I am still breastfeeding 19 month DS, and have been fortunate to do so without problems until now.
Before Christmas I got hand foot and mouth disease, but unfortunately it turned out to be hand, foot, mouth and nipple disease as I got big blisters on both my nipples. These eventually scabbed and healed, but the right nipple was worse and took a while to properly heal. I'm not sure whether this is connected to my current problems or not.
About 3 weeks ago the right nipple became very sore and eventually cracked. At first I thought it was some sort of milk bleb or infection, but then thought it was thrush. I saw the GP who agree with my assessment but the creams I have been using have had no effect. DS had no sign of thrush in his mouth but we treated him anyway with Nystatin.
A week after starting treatment the nipple is no better. It has an open crack and seems to produce lots of flaky skin. It often looks white-ish, but this could just be the excess skin. I also get shooting pains in the breast after DS has had a big feed.
If this is not thrush, does anyone have any ideas before I go back to the GP?
DS isn't ready to stop feeding just yet so I don't want to give up just yet.