeeding mama in pain needs all the help she can. not to forget, each of us and our bodies handles pain differently.

[lactivist]

Have you tried getting baby cranial sacral therapy. My ds2 had some neck issues and he would hurt my on one side more than the other and his latch looked great but he was curling his tongue up. After each treatment I saw dramatic improvements in his nursing and my pain level. Just a thought.
Wendi

[phreedom]

I had the cracked nipples for about 6 weeks too. I would put lansinoh on them but yeah...it was mostly for comfort. They just kind of healed on their own. My right side was worse than the left. When it got really bad I would just do a few pumping sessions on the bad side. I would also go shirt/braless as often as I could to let them dry out. I did eventually get better.

[alegna]

Originally Posted by babygrace

the cheek is already a moist area, so the healing mechanism is different. no doubt the human body is good at healing itself, but a breastfeeding mama in pain needs all the help she can. not to forget, each of us and our bodies handles pain differently.

Sure, whatever. She asked how I dealt with exactly the same thing. I responded with my reasoning.... no need to be defensive...

-Angela

[VOBetz]

Thanks for the responses. I think I will just stick with lanisoh for pain relief and wait another couple of weeks. It seems like the crack is getting better because its less uncomfortable to nurse on that side, but it doesn't look any better/different.

But hearing two women say it took 6 weeks gives me the confidence that they *will* heal on their own and that I can nurse though it.

[alegna]

There is a light at the end of the tunnel! My dd is almost 3 and still nursing

-Angela

[VOBetz]

Thanks again. I nursed my son for 15 months and so I knew I didn't want to stop nursing, but I was starting to think I'd have to stop using that boob! I can handle the current situation for another couple of weeks. Hopefully by the time she's two months old, it will be in the past.

[arlecchina]

lasinoh helped me get thrush,,,, after i used hydrogen peroxide mine cleared eventually but it was pretty infected.