Infected cracked nipple

[Feedingagony]

Hi,

My baby is 6 days old and I have a really sore left nipple. It's really cracked, it's bleeding and I think also pussing. The discharge at the end is greeny yellow and gunky.
It is total agony to feed on. What do I do? Previously I was covering with lansinoh cream but it hasn't improved and I find it sticks to my bra. I bought silver cups and have been wearing them but I'm not sure if I should put the cream on under? They are also quite painful.
My midwife told me to continue feeling and corrected my latch yesterday but I'm finding it hard to replicate what she did, and feeding is so painful I cry through it all.
I dont know what to do as I don't want the breast to get over full as that's even worse. The other breast is sore and cracked too but not as bad.

Oh I'm sorry, I know the feeling I had this with both kids. I didnt find a magical solution, the silver cups helped a lot but it still hurt. Keep adjusting the latch, is there a breastfeeding group near you that you could go to for help? I also took painkillers for the first month or so to get me through (just paracetamol but it helped). I kept thinking I was doing something wrong, I tried everything and then a lovely lactation consultant told me that my daughters mouth was tiny and that it the pain would stop as she got bigger, it did.

Ouch, you poor thing. First off you need the GP to prescribe antibiotics. You can take paracetamol and ibuprofen for the pain. Ask your midwife for more help with latching on, as it sounds like a poor latch might be causing your problems. You need to keep feeding, or pumping to prevent engorged breasts.

Organisations like the NCT have counsellors who can help with breastfeeding.

Do I need antibiotics even if it isn't mastitis? I keep reading that mastitis usually comes with fever etc and a large red area. I just have pus at the end. I don't know if thats a stupid question!

It sounds like you’re in a lot of pain that’s completely valid. Please call your doctor or midwife urgently; you may need treatment for infection so feeding stops being agonizing.

Of course it isn’t a stupid question. Pus usually means an infection but do see your GP.

I've got a GP appointment at 1.30 so will see what they say.

Yep definitely visit GP but also breastmilk is brilliant at healing so express a little and apply it to the nipple.
Multimam compresses are also great for healing and soothing (not cheap but can cut them in half).

Sounds like latch is a problem has baby been checked for tongue tie? If a posterior one it won't be obvious you can ask for a referral to infant feeding team.

When I used to get wounds I would use a hakaa instead of feeding direct off that side so attach when feeding off the other breast not squeezed too much. It will take the milk out which you can use later or freeze and help keep supply whilst it heals.

I second putting breast milk on your nipples to help heal them between feeds. Just gentle apply it like you would the nipple cream, breast milk is like magic! Make sure to keep them nice and clean too, daily shower should wash them somewhat gently (low pressure setting) and regularly change disposable breast pads so the puss isn't on your bra (Tesco ones were my favourite if you aren't already using them). Also see the hospital feeding team if you can, they can assess for tongue tie and cut it there and then (my son had his cut at 8 days), i was told by loads of different people my latch was fine but it was agony until that got sorted.

Hopefully the doctor can give you something if they're infected and some tlc can sort the rest. My nipples were in a shocking state that first week but we made it through and fed until almost 3 years :)

Good luck with the appointment today, hopefully they provide some antibiotics to deal with any infection!

Once that's dealt with, to help with the soreness and cracking, if you don't already have any, I'd highly recommend buying some silver nursing cups. Slather yourself in Lansinoh and wear them in your bra between feeds until it improves (but not overnight as I think the pressure of laying on them could cause a blocked duct). They prevent any friction against clothing and keep any drips of milk in place which also seems to help with healing, as others have suggested. They saved me many a time in the early days. You can get them reasonably cheaply on Amazon or at Boots!

Edited to say a hand pump also works wonders if you're too sore to feed or if you have a blocked duct! You'll get there with the latch but in the meantime I'd get some silver cups and a hand pump to get you through this tricky bit!

Just to update, the doctor didn't think it was mastitis but gave me antibiotics anyway and said to wait and see if I start to feel unwell.
I havent started taking them as I don't feel unwell or feverish. One nipple is a lot better, but the other looks badly damaged. The end is peeling off (sorry bit gross) so I'm not sure how long it will take to heel but it's painful all the time. I'm wearing silver cups at all times which helps with the rubbing!
I've got a lactation consultant coming tomorrow to help with the latch.

There's a difference between mastitis which is in the breast tissue, and a possibly infected nipple which is more like having an infected cut on your finger.

My DS was a biter and got teeth relatively early so chomped down one day and cut my nipple. It got infected but I didn't have a fever or any of those kinds of symptoms.

I got an antibiotic cream to put directly on it, which was a pain because it had to be washed off before feeding but it did the trick.

I get the feeling the doctor was quite inexperienced in this area. He seemed very unsure of what to do. Maybe I'll just start taking them and see if it starts to make a difference.