Bleeding nipples

[hmaz]

My LO is just over a week old and I'm having real problems feeding on one side. She feeds wonderfully on the left breast but on the right I'm really struggling to get the attachment right and it's agony. So many times the positioning's not been quite right and caused pain/cracking of nipple but now it's started bleeding. The local breastfeeding support team have been really helpful but I'm still struggling with positioning. I can't tell if the pain I've now got is just because my nipples are so damaged and not getting a chance to heal our if it's still poor positioning.

Can anyone suggest any ways to speed up healing of the nipples and anyone been in similar position and got past the issues. I dread feeding her on that side and I really want to enjoy breastfeeding. I breastfed my son for 23 months and never expected to have problems this tine round.

 

[IrelandsOwn]

Yes! I had the same problem. Buy 1% hydrocortisone ointment, Polysporin and a vaginal thrush cream. Mix together and apply a tiny bit to the affected area. It will speed up healing and ensure you don't get thrush. It may take a while though and fixing the underlying problem (poor latch) is the only way to ensure it won't reaccur. I also used a nipple shield for a few days to help with the pain but they come with their own risks

 

[Rah]

Lansinoh its amazing stuff you can see results really quickly I applied It 2hourly and no need to remove pre feed
And keep working on positions good luck xx

 

[IrelandsOwn]

Lansinoh its amazing stuff you can see results really quickly I applied It 2hourly and no need to remove pre feed
And keep working on positions good luck xx

Lanolin like Lansinoh is great but once the skin is broken it can actually exacerbate the problem as the yeast that causes thrush feeds on it. Once the crack is healed use lanolin away!

 

[BecksBabyB]

I was in the same position and I feel for you because it's awful and it got me really down. I expressed from th painful breast for a day or so and used Lansinoh very regular! When it started to heal, I got baby back feeding but made sure that if I thought he wasn't latched well (lazily just getting my nipple end) I detached him straight away.

We are both now doing much better with the feeds

Bx

 

[hmaz]

Lansinoh its amazing stuff you can see results really quickly I applied It 2hourly and no need to remove pre feed
And keep working on positions good luck xx

Lanolin like Lansinoh is great but once the skin is broken it can actually exacerbate the problem as the yeast that causes thrush feeds on it. Once the crack is healed use lanolin away!

I didn't realise that, I've been using loads of it. I'll stop using it for a while until healed. Thanks x x

 

[IrelandsOwn]

Lansinoh its amazing stuff you can see results really quickly I applied It 2hourly and no need to remove pre feed
And keep working on positions good luck xx

Lanolin like Lansinoh is great but once the skin is broken it can actually exacerbate the problem as the yeast that causes thrush feeds on it. Once the crack is healed use lanolin away!

I didn't realise that, I've been using loads of it. I'll stop using it for a while until healed. Thanks x x

Hopefully it will only take a day or two. Good luck, you'll get through it

 

[beeba]

soak your nipple in bm. i swear nothing works better xx

 

[Rah]

Lansinoh its amazing stuff you can see results really quickly I applied It 2hourly and no need to remove pre feed
And keep working on positions good luck xx

Lanolin like Lansinoh is great but once the skin is broken it can actually exacerbate the problem as the yeast that causes thrush feeds on it. Once the crack is healed use lanolin away!

I didn't realise that, I've been using loads of it. I'll stop using it for a while until healed. Thanks x x

Hopefully it will only take a day or two. Good luck, you'll get through it

I didn't know that either I had bleeding and cracked nipples mine healed fine with it

 

[m79]

I've had terrible cracked nipples, carried on using the lanolin and healed quick , but aired them evenings and changed pads lots worked a treat , nipple shields helped but removed towards end of feed to keep the latch good a d ensure milk kept pouring through which it did , we are day 10 now and no shields for 24 hours milk is pouring and expressing the excess! Just applying the lanolin to the crack now before and after feeding to ease but scabs have now gone I think we did it as failed to breast feed my first , don't give up ! X

 

[hmaz]

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I've been trying to air my nipples lots to speed the healing. At night I've put a towel on tge bed and slept without a bra/breast pads. This has definitely helped a bit. I've been using various different nipple creams as well to ease the pain. I'm trying to unlatch LO as soon as I get any pain and then get her to relatch in a better position. I'm still realy sore on the right breast but think we're slowly getting there. LO is now 12 days old, hoping within another week or so everything will be healing nicely

 

[teal]

I had cracked and bleeding nipples when my son was a few days old. I found hand expressing some milk and allowing it to dry on my nipples helped.

Also found lansinoh amazing xx

 

[IrelandsOwn]

Thanks for all of the suggestions. I've been trying to air my nipples lots to speed the healing. At night I've put a towel on tge bed and slept without a bra/breast pads. This has definitely helped a bit. I've been using various different nipple creams as well to ease the pain. I'm trying to unlatch LO as soon as I get any pain and then get her to relatch in a better position. I'm still realy sore on the right breast but think we're slowly getting there. LO is now 12 days old, hoping within another week or so everything will be healing nicely

Sounds like you're getting on great! I found that once one side started to heal I felt much more positive and stopped dreading feeds so much

 

[xSin]

To allow yourself time to heal here's what I found helped me (My LO nearly destroyed my right nipple it seemed like at the time)

Lanolin applied after a feed
Coconut Oil applied immediately before a feed (This helped soften up any 'scab' from the tear so that when she latched it didn't rip open so badly)
Use the pump before latching her (Not to actually pump anything just to 'prime' the nipple if you will)

Before long I was able to drop the lanolin post-feed and then the pump and then the coconut oil.