Need Advice

[DocsNemesis]

My son and I have been battling thrush for a couple of weeks now. The trush is gone (at least for now) but my nipples are literally torn at the bottom of them. They hurt horribly and arnt healing-its been 5 days with no thrush at all and they still look the same.

I'm wondering if I should give them a break and bottle feed for a few days. They hurt so bad and I'm not sure how much more I can take. Any other suggestions for helping them heal? Any help is greatly appreciated. TIA

[alegna]

Hmmm- are you *sure* the thrush is gone? Is there visible damage? Or they just hurt?

If visible damage- is it getting better? When my nipples were torn up (no thrush though...) I iced them before nursing a few times. Feels weird as heck, but helps the pain. Some women like heat better. Find a non-thrush-risk nipple ointment of some sort. Lanolin helped mine, but you don't want that in thrush territory.

Try different holds and positions. With dd I found that cradle-hold tended to re-open the gashes, while in football or side lying they stayed closed better.

Check latch- is his latch *perfect*? Look for any way to improve it.

Lots of hugs! Hope those boobies are healed soon!

Oh- take ibuprofen. Really. As much as you need.

-Angela

[DocsNemesis]

Im actually on percocet for the pain. As far as we can tell the thrush is gone. His latch is fine, I wasnt having any issues before the thrush and hes my 4th breastfed baby, so I can tell if hes latched right or not.

The undersides got extremely dry during and completely cracked open. Its like a gash under each-they were completely open and bleeding before. They arnt bleeding now but the gashes dont look any different from that first day to now.

[alegna]

I feel your pain... I'd find a non-thrush feeding ointment of some sort. I think motherlove? has some?

hope you heal up soon. With dd I remember thinking that it looked like my nipples would rip clean off...

-Angela

[smanore]

You could have your milk cultured to see exactly what you're dealing with. Or perhaps see a dermatologist. It could be eczema, bacterial infection, contact dermatitis etc. Once on the right thing, you might feel better. Anyone look at the baby to be sure that's not causing the new damage?