Nipple Eczema whilst breastfeeding

[Lala1962]

Hi all

Does anyone have any advice/tips on how to manage nipple eczema whilst breastfeeding?

I have had it on and off since I was 17 (now 29) and managed it with a mixture of steroid ointment and epaderm ointment. It always flares up this time of year due to the change of seasons and damp. Now I’m breastfeeding I don’t want to use the steroid ointment as don’t want it to pass to baby and that was my go to really. It’s worse than it has been in recent years probably because my nipples are in constant use. GP has prescribed some shower gel and epaderm cream but not doing much!

Anyone else had this issue when breastfeeding and found a miracle cure?

(I know everyone manages eczema differently but any ideas welcome)

I've not had that and it does sound extremely uncomfortable. Have you spoken to the BFN at all? They have a BFing Helpline and a Drugs & BFing service so between the two they may be able to suggest something

Their numbers are here

Are you sure it's eczema?
I know someone who said she had had it for years too. Flared at the same time of year.

Turned out it was a fungal infection and resolved with antifungal cream.

Thanks very much! That’s a good idea actually. I spoke to them in the early days and they helped me with my nipple thrush (everyone else had just said bad latch!) so I’ll give them a call.

I've had that problem with psoriasis that made it so painful to feed so I resorted to steroid creams and made sure I cleaned the nipples before feeding.

Definitely eczema. If you’d asked me 6 months ago I’d have considered it could be fungal but I unfortunately had nipple thrush for the first 10 weeks of breastfeeding so was on antifungal cream and fluconazole to shift that. Very different to my eczema symptoms! Fortunately nowhere near as painful as the thrush was when feeding.

I’ve had some luck with the shower gel and epaderm since I posted a couple of days ago and it’s got a bit better. If it gets really bad I may need to use the steroid just to get it back under control and clean very well before feeding as you say.

Such a pain isn’t it! Sorry to hear you struggled with it too.

How’s your skin now @Lala1962 ? I’ve got this problem too and it’s just horrible. Breasts are scabby and bleeding.

Sorry to hear that! Mine were scabby and bleeding when I first had it at 17 and it was horrendous. If it got to that stage again now I’d be very tempted to use my steroid ointment, sparingly and with thorough washing though.

My skin is still red and a tad sore but I’m managing it with epaderm cream so it isn’t getting any worse, just not much better either.