Hi!
I know this probably sounds very silly as you would think that I would know but I'm just not sure if my nipple is cracked or if it just looks like it is. It's kind of misshapen anyway and I've had problems with this breast from the very start of breastfeeding. On day 2 of feeding, I didn't know what I was doing and obviously neither did my 2 day old baby and she wasn't latched properly & sucked the end of my nipple for hours. I slept through most of it (40 hours of labour, I would have slept through anything!) anyway, it was very sore for a long time afterwards and I noticed a bleb, which I popped and that gave me a little relief until my GP gave me some hydrocortisone cream with canesten. It cleared up & was fine for a while. Then, after a period of wakeful nights and then one blissful 11 hour sleep, I got mastitis. GP gave me antibiotics and it cleared up (that was end of Feb) now I've got a blocked duct & very sore nipple but no blebs. When I express I notice that there are only a very few points (maybe 2/3) where the milk actually comes out (compared with 5/6 on the other side) and when she feeds on this side she seems irritated and if I switch over she seems quite satisfied. Since developing mastitis & now a blocked duct I've been studying my breast/nipples a lot (think I'm becoming unhealthily obsessed with my own breasts!!) and I've noticed that the nipple on the affected side has quite a deep groove through the centre - is this a crack? It's not dry & it doesn't bleed but it is sore.. Perhaps it didn't heel properly before?? I don't know! Is it possible that my skin would have heeled over the opening where I had a bleb, too? As I never see milk coming from that point and I cannot for the life of me clear this blocked duct!! 
Ohh someone please help! I'm so confused and feel totally lost, I hate my left boobie!!!