Please help - cracked nipples!

12 replies

cazzybabs · 24/02/2003 11:01

I have been bf my daughter for nine and a half months now and am desprite to make a year. However I have cracked nipples and it is very painful to feed - I expressed this morning and have blood in my milk - yuck! Please please help me. They have been like this for a week now and I am feeling like a failure as my daughter is desprite to feed but it hurts too much! What shall I do - is it time to jack it in?
I have tried not feeding on it for two days and it got better but then when I started adain it got worse!
Any advice?

OP posts:

bundle · 24/02/2003 11:28

cazzybabs, I'm getting ready to have my second child and had forgotten how good Kamillosan cream was (I know this sounds like an advert, but it's true ) - I put some on last week as my changing nipples were cracking and there was lots of old, dry, darker skin on the end and I thought if I just took it off it would bleed. anyway - it fell off after just a couple of applications and the skin underneath is good as new. when I used it when breastfeeding, it also has a local anaesthetic in it to help get over that initial pain. and you can use it for nappyrash! (I'm not on commission, honest!)

fidget · 24/02/2003 13:50

I too found Kamillosan a god send and would definately reccomend it !
Although by the time ds was 9mnths even that wasn't doing the job, the final straw was when the first tooth emerged then I gave in to the bottle (milk of course)!

zebra · 24/02/2003 16:49

I think the recommended treatment for cracked nipples nowadays is "Wet healing" or something like that. You put a thick barrier/moisturising cream on your nips immediately after feeding. This looks like a good link. HTH.

mears · 24/02/2003 22:48

cazzybabs - why have you got cracked nipples now? Is it possible that you might have a thrush infection causing the pain? Was the blood just there on expressing? If it is thrush then both you and dd need treatment. If it is traum try feeding her in a different position than you usually do. Purelan and lansinoh are good for healing cracked nipples if it is not thrush. Is there a B/F counsellor you could contact near you? Sorry for all the questions but as you can probably tell the solution is not straight forward.

Hollandia · 25/02/2003 12:39

Both my children had a thrush infection. You can notice by the white dots or white 'layer'on their tongue and inside of their cheeks. Also, breastfeeding was extremely painful and had a burning sensation on my nipples and inside breasts. Go see your doctor, you don't have to suffer long as they can subscribe something that makes it go away. Although it can be very stubborn it will ease the pain very quickly. You do have to rub something on your nipples as well, as otherwise you will keep infecting each other. Good luck. Hope you get well soon!!

Hollandia · 25/02/2003 12:50

Original poster

cazzybabs · 25/02/2003 21:20

Thanks for your advice - was off to see the HV today, but was in bed all morning throwing up! I wondered if it was Thrush as it doesn't seem to be clearing up - shall look for white tongue on dd!
Although at the mo plasters on the sore bits and Kamilosan seem to help!

OP posts:

morocco · 09/03/2003 14:46

Just wanted to add to all the good advice that it could be thrush even if your baby doesn't have white patches in her mouth. When I had it, I couldn't spot any white bits at all but he had had thrush about a month earlier and showed other symptoms like crying when feeding and being very restless. Also my nipples were really shiny as well as painful. Don't know if this is significant, but I tried kamillosan when I had thrushy nips and also on my babe's bum when he had thrush (poor mite seems to have had it everywhere) and it was just awful so I wonder if it is bad to use when you have thrush cos it's 'sugary' or something.
Good luck anyhow!

jenz · 13/04/2003 17:25

express some milk after the feed(if there's any left)and rub this into your nipples this tip was given to me by a health visitor and it works well.kamillosan is good too.also try calendula ointment(weleda is good buy it from your local health food /herbalist shop)this is also great for nappy rash and cuts and sores.When i began feeding my nipples were vsore (sometimes there was blood in ds's sick)sorry i know thats horrible but i did persevere,(ds has never had a bottle though one night i was very close to giving in and he had a few sucks one one)
and it does get better.its all coming back to me now dreading each feed trying to hold it off as long as possible!
to anyone reading this who is there at that point where it hurts like hell and they are nearly giving up-it is worth the effort and pain -cause it eventually becomes easy-and its so much better for baby -and definatley more convenient than making bottles up day and night.
oh just remembered another cracked nip tip!geranium leaves furry side to nipple(this stings but i seem to remember it working

Treesy · 14/04/2003 17:04

Try Lansinoh - really good and very pure

butterflymum · 17/04/2003 20:53

I know they are not popular but try Nipple shields. Available from Boots etc. I've breastfed 3 sons and they have got me through difficult patches (despite midwifes/health visitors not being keen on them).

mears · 17/04/2003 21:32

cazzybabs - how did the cracked nipples go - are they better or did you have to stop feeding?

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