cracked nipple - how to heal?

[delilah89]

DD (1) has been having terrible nights and bf like a fiend, and after one particularly tough one I noticed terrible breast pain. I thought I had mastitis but I see I have an open crack/cut. It is excruciating to feed her. How can I fix this? She hardly eats anything else and is a mammoth bf'er.

Can I use just the other boob til it mends?

And how do I mend it? Has anyone had this and can give me a few pointers?

Yours, desperately!

You need to keep it moist, lots of lansinoh on the nipple and on a breastpad.

Yes keep feeding, if it is moist then it shouldn't crack more as it will be softer and more supple.

When I had the same problem I covered them in Lansinoh after each feed and then left them open to the air, as impractical as that was! Obviously I couldn't leave the house but thankfully mine was only 2 weeks old! Worked a treat though, as it kept them moist. It was too painful to feed so I expressed and fed by bottle for 3 days. Definitely try to pump from the bad side if you can't feed from it. Good luck and chin up!

Lansinoh lots and lots. And a nipple shield might help you to carry on feeding on that side too until it heels.

I used a nipple shield.. Midwife also recommended the shells to allow healing.. I ordered them but it had healed by the time they arrived.

Lansinoh cream & lots of it. It will mark clothes so use a breastpad or leave open to the air - the open to the qir is the fastest healing way.

air not qir :)

Lansinoh cream. Honestly, it's the best few quid you will ever spend.

Lansinoh cream smothered on breast pads in my bra, or piled on and boobs out. Awful time that was! Good luck, this too shall pass.