extremely cracked nipples

[mrbumpsmum]

I have a 3 week old baby boy who has tongue tie being operated on Monday (tmr). EBF but how do I continue to feed and heal my nipples. Currently using silverettes, nipple shield for feeding, using all the creams. Nothing is really healing my nipples. Pain is still extreme during and in-between feeds. Have any of you been here? and how long did it take for your nipples to recover? Thanks

Glad that the cause of your problem is being sorted out mrbumpsmum, hope it goes well on Monday [hsmile]

Haven't got any experience to share but thought you mind find this useful.

Thx for the link to kellymom. I tried the salt solution but it didn't do much as the crack in each nipple is very severe :-(. I am really hoping the tongue tie snip is going to make a big difference as ds has very strong suction and even with a nip shield I am in pain when feeding. I have tried both lansinoh and kamillosan. Have mainly been using the lansinoh but to be honest its not done much so I think I am going to try more of the K cream. I have never experienced such pain and the cracks in my nipples are very deep and I am at a loss as to what else I can try to heal them other than stop bf! Will hang in there and hope the tt snip really makes a difference.

The wounds heal best if kept moist. See BfN sheet "Cracked Nipples and Moist Wound Healing - Assessing the Evidence". Keeping the wound covered with something like white paraffin or gauze voered in that helps to prevent a scab forming. It is partly the scab being sucked off at each feed that causes so much pain .

I hope the TT snip helps.

Oh and just to add, are you being supported in person by anyone? It would be worth seeing if there's anyone from any of the 4 national bf orgs local enough to visit or meet you and observe a feed. If the damage is this bad with shields and not improving, then it may be that the shields themselves might be in some way contributing. An expert assessment of positioning and attachment is crucial.

In my experience, once the cause of the damage is resolved then the nipples usually heal in a matter of days, even with v severe damage. However, working out the cause (or causes) is crucial and might involve any or all of tongue tie, nipple shield, positioning & attachment and maybe other factors in your case. This is why it can be so helpful to see someone in person if possible.

Sorry, one more thought. If the pain is v bad, are you taking painkillers at least as a stop-gap until the snip is done? Provided you're not allergic or asthmatic ibuprofen and pareacetamol can be taken alternating provided you stay within the max daily dose for each.

Ouch you poor thing!

No more advice than you've already been given, keep your nipples moist so that a scab doesn't try to form and then once the tongue tie is fixed then I would try and see a BFC to check your latch and make sure your positioning etc is right.

Fingers crossed that you are all healed up soon.

My DD had tongue tie and after the snip everything sorted itself out and she started to gain weight.

My nipples were in a right old state and I used Jelonet. I'm a MASSIVE fan. See the post on Jelonet a few up from this one and you'll see what I mean.

I found that my nipples only really healed when I started using breast shells (impossible out of the house though!) as these helped the moist healing. My bra and breast pads had been sticking to my nipples making the injuries worse.

I applied lashings of Lansinoh before and after feeding, took paracetamol half hour before feeds when the pain was too much. Oh and put Lansinoh on breast pads when I couldn't wear breast shells. Get as much air to them as possible and don't let them dry out after bathing as will make the cracks worse.

It does get better. Still feeding and DD 8 months now (my nipples are still two different colours but hey ho!).

I had terrible cracks in my nipples which didn't heal and the midwife thought it was due to thrush. I used nipple shields for a day whilst I was being treated for the thrush just to give me a bit of a break but I found once the thrush was gone they healed very quickly without anything but Kamillosan and my ds fed from both breasts at every feed. I really was amazed at how quickly new skin grew over the holes once I had been treated successfully, just an idea as something to look into. Hope you feel better soon.

belgianbun - I have never heard that? I was encouraged to take ibuprofen when I had mastitis as it helps to bring the swelling down and can allow blockages to move. Was recommended by several drs.

There is a lot of hysteria I think, and there are certainly many agendas - not least of which is this idea that BF must be seen as a sacrifice.

You mustn't drink if you BF (bollocks), you mustn't have too much caffine (bollocks), you must eat certain foods or the quality of your milk will be affected (bollocks), you mustn't take XYZ medication.

Yes there are definitely some things you shouldn't take while BFing, and no-one would advise drinking a bottle of wine a night - but it is made out to be so restrictive when infact it isn't.

Sorry rant over, it is something I get v.worked up about! Clearly certain babies are sensitive to certain things - for example DS got terrible wind if I had champagne so I tended to avoid it, and a friend of mine found that her DD was really unsettled if she drank coffee. But as a general rule you can pretty much carry on as normal.

Many thanks to you all for you wonderful advice and tips. DS had his TT snip this morning and then for the first time in a week I fed him without a nip shield. One side seemed a lot less pain free however my most damaged nipple was still painful. The lactation consultant checked the extent of the cracks and I explained that I have extreme stinging, throbbing pain in-between feeds in my nipples. She said it seemed possible that it was symptoms of thrush and recommended Daktarin cream and getting lots of air to nipples rather than keeping them too moist.