Help! Baby bit me while breastfeeding

[Getoffmyhat]

Hello,
I'm turning to the power of mumsnet as health vistor wasn't very helpful.
8 month ds bit me while breastfeeding. It was all so quick and I managed to unlatch him without much fuss and continued a minute or two later. He hasn't done it since but I am in unbelieveable pain. The wound started off as a little cut, much like a paper cut and I've been very careful to keep it clean and dry, not covering it when i can, feeding ds from the other breast and then using the wounded one. This morning the wound seems to look like a little hole? I'm not sure what's happening but now can no longer let ds feed from it as I've been in tears from the pain. I really don't want to bother the doctors if I don't have too but I'm not sure what to do? The hv just said, "but it's your second child," as if I should know better?!
Any advice would be gratefully received!

Healing, even.

I’ve heard good things about the medela pads too.

All the bf groups I’m in recommend moist healing so rather than keeping it dry so it scabs and then the scab gets pulled open/off when baby feeds you keep it moist so it heals more like the inside of your mouth would and stays flexible so baby feeding is less likely to reopen it. I haven’t had to do it myself but might be worth looking into?

My DD bites when she’s teething, it’s awful. I unlatch her immediately with a finger and put my boob away for a minute or two. She usually works out fairly quickly if she bites boob goes away. It does make you dread feeds for a little while though, you have my full sympathy, it’s really horrible!

Oh god I've just had flashbacks to when this happened to me when DD was around the same age just awful. Definitely recommend hydrogel pads. Also DD is now 19 months, has rarely bitten since and not drawn blood again if it helps (try to avoid shouting though because I really upset her when I Involuntarily did that)

DC1 bit me when teething and DC2 is doing it too, it's so painful! I just say no and unlatch every time. You have to keep offering the breast though, because engorgement is even more painful and you don't want to end up with mastitis.

I got some silverette nursing cups - I think I read about them here on Mumsnet - and they are expensive but worth every penny. They're just little silver cups that you put over your nipples whenever you're not feeding. There's a bit of a pointy Madonna effect but they're like magic. They ease the pain and help the nipple heal much faster.

If the latch is really unbearably painful, you could also use nipple shields when feeding (I did this in the early days when DC2 had poor latch and it was excruciatingly painful for my poor injured nipples). The Medela ones are good (i got them on the recommendation of a lactation consultant).

I’ve had exactly the same a few times! SO painful. It so easily gets infected! I had antibiotic cream from the doctor and it eventually cleared it up but I had to do more regular applications than they said and really clean it regularly. On another occasion I had thrush in my nipples and then I wondered if the 1st infections in the cuts had also been thrush rather than bacteria. Also had a cream for that which was more effective. - worth looking into both possibilities.

My goodness this is giving me the fear. My baby has no teeth yet despite being nearly a year. Now I feel lucky, I've had gummy bites and they're bad enough. Hope you heal soon OP, well done for getting him feeding on the sore side!

@user848272

My goodness this is giving me the fear. My baby has no teeth yet despite being nearly a year. Now I feel lucky, I've had gummy bites and they're bad enough. Hope you heal soon OP, well done for getting him feeding on the sore side!

If it makes you feel better my worst cut when was when DD was around 6 months- no teeth but bit so hard with her gums that she drew blood and I'm now the proud owner of a photo of her looking like a mini Dracula with blood running out of her mouth she was completely unperturbed, I was not!!