Nipple pain and itching?

[Camilleta]

My baby is 6 weeks old. I want to exclusively breastfeed more than anything, but it's very painful to nurse. My nipples sting and burn during nursing, and my whole breast aches during and for a while after. The rest of the time, they are sore and the nipples itch a lot. They look raw and some days they have white blisters. I can only nurse half of the time now. I try to hand-express and give it to her in a bottle the rest of the time, but sometimes it's even too painful to express. Pumping is just as painful as nursing. I usually end up giving her a bottle of formula when it gets really late and I'm worn out. I hate doing that though because it gives the her a tummy ache and makes her fussy. Everyone has different advice for me. The pediatrician says it's probably thrush and prescribed something that didn't help. We're going back to see her in a week. My doctor says it's my eczema. My mother says this can be normal and the pain will subside if I just stick it out. My grandma thinks this is a sign I should have gone to college after high school instead of get pregnant! Any new ideas or advice would be great. Thanks!!!

[tiredbuthappy]

It does sound like thrush. Did you finish the entire course of treatment? I have read that it can take weeks to get rid of thrush. You may want to have your nipples examined by your ObGyn or a lactation consultant for a more accurate diagnosis. Or, has it always been this painful for you? If so, your baby may not be latching correctly, causing the excessive irritation. Again, a lactation consultant can evaluate and help with this.

I had very chapped and irritated nipples but no thrush. My LC was concerned about them getting infected so she had me do a saline soak to sooth them and help them heal. It did seem to help. I dissolved some salt in a cup of warm water and dipped my nipple into it several times a day. I did notice a difference. Are you using lanolin? Many people find it soothes nipples and helps them heal. I found nipple shells to be extremely helpful, especially when my nipples were in terrible condition (bleeding sores, etc...). They keep all fabric away from the nipple, allowing them to rest and heal between sessions without irritation.

[Super_sally888]

Sounds like thrush and it's within the milk ducts. I'm having it too.  Terribly uncomfortable.  Do try to keep breastfeeding despite it.

The medicine of choice is diflucan probably for at least 2 weeks. You don't need to stop feeding baby while you take it.  That drug is approved for neonates ad the amount in your breast milk is much less than they give to babies.   You can research online about treatment for "ductal thrush".  Thrush can be very difficult to get rid of.  baby will need to be treated too.  And you'll need to boil regularly everything that goes in the baby's mouth.

I have not yet been successfully treated.  My doc has given me diflucan, but 1 tablet every 3 days for 3 tablets.  it is not working!  I think the higher dose is needed.  I also have thrush down there.

Use a painkiller if you need.  They say thrush in your breasts can be worse than giving birth. Certainly is terribly unpleasant.

Also avoid sugar and minimise carbs, as these make favorable conditions for yeast too.

Best wishes

S

[Camilleta]

Tiredbuthappy - It wasn't painful until the baby was a week and a half old. But I'll get a lactation consultant to check on things just to make sure. And I'll ask them about nipple shells too. Thanks for the advice. I hope your problem gets better!! I think my problem is a mixture of that AND thrush. When they treated my baby for thrush, they didn't treat me at all, so I wouldn't be surprised if the treatment wasn't successful.

Super Sally - Gosh, that sounds horrible! I hope you get rid of it soon. If it's the same as the problem I have, I feel very sorry for you. Sometimes I do think the pain is as bad as labor. I'm definitely going to try to cut out the sugar and carbs, thanks.

I just have to stick it out until next Wednesday. I have a doctor appointment for me and then a pediatrician appointment for baby that day. I won't let them send me home without figuring out what's wrong this time! Thanks again, I have a list of things to try and a list of things to ask the doctors now. =)

[Camilleta]

Finally, I am exclusively nursing again!

If anyone else has this problem, I recommend Canadian Nipple Cream. It was hard to get my hands on but it was worth it. I've also been avoiding eating yeast and sweets, washing my hands with soap a lot, and washing my nipples with warm water a lot. Not sure which is helping but something is. =)