cracked nipple - how long will it take to heal?

[Nik72]

Advice gratefully received on this.
Dd is 3 weeks old. Left nipple has painful crack & it has been there for over a week. Am putting on breastmilk after feeds, letting it dry then putting a bit of lansinoh ointment on. It doesn't show any sign of healing so have used shields for the last 3 days to protect it. She's latching beautifully on the right and that nipple is fine.
Any idea how long this'll take to settle? Thanks.

Hi Nik72

Poor you! I can sympathise as I had a crack when I was feeding ds1. It took some time to heal but gradually did improve. I used moist wound treatment and some stuff called jelonet.

Have a look at this thread - useful info on treatment.

here

HTH and good luck.

hi nik. kamillosan worked a treat for me. also go topless when you can to let air get to it

Thank you! Will give the flats opposite something to talk about & swan about topless!! Honestly - you'd think we'd be a bit better designed for this lark don't you?

Have you altered her position when feeding so she is taking in a different part of the nipple? If you usually lie her across your tummy, try the 'rugby hold' by lying her the opposite way. Feed on the sore side after she has fed on the good side so she won't suck so vigorously. It will heal gradually over a few days. Good luck.

You poor thing - this has brought back hideous memories! Same thing happened with DD1 - i had cracked and bleeding nipples (both) and a bout of mastitis in the first five weeks. Remember actually curling my toes in pain at each latch on! What worked was:

checking double checking tripple checking the latch
feeding lying on my side seemed to get the best latch
also putting a rolled up muslin square under the boob - don't know why this helped but it did
some moist wound healing gel pads - can't remeber precisely wehat called - something like "mothers mates"? Anyway, i'm sure that Mothecare or most chemists will have something similar. They were fantastic - took the pain away and promoted healing

Took about a week to heal after above measures implemented! have you tried a breastfeeding counsellor just to make sure everything is positioned properly?

I can recommend pure lanolin prodcts that you dont have to wash off they can be a bit expensive but last ages as you only use a little. I used Lansinoh and it kept the nipple moist to help healing and reduced friction. I used it continually for the first 6 weeks of feeding my DD and only got one cracked nipple which healed quickly and no mastitis. I put a little on each nipple after every feed.