Best tips for healing very cracked nips... please!!

[sockmonkey]

I'm currently taking meds for thrush, was given a cream, which I had a reaction to, and now have very cracked nipples. Think less crack more canyon. Crack is weepy, sore and tends to stick to my breast-pads so have an extra ye-ouch moment having to peel them off, generally taking bits of nipple with it. Leaving me looking like this :

I'm using linusoh (sp) but wondered if there were any tips for healing faster.
DD flat out refuses to take a bottle, so can't actually take a break from BF.
Thanks in advance.

no experience myself but seen loads of posts on here saying jelnet (?sp) is fab i think its a type of gauze dressing that allows the crack to stay wet while healing? someone else will be along soon

• I used clay powder - the medicinal stuff you get in health food kind of places. You mix with water and then paste on a breast pad and put on - it is instantly cooling and the powder really does help to heal the crack. Make sure it does not dry on but if it does then you just use water to get it off. I thought the Italians were mad when they told me but it works ! I jave since used teh same treatment on dd1s grazed knees and it works well !

I found that the cream diddn't work. I was also told as pure Aloe vera gel as you could find which I also tried .....I wish you all the best I am going Ouch just thinking of the latch on !

What thrush cream are you using? If it is Canesten then that is well know for causing a reaction - you need miconazole instead. Is baby being treated with miconazole oral gel?

Jelonet dressings can be good as can tea strainers with the handles cut off to keep your bra off your nipples. Lansinoh is good.

Are you seeing a BFC? Nipples shields may help you get through the worst of the pain too.

Have you got something else for the thrush? Otherwise it probably won't heal.

I was given the miconazole cream to start with plus fluconazole tablets. Baby had a liquid (yellow) not the gel. She's clear of the oral thrush now. Doctor had given me another week of tablets at double the dose I was on before.
The internal thrush pain has gone, so I think the treatment is working that way.

I did talk on telephone with a BFC who offered sympathy but no real advise.

So... on my shopping list...
Jelnet (will that be from a chemist?)
There aren't any health food shops locally to get clay powder from(plenty of take aways though ) might have to drive to nearest city
2 tea- strainers.
Thanks for the ideas so far

Any more?

I was given 'mepilex lite' by midwife - soumds similar to jelnet in that it's a sticky dressing that lets the wound heal moist. You can peel off and reuse after bf. Don't use with lansinoh at the same time though (can't remember why). Expensive but one sheet van be cut into quarters to make 4 dressings.

Also lactation consultant told me Bepanthen Plus is better than straight lsnolin (lie lansinoh).

Bepanthen as in the nappy cream?

yes, they seem to use it for everything here! (switzerland). I've only tried the regular bepnthen so far as I had it in for dd, so can;t vouch for the effectiveness of the 'plus' version yet...

I've been using Paw Paw Ointment, I call it magic cream cause it does everything and their website says safe for BF and it's also good for nappy rash!

Definitely Lansinoh and as much air and as little bra wearing as possible ...

The moment you put Lansinoh on you can feed and pain is virtually gone, very soothing and safe for baby. It is quite expensive (£10 or so) but it lasts a long time.

Thank you! We are getting there slowly. Pain is only toe curling now rather than tear inducing.

I was going to say breast shells, to keep your lansinoh covered nipples off your clothes. I found breast pads really painful at times. Tea strainers sounds much more fun though

Now that I'm thing about it, I think tea strainers would have been a disaster for me! I find that if I wear a bra (with or without breast pads), I don't leak between/during feeds. As soon as I used the breast shells to hold bra off nipples, I was leaking an ounce or so from the unused breast during a feed. Might not want that draining through a tea strainer!

washable breast pads saved the day for me. I think the normal ones were making things worse. my hv suggested tea strainers too!

Glad to hear things are improving.

You can ask your GP to prescribe Lansinoh to cut down on cost of healing broken nips (presume you are on maternity exemption for prescription charges)

the old cabbage leaves are great for swelling and nips dont stick to them.