Burning Nipples

When this happened to me, I used the Gentian Violet in my sons mouth, and the doctor (my sons pedi.) told me to use Lotramin on my nipples and just wipe them well before I fed him. It worked, but the Lotramin tingled a little at first.

I'd find a local lactation consultant and ask her advice. We have a store here in Austin, TX where they offer free lactation advice so maybe they do where you live too? This is going to sound weird but it totally helped me when I was breastfeeding and had any sort of hurting issues...when I was finished feeding my precious babies, I'd use a hair dryer on the medium warm and low setting and dry my nipples. It seemed to help relieve all sorts of pains. I know, weird...but it worked!

Someone needs to prescribe you and your son medication. You son will have to take nystatin orally. You will have to use the Nystatin cream on your breast as well. I am mother of soon to be eight children. I have a lot of experience. I nursed all of my children and have ran into the problem before. I purple otc medicine that you are using will not cure the thrush.

Hi H., Please don't give up on breastfeeding, it's so great for you and your child. Check out La Leche League - http://www.lalecheleague.org, I'm sure you can find some more information there. Good luck!

i would go back to your OB and just keep talking until they get the point that they need to do something. sometimes you have to be pushy. if you are paying them for a service you should be satisfied when you leave. don't let the dr. leave the room until you feel like your problem is being taken care of.

You might want to contact a lactation consultant before seeing a doctor. If you are in the Austin Area, the lacation office at St. David's Hospital is great.

I started having some trouble when my daughter was 7 months old and breastfeeding. They were the ones I called before calling my doctor. The L.C. I talked with thought I might have a yeast infection.

I did end up going to my O.B. about it and he gave me a prescription but I was also doing all the things the L.C. suggested - gentian violet, applying lotrim after nursing (cleaning it off before nursing), using vinegar and water mixture to wash my nipples mutiple times a day, changing bras often, adding vinegar to my laundry load when washing all bras and any towels that I used.

There are many things you can do. If you do in fact have a yeast infection, it is VERY hard to get rid of while you are still nursing. I was in so much pain I was considering stopping nursing - and my daughter would not drink formula.

I also found this web site very helpful: http://breastfeeding.com/

I hope this information helps.

You might want to check that your baby is latching on properly or maybe you have a clogged duct.

Hi H.,

I nursed my daughter for 13 months. She also had thrush in the first few months of her life (I don't remember exactly how old she was) But I do remember all too well the burning/hurt that you are describing. The thing that worked best for me... I put vinegar on my breasts each time after my daughter finished nursing. I just applied some with a cotton ball. I made sure to wash the area again before nursing, just because I figured my daughter wouldn't like the vinegar taste. After a few days of using the vinegar I noticed a HUGE improvement. I read about this technique in a book or magazine article. It was my saving grace. Good luck to you... hang in there. I know it's hard.

H.--
gentian violet often does the trick. have you been painting inside the baby's mouth with it as well? getting rid of thrush/nipple yeast can take a long time. i have treated it in my patients and i had it with one of my kids. it hurts like crazy. you BOTH need to be treated--if only one of you is treated you will keep passing it back & forth and it will never go away. use the gentian violet on both of you.

if that does not work, ask the pediatrician for some liquid nystatin. you coat the baby's mouth inside and you also put it on your nipples.

you can also ask your ob or family doc for one dose of diflucan. it's a pill you would normally take if you had a vaginal yeast infection but it works well for breast yeast too. usually you only need to take it once and it should clear it right up.

by any chance are you a military wife or active duty yourself? if so you can make an appointment to see me at darnall and i would be happy to evaluate you and prescribe something. if not, call your ob or family doc and make them listen to you!!
good luck--
K. leftridge
certified nurse midwife

When I was in the hospital and nursing shortly after having my daughter, the lady/nurse they brought in to make sure I was doing things right said that if you do not make sure that the baby is latched onto the nipple properly that they would begin to burn and get sore and she also recommended to rub the nipple with some lanolin and even gave me a small tube of it.

This may sound really FUNNY...Use tea bags after feeding.
Boil tea as normal them take the bags out let cool for a minute then just lay back with them on your nipples for a few minutes.I had the same problem. I used the creams and the tea bags (grandmas old way),I used the creams because my nipples would crack and bleed. The tea bags for the burning.
It worked for me. I Hope it works for you!

I really have no idea why it burns, but I had some trouble too breastfeeding my daughter. I bought a 'nipple guard'. It's just a thin plastic covering that fits over the nipple and surrounding area that you use during breast feeding. I really think my problem was that she wasn't latching on correctly, because it felt like my nipple was in a vise every time she would nurse. With the guard there was really no pain at all. It might be worth a try for the burning problem. Good luck!

If your baby still has thrush, and maybe even if not, you could have it because it gets passed back and forth. When my daughter had thrush, her dr. recommended putting the medicine (drops) on my nipples, too. Good luck!

I would see if you could find a lactation consultant. Many times OB's and GP's are confused by breasts. I don't care how many they see they still don't know what to do with them. I saw one of the responses you got was from a nurse midwife. She might be able to meet with you and give you an eval. That would be a great start. Breast feeding should be enjoyable, not painful. Who wants to watch their child graduate and think "I used to hurt each and every time I nursed you" so find someone you feel comfy with, bare your breasts and figure out what is wrong. It could still be thrush, it could be a latching on issue and it could be the way your baby nurses.

Best of luck,
C.

My daughter had thrush. get your pied to prtescribe Nystatin liquid for the baby to swish around in the baby's mouth a few times a day , and Nystatin cream for your nipples. You really can't treat one without the other. And the doctor may call it in without needing a dr visit. It is fairly common.

ok i have been there before let me tell ya... we have a staph infection that we got from the hospital when my son johnny was born.. he is our one and only. i was sooo determined to nurse that when he was in the nicu for 11 days i was up there for every feeding to ensure that he did not get a bottle of formula.. so any way do to all the antibiotics he and i had yeast infection all over our bodies ..see that is what thrush is is a yeast infection... leg, my nipples, under arms, it was awful.. so johnny and i were on something called vancomycin, which is the most intense antiboitic on earth.. so getting rid of the thrush was hard until i found GSE(which is a gratefruite seed extract) the name is nutribiotic GSE and it is a liquid concentrate, that can be used for a bunch of different things.. also go get jarrow brand acidophilis, it is in a yellow box.. take one a day... and if that doesn help i kid you not get white mountain brand yogart and soak your nipples if you can 3 times a day for 10 mins and then wash clean, do this til the thrush is gone .. ok well i hope i was helpful to you..good luck... and don't give up on breastfeeding it is the best for you and your child...
p.s. it can reduce you chances of breast cancer too...