do cracked nipples just sort themselves out eventually?

[deaconblue]

I have a nasty crack in one nipple that I got in the 1st 24 hours after dd was born through lolling around in hospital bed instead of sitting properly. She's now 4 weeks old and while it hasn't got any worse there's no signs of it healing. bloody hurts when she's latching on but feels fine when she's feeding. I use lansinoh cream after every feed, after shower etc. Will it just sort itself out or is there anything else I can do?

yes don't worry, i had craters in mine just def keep using the lanisoh. xx

how long did it take for them to start to heal? At this point with ds I caved and started using nipple shields but I really don't want to use them this time if i can avoid it

umm sounds a bit weird but if you can let the air get to it that helps - after bath/shower and also after feed... sitting around at home with your boob hanging out doesn't make you feel very foxy (I know cos I've done it!) but it really does help healing... breast pads esp the plastic backed ones can make it worse as they keep the area damp...

Not sure how long mine took to heal but it was a full on nasty bleeding disgusting thing and very very painful (feeding made me cry for a while) but it did go. And after that all was rosy (well as far as cracked nipples go anyway )

so, go and let it all hang out!

hth

I had a cracked nipple for 10 weeks. I tried everything including Lansinoh and bm. What I found worked best was to use the saline rinse here after each feed. I let it air dry, then applied Lansinoh. I went topless as much as possible, and applied Lansinoh between feeds if my nipple became dry. It is important to keep the wound moist, as a dry scab will split a lot easier. My crack healed within days, I wished I'd found this sooner. hth

Or you could use jelonet after each feed, that also stops the crack drying out. If it does dry it will crack again from underneath each time you latch on. Mine did not heal at all until I did this. Jelonet is just a sticky gauze, you can get it at any chemist.

Using a little BM on your nipples can help. I second the going braless suggestion. If you don't like being unsupported just unclip them so your nipples are exposed. Most importantly don't stop feeding!

Have you had someone check her latch? Sometimes it might be the smallest change that makes all the difference and you may not have realised it was something that is happening. Have a look at Breastfeeding Community to find your local support group.

Keep them moist- lasinoh or whatever.

Don't air dry, it will make the scabs go hard and crack every time you feed. Keep your boobs in your bra.

Jelonet or plenty of cream on breast pads.

First time around I was told to let the air get to them and it was agony. SEcond time I was advised as I've written above and they healed really quickly with hardly any pain.

Yes, I have to say that letting air get to them was actually unhelpful for me.

lansinoh
lots of it

It's a long time ago now (11 years!) but nipple shields worked for me by wearing between feeds! I leaked and so my cracked nipples were bathed in magical, healing breast milk and healed in 24 hours... be careful of cracks as you can get infection and mastitis which happend me twice out of 2 BF DDs

I'm allergic to lanolin, so used a peanut based cream from Boots, but if you can use Lasinoh, it's the best thing.

If you use anything but LANISOH make sure you wash it off before you put bubs on as it is the only edible cream there is.

well you only have to wipe off excess cream before feeding if you use the boots nipple cream I refer to. It's not inedible.

The instructions for lansinoh say to pat the nipples dry after feeding then put the lansinoh on.

As well as using lansinoh you should be careful which breast pads you're using. I found a lot of them get stuck to cracked and raw nipples and take a layer of skin off when you take them off which obviously won't help them to heal. I found the lansinoh and tommee tippee pads to be the best for not sticking.

I've always found 6 weeks to be a turning point for sore nipples - you're nearly there!!

Change dds position on the nipple? So when she feeds she pushes the sides of the crack together? It might need some unusual positioning!

wound healing link
don't let them dry out

Califrau, that's interesting, however it was only when I was prescribed these kinds of treatments for skin problems that I discovered my allergy. My nipples were a right mess after someone gave me Lansinoh!
I don't think the OP has this problem, so it's ok - I was just elaborating on my experience (I'm not breastfeeding at the mo). Maybe if you're not as allergic as I am you don't have the problem.

thnaks everyone. Theblonde, that link wsa really helpful and reassures me that applying the lansinoh and not a lot else is the way forward. I stuggle with alternatives posiotning as am so clumsy/cack handed that I struggle to get a good latch in any way other than the classic clutch hold. Can't even really manage to get my arm underneath her head in a cradle hold without disturbing her latch. I am confident that the latch is ok now though so I think it's just hte initial damage I'm waiting to heal

It does work, just takes time
I had a crack more like a gash that was so bad I even took a photo of it!

Hope you get better soon, shop! And you'll both get better at the hold etc.- I remember finding the whole thing a coordination nightmare at first, but it gets better.

Drying nipple thoroughly ,THEN applying lansinoh worked best for me.

I would dry them with hairdryer after shower. Then put on generous amount of lansinoh and cover with pad.

Lansinoh alone did not work.

Nipple shields for a few days take the edge off the pain.

thanks everyone. Will bear with it. Have no intention of giving up feeding but was starting to waver towards the shields. Trouble was ds couldn't latch on without them after a few days and I found them a bit embarrassing to use in public so ended up always wanting to go home to feed him. Hope to be more free and easy with dd, although we are still at the milk squirting and bobbing on and off stage of feeding so not just yet