- Take Tylenol, Advil, or Motrin, or a pain reliever that your doctor prescribes, 30 minutes before nursing.
- Start your nursing session on your least sore side (if you have a least sore side).
- Avoid nipple shields.
- If you're too sore to breastfeed, pump. Pump at least 8 times a day to keep your supply up.
- Massage your breasts while breastfeeding.
- Restrict nursing to 10 - 15 minutes per side. You'll probably have to nurse more frequently until you're healed.
- Release the suction behind the latch carefully at the end of the nursing session.
- Air-dry the nipples after each feeding; expose them to the air as much as possible. You can also wear a cotton shirt without a bra for.
- Change your nursing pads frequently and after each nursing. Make sure your pads do not have any plastic liners.
- When wearing a bra, wear a cotton bra.
- Avoid excessive washing of your nipples and remember, do not use soap, just water.
- Don't pick at any scabs or blisters.
- Do not delay feedings. Short and frequent feedings are easier on the nipples.
- Milk heals - any leftover breast milk from a nursing session can just be rubbed back in to your nipple.
- Tea bags with cool water placed on your nipples can be soothing.
Treatment for Traumatized Nipples:
- Make sure your baby's latch is correct.Try the football hold or the cross-over hold to get a good latch.
- Make sure your breasts aren't so full that your baby can't latch on to your areola properly. If you're too full you'll need to pump just a little before you nurse to soften your breast.
- If your baby wont open his/her mouth wide enough you'll need to help teach him/her how to do this. You may try letting him/her suck on your finger for a few seconds and then guide him/her to your breast. Don't hesitate to make him/her start over if he/she doesn't latch correctly.
- Get help from your doctor or a lactation professional.
- Use a small amount of modified lanolin to your nipples.
Treatment for Thrush Nipples:
Thrush nipples are from the baby having a yeast infection in his/her mouth and it then spreads to the mother's nipples. Your nipples will become red, swollen, tender, and possibly crack. You may also notice peeling, or a red, dotty rash (on the nipples). Some will experience itching and flaking, others will experience burning. If you've been comfortably nursing for weeks or even months and your nipples become sore, thrush is usually the case. Thrush can also occur in the first few weeks after delivery. Let your doctor know if your nipples feel sore because sometimes this is overlooked and excused as sore nipples instead of thrush. A newborn may have picked up a yeast infection in the birth canal during delivery (this often happens with diabetic moms). Thrush infections can occur from antibiotics as well. Check your baby's mouth for white patches on the inside of the cheeks, inside of the lips, and possibly on the tongue. Sometimes the baby wont have any signs in the mouth, but will have diaper rash - usually in the genital area and it will resemble a mild burn or will look like a patch of red dots; it may peel and not respond to regular treatments.
- Mom and baby will both need treatment to prevent reinfection. Treatment recommended is usually 1mm of Mycostatin by dropper in the baby's mouth after every other nursing, or 4 times a day, for 14 days. Half of the dose should go in one side of the mouth and the other half goes in the other side. For the nipples Mycostatin cream or ointment (or even the baby's medicine can be used) should be applied after each nursing. Continue treatments for 14 days, even if symptoms go away. Some other treatments are an over-the-counter antifungal cream like Lotrimin AF, Micatin, or Monostat 7 for your nipples. You can also try swabbing the baby's mouth with a 1% solutioin of gentian violet (at most drugstores) - swab once or twice a day for three days. It will stain the baby's mouth and your nipples, purple.
- If you use Mycosatin, wait a few minutes after nursing before giving it to the baby to prevent it from being washed out of the system.
- Brief sun exposure 2 - 3 times a days helps heal the nipples.
- Change your nursing pads frequently.
- Boil any pacifiers and bottles for 5 minutes a day during treatment. If you are using Mycostatin, replace the nipples at the end of the first week.
- If you pump, wash all parts thoroughly after each use. Anything that comes in to contact with the breasts or milk should be boiled for 5 minutes a day.
- If Mycostatin hasn't cleared the thrush from your baby after 5 - 6 days, ask your doctor about using the doses more frequently or using gentian violet (like mentioned above) in addition to the Mycostatin.
- If your nipples aren't improving after a few days, see a dermatologist for additional treatment.
Treatment for Nipple Dermatitis:
If you have nipple dermatitis, you may notice some redness and burning. If you've been checked for thrush or another skin condition, you probably have nipple dermatitis. This can occur from bacterial growth on the nipples or an allergic response to a cream you may have used. If you're allergic to chocolate you may be allergic to cocoa butter. If you're allergic to wool, you may be allergic to unmodified lanolin. Modified lanolin very rarely has any allergic reactions. If you've been using something other than modified lanolin, discontinue it and you may see improvement. Other treatment may include:
- Ideally, you should see a dermatologist. They will usually prescribe a high-potency anti-inflammatory cream and an antibiotic cream.
- Place cool, wet compresses on the nipples after nursing.
- Apply medication to the irritated areas after every nursing (make sure your nipples are completely dry first). Use your creams sparingly.
- Use as long as prescribed, even if the pain has gone away.
- If you find that the medication aggravates things further, stop using it right away. You may have thrush.
(Some information gathered from The Nursing Mother's Companion 4th revised edition by Kathleen Huggins, R.N., M.S.)
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