Any miraculous cures for a cracked nipple? [hopeful emoticon]

[laura032004]

I've got a horribly painful crack after DS2 had a feedathon week last week (he was teething/had a tummy bug and cold). It's only tiny, sort of running round the circle where the sticky out bit of the nipple meets the flatter bit (there's probably some technical term for it!). I'm resting that side a bit - just feeding once or twice a day (DS2 is 15m old now, so I'm not too worried about it damaging my supply), but is there anything else I can do? Lansinoh doesn't seem to help much. Previously it's just been a case of time being the best healer, but it hurts so much

silverette things are supposed to be good. don't let it dry out, use more lansinoh, it is the scab breaking which causes the most pain.

no chance it could be thrush? just cos you said it's not healing and yet you're not feeding that often. lansinoh helped when i had cracked nips but i was slapping it on all the time, also fresh air (bit nippy outside though lol)

agree with not letting it dry out. I had this really badly when dd2 was little, and used lansinoh immediately after a feed and then covered up with jelonet - a type of gauze soaked in vaseline. Makes a horrible mess of bras, but the relief was amazing. I had really badly cracked nipples, and healed within 2 days once I started doing as above.

Loads of Lansinoh, and don't let it dry out. It should heal itself within a few days.

I'm worried that it might be thrush (again ). DS2's tongue is looking a bit suspicious too. Will keep up the lansinoh. Are the silverette things available cheaper than £24.99 anywhere? Seems a lot to spend, when hopefully this will be the last time I'll use them. Have been airing as much as possible - bet my neighbours love me or hate me!

Where do you get jelonet from? It got so bad the other day that I had to put a baby bottle cap inside my bra to give the nipple some 'breathing space'. That sounds like a good protective measure. I did have some of those milk collection cups, which would be great now, but I've lost them or given them away.

If it's thrush you could try grapefruit seed extract tablets - it got rid of mine really quickly

I found Kamillosan better than Lansinoh
As others have said don't let it dry out - wet healing is best

Jelonet - if you know anyone who works on a surgical ward, they can nab some for you.

The silver things mentioned earlier are meant to be fab as too are cabbage leaves inside your bra

laura oh dear, do you think it could be digging his top teeth in? otherwise it oculd be thrush, which i know less than nothing about.

Laura - you can jelonet from the chemist - some call it parratulle too. Rubbing in some of your breastmilk will help a bit too

Dh got the jelonet at local chemists (probably Lloyds). Don't think it was vastly expensive - £5 maybe? for a box of 10 sheets or so. I cut up each sheet as obv only need a smallish square to cover affected bit, so lasts for ages.

Definately Silverette They may be expensive but are definately worth every penny. Have also been known to clear thrush too

Thanks for the replies. Not sure if teeth are having an effect - I do get teethmarks, but further up. To add insult to injury, DS2 bit me yesterday. He'd unlatched, so I did my bra up, but he didn't realise, and tried to latch on - using his teeth when he realised the bra was there. I screamed, and he looked suitably ashamed (for a 15m old anyway!).

Determination have you tried the Silverette things? Is the whole making a paste thing not a bit of a faff? Do they dig into the rest of the breast?

Will try and get some of the jelonet today.

Hi Laura,

Yes i used Silverette with success, i had a massive wide, deep, open gash on my areola which i could not get to heal until i tried the silverette. I used them for less than 2 days and i was completely healed. The the paste all i did was scooped the bicarb into the silverette cup and dripped water until it was all moist (this was paste like) then rubbed it all over them. They are by far the best product i have used whilst bfing, this is why i ALWAYS highly recommend them.

i came across this info whilst searching for lanolin; found here

For your Ba-a-a-ady
Lanolin is the greasy substance extracted from wool sheared from sheep, a cruelty-free process. Cleaned and refined, lanolin is widely used in cosmetics and creams. It provides a natural moisture barrier that allows rehydrating of the skin by slowing down the evaporation of the skin's natural moisture from sun, water, or wind.

From fisherman's hands to baby's bottoms, lanolin has been safely applied with an excellent track record for healing the skin. Dry cracking of the skin can heal when the skin is allowed to retain more of its own moisture. Lanolin can absorb 50 percent of its weight in water, while providing rich sterols to the skin.

Since commercial (non-organic) sheep operations routinely use pesticides for tick prevention, this lanolin can be contaminated with carcinogenic pesticides including DDT, dieldrin, and lindane, in addition to neurotoxic pesticides. These chemicals are likely to migrate through the skin into the bloodstream. The National Academy of Sciences has expressed concern over the frequency of contamination of cosmetics containing lanolin with pesticides.

If you've had problems in the past with lanolin or conventional wool clothing causing skin reactions, try natural beauty products containing organic lanolin or organic wool clothing. In order for wool to be certified as organic, it must be produced in accordance with strict standards for organic livestock production.

What do you all think of this??

I hope lansinoh would be clear of all this. I asked my GP to prescribe lansinoh once (they can ), and he tried to do it on the cheap, and prescribed me hydrous wool fat ointment - lanolin. It had some other chemical in it though, which I recognised from my science degree as being potentially carcinogenic . Pointed this out to the pharmacist as not ideal for rubbing on nipples whilst bf, and he substituted the product for Lansinoh.

all pesticides are directly tested for dermal (skin)adsorption so this area of potential toxicity will have been assessed before they can be approved. Any residues in the lanolin will be even more dilute, so personally i wouldnt worry about this unless you are obsessive about not exposing yourself to any chemicals whatsoever.

re your nipple...sympathies as it sounds v. sore. Have you tried using a nipple shield when you do have to feed off that side, i found they really helped with the pain of sore nips.

Im sure avent do some breast shells or something that may have the effect of keeping your bra material off the affected area...or have you tried breast pads for this??

here...no. 3

oddly enough, having tried everything for severely cracked and bruised nipples (black and crusty) rubbing breast milk onto them was the fastest cure. I also kept feeding throughout - well, both sides were equally ravaged. good luck

Quick update - got some silverettes, and things are looking up. The cynic in me would like to think that the cracks were about to heal up anyway, but they were truly worse than ever yesterday. This morning, the cracks look a lot healthier, and feeding is almost painless. Wow! Not sure why they're working? Possibly keeping the bra away from the nipple is stopping the rubbing, and stopping the cracks drying out where the material absorbs any moisture from the nipple? Thanks everyone for your help

oooh thanks for this thread - am having similar trouble with DS (6 months) after teeth/blocked duct/feedathon

shall see if they are available in NZ

Laura they truly are amazing eh? You can almost visually see the nipples heal and FAST at that. The cups give instant relief too.

They work by releasing silver ions which kill and prevent the bacteria from living. Definately the best BFing product i have ever invested in. I cannot praise them high enough

Glad your seeking the benefits too. {wink] Now you can join my gang!!

MJC,

have you tried ordering from BFingheaven? they have International information on the delivery page.