Bleeding nipple - ouch!

[Millie1]

Any advice? What's the best and fastest cure? Not aware of DS being extraordinarily rough whilst feeding but it is tender ... could too much pumping have caused it????

BTW, discovered it when I was pumping ... there was some blood around the massage cushion of the Avent - can I use the milk (I can't see any discolouration in it, but I probably wouldn't w/out a microscope!) or do I need to toss it (this milk for DS's comsumption not for milk bank).

Thanks.

Positioning!

Lansinoh is brilliant stuff, as is Jelonet (you have to ask for J over the counter).

Don't know about the ebm, but suspect that it's OK.

I also recommend lanisoh.It does instantly cure it but can remove a lot of the discomfort and feels soothing.
One word of caution - if you have cracked and bleeding nipples, your baby could be "drinking" your blood alongside the milk when sucking. This is not harmful to the baby but can be a bit of a shock. When bf my DD1 (and making a complete mess of it with poor positioning) I had the fright of my life when she brought up a feed - bright red blood everywhere all over the bed. Looked very startling esp. as the bedlinen was very white and the contrast was shocking. It looked liked pints of blood (prob. was no where near that) and gave us a huge shock. We pannicked and phoned NHS Direct immediately expecting them to tell us to rush her into casualty. They calmly deduced what had happened and told us not to worry. In fact, it was that incident that was the final straw for me and I then went on to give up bf - but that is another story. Just want you to be aware of this and if your baby does bring up red blood not to panic too much.
I was told to rest that nipple from actual bf for a couple of days maximum and hand express just enough to relieve the "pressure" rather than use the pump as the Avent pump was too harsh. (As it was that is when I called it a day and stopped altogether but am not suggesting that you follow my actions, that was a personal choice.)
As for the milk, personally I would say it was probably ok and would use it but it is your call.
Whatever you do - do not ignore it, it is a sign that there is something wrong and will only get worse if you do nothing about it. Speak to your mw/hv asap or NCT breast feeding councillor, whoever you feel most comfortable with - don?t let it continue, even for one feed as that can be enough to cause real long term damage. (My nipple took almost two weeks to heal properly and changed shape permanently because I let it get so bad.)

sorry - meant doesn?t instantly cure it..

Why are you pumping milk Millie1? Can you give it a rest from pumping for a few days till it is healed? The pump actually could have caused the trauma. Try hand expressing instead if you still need to do it. Blood in milk for your own baby is actually OK. Lansinoh will help heal the crack. Hope it gets better soon.

Thanks everyone.

Mears ... I'm pumping to donate milk and also to build stock for freezer at home (just enough for a day's feeds). I haven't pumped from that side today though did pump a bit off the other side and won't be fussing about pumping until I'm certain it's well healed. Agree with you that the pump may have caused it - I think it may have been a little tender anyway and the pump was the final straw.

I think it actually looked worse than it is ... it's more 'grazed' than anything but I am going to b/feeding clinic which is on next week cos he also has a tongue tie & teeth look like coming through so need a bit of help and advice re positioning anyway as his isn't great.

Am going to get some Lanisoh tomorrow too!

Thanks!

millie - sympathy and hope I'm not hijacking (I was amazed was just about to post the exact same title to yours when I saw your message!)
I'm using cabbage leaves (savoy) to soothe my little bleeder (nipple that is) during the day but don't know whether it's bad to keep a leaf on all the time as the nipple does get rather moist (eek horrid word). Any advice?

SW: Cabbage leaves are for sore breasts (engorgement) not sore nipples - I don't think (personally) it would do any good and might even do harm to have cabbage leaves actually on the nipple for a long time....much better to get the positioning and attachment checked and use moist wound healing with an appropriate sort of gunk.