I need to heal a cut on my nipple.

[iwasagirlinavillage]

I'm breastfeeding and have a cut/split at the base of my nipple. Not sure of the cause - thought it was thrush but now the GP isn't sure so he's sent off a swab. But what can I do to help it heal?

• I'm trying to feed from the other side more but the good side has the lowest supply due to a previous surgery. I'm offering that side first and really trying not to feed on the other side that much - trying to give one big feed from that side rather than cluster feeding.
• I'm using a saline solution after every feed.
• Getting air to it as much as possible.

She is 7 1/2 months but she was premature so she's still small and still feeds VERY often. As her weight gain has been slow I've always allowed her to feed as much as she wants and that is a lot. The longest stretch I get without a feed is 4 or 5 hours in the evening. Is there anything I can do in this time to help it to heal quicker? The cut is right where her tongue is when feeding so every feed opens it back up again and it is agony!

[Twistmeandturnme]

do they still make camilosan? It saved my nipples back in the day after first DC basically sucked the top off one .
Also nipple shields until it's healed up a bit (if your baby can manage to latch).

[Twistmeandturnme]

...still make it, but it's actually Kamillosan. Good luck, and well done for persevering; it does hurt!

[imip]

I had this with dd4 but she was one year old. Fresh air was the answer. I feed from the other side. You can get these little breast pad contraptions that were a life saver for all my 4 dds. It is by Avent and a breast shell that is ventilated and keeps clothes etc off the nipple. Not going to win any style awards, but I struggled breastfeeding all 4 dds and this really helped. Used sterilised, it keeps the breadth milk that has leaked from your breast ( more when they are nb and you leak all the time.

Is your latch ok? When I repositioned her latch, it was much less painful.

[HumphreyCobblers]

Stop getting air to it. Moist wound healing is the way forward.

every time it dries and heals, it will then crack again from the bottom when you latch the baby on

use jelonet (you can get it from the chemist) over the wound all the time until it heals.

I had a massive crack in my nipple, it was agony. People telling me to air dry it was making it so much worse. It didn't heal until my breastfeeding consultant gave me the above advice. Best of luck.

[iwasagirlinavillage]

Thanks for the replies.

I'm currently stuck indoors with DD1 who has chicken pox so Amazon is my friend but annoyingly they don't have Kamillosan in stock. They do have jelonet but I read something that said not to use it if the problem is caused by thrush and at present we're unsure. Once I get the results back and, if it's not thrush, I'll order some.

Do you think in the meantime lanolin would help? Also, this might sound ridiculous but when I had a deep cut on my finger I put savlon on with a plaster over to keep it moist and it healed really quickly. Do you think I could try that in the evening so long as I washed the savlon off really thoroughly? I'm hoping if nothing else that it at least won't open the split up anymore.

[LimitedSedition]

I used Lasinoh and found that really effective.

[HumphreyCobblers]

I would try anything as long as it didn't dry out!

Hope you feel better soon.

[ActuallyThatsSUPREMECommander]

I swore by lansinoh. Literally, as in "get me my fucking Lansinoh NOW! Fucking agony here!"

[Glamorousglitter]

Oh god been there ! And then after feeding dd for nearly 10 months she had a cross day teething and in frustration bit me - it was fresh hell all over again.

One of the best things I was told was to avoids getting it wet. So put lansinoh over it in the shower and turn your back to the water.

I found multimam really really really good - I m fair skinned and my skin scars and cuts easily and is slow to heal. This helped - I would put multi Mam on first let it dry in and let nipples out to air as much as possible, then also put lansinoh on if I was putting breast pads on. Keep changing breast pads. Reduce sugar in diet also helped me. Hope it heals up quickly and that s really well done for bf a premie !

[coffeecuppa]

I had this around the same age. I used daktarin oral gel on my nipples and it cleared it right up. It was safe for DS to ingest when he fed, so I didn't need to wipe it off before each feed.

[Beckface]

Get your GP/HV to prescribe you some Atrauman impregnated dressings (5cm x 5cm). They help to keep the wound moist and stop it forming scabs/sticking to pads, enabling it to heal from within. They have kept me breastfeeding despite baby having a bad latch for monthsale on end.

[Beckface]

*months - I swear this tablet pays no attention to what I actually type!

You'll need loads, I was changing them every feed initially, then every other and am not using them at all now.

[2tiredtothinkofausername]

Nipple pain is the worse. pumping off the sore side for a little while helps. I remember the BF consultant taking one look at my ravaged nipple and being like do not put a baby near that until it has healed up a bit!

Have some you deserve it!

[iwasagirlinavillage]

Some antiseptic cream and a plaster over it seemed to help. I managed to do that for about 2 hours during the day and only 3 hours this evening as she decided she wanted to wake up early for a feed. When I took the plaster off after the 3 hours I could actually see the skin trying to knit itself together over the top. Annoyingly I think it's all opened up again after the feed. I'll just have to persist and try to keep it moist to aid healing as I think that's going to be quicker. It's also less painful than letting it air dry and the skin around it is dry anyway so air drying is making that more sore. I'm a bit concerned that she's not getting as much as normal. It wouldn't surprise me if letdown is a bit slower than normal because of the pain. I'm also questioning if it's possible to lose a nipple this way - extreme and paranoid reaction! I remember googling nipple thrush on google images and there was a photo that terrified me.

Hopefully I'll be able to get the results of the swab back tomorrow and know if I need any further treatment. Thank you for all of the replies.

[Glamorousglitter]

Oh my god why did I not remember ! Dr jack Newman all purpose nipple cream - you ll need a go prescription for it and the pharmacist has to make it up as a compound (they are a bit reluctant - not sure why, we had to try a few different pharmacies to get it .
It s brilliant there s an antifungal andnantibacterial in it and I think you can feed through it. Check it out on jack Newman website - print out the page and bring it to the gp for the prescription. I had to on the advice of a lactation consultant - how did I forget this drama !

[GingerAndTheBiscuits]

Jelonet is a thing of wonder. Put it on between feeds, cover with a reusable breast pad, and made sure it's off before each feed. Saved my breastfeeding relationship with DD2 as a newborn when mine were shredded!

[Hawkmoth]

Can you try a different position so that her tongue/teeth aren't near the cut?

I'm going through this at the moment. I have a hole at nine o'clock which his teeth graze in a cross body position but if I feed him lying down it's fine.

[25bottles]

Keep it wet with a breast pad. This happens to me every time I bf a new baby.
Don't let it dry out.
Keep feeding after a couple of sucks there is no pain.
Use lanolin after every feed.
The scab will get smaller everyday.
Soon it will come off in the breastpad or baby will end up sucking it off.

[CatsCantFlyFast]

Whatever you use make sure that it's safe for the baby to injest. I'd say lanolin and keep your clothes away from it - you can cut an empty loo roll down to stick over your nipple in your bra to keep your bra away from your skin.
Also change the position when you're feeding off that side to ensure the tongue isn't hitting that point. So if you normally cradle try side lying or rugby ball. There's a good chance the cut is caused by a latch issue (shallow latch/tongue tie?) so I'd also recommend getting some feeding help, not least because if there is a latch issue the baby won't be transferring milk as effectively as they could be

[elvislives2012]

I had this. Lansinoh and air fixed it. You need to keep feeding from that side otherwise it affects your supply. She's a bit older so could you try a nipple shield? Would only be a short term solution. She may not let you but it's worth a try.
Also, sounds obvious, but take painkillers half hour before you feed to reduce any discomfort.
Poor you xxx

[iwasagirlinavillage]

Thank you so much to everyone for replying with your suggestions and sympathy. I'm thinking it can't hurt to get the latch checked out. Although she's 7 months and been fine up to now I'm wondering if either we've become lazy or as she's got bigger she's changed position and maybe the latch isn't as good as it could be. I also noticed recently that she's got a lip tie so maybe as she's got bigger that's become more of a problem. The only thing is that her sister had chickenpox and because she's highly likely to already be infected I don't fee right about taking her to a breastfeeding support group where there will be newborns.

The cut is from 6 o'clock to 8 o'clock on my nipple. I've tried the rugby hold but then tithe cut ends up half on her tongue and I don't know if that's worse. It feels just as painful. Really she needs to be laying upside down with her feet on my head to get a good position! I'm not sure it's really practical.

It's really sore today. For all the healing last night it's opened back up again with the night feeds. I need to order something more effective to try on it. There are so many suggestions here I don't know what's best. Jelonet sounds like a good idea, if I get my swab results back today and there's no thrush then I'll order some or try to buy some from a chemist - DH is home today so I can pop out for a little bit. I need to for my sanity anyway!

[iwasagirlinavillage]

Oh yes, nipple shields. I had some as she used to have issues feeding on that side, ironically, and a nipple shield was the only way she'd take that side at first. So I tried it the other day and she pulled it off spat it out and latched back on without it! I have tried a few more times since but she seems to get really annoyed with it because she's not getting milk right away.

[Twistmeandturnme]

Could you express from that side for a few days to give it a chance to heal without the intermittent friction of feeding?
It's been years but my toes curl just remembering the pain!

[CatsCantFlyFast]

I'm trying to think whether it would work but could you try side lying to feed with her the other way up? So her feet are up next to your head like you said

[iwasagirlinavillage]

Got the swab results back - no thrush or bacteria so I don't know what's caused it but I've at least been able to order some jelonet. I need to go along to a breastfeeding clinic to get latch checked but with possible chickenpox it will have to wait for now.