Hi Mamas - I am still nursing my 8 month old daughter 4x a day, and she recently got her first tooth. That litte tooth is sharp! I plan on working through this and hopefully will be able to teach her not to bite, but yesterday she did bite my nipple pretty good and removed some skin, so there is now a little sore (pink, shiny, the kind that burns really bad when water touches it). I can still nurse her and just bear the pain until it heals, but I was wondering if any you know of something I can put on it to help it heal faster or be less painful? Has anyone had this experience and what did you do?
I have used "soft gels". This is a pad the goes right over the nipple. It feels very cool when it goes on but for me the best part is it creates a barrier between the nipple and the bra... no friction. Good luck
calendula ointment....from a vitamin/supplement store
whole foods has "Bioron" cream
calendula for any cut skin....helps speed healing and stop scarring and arnica for bruises or aches....if applied right after "bump" usually no bruising AT ALL!!
A good easy fast remedy - salt water. Just dissolve some salt in warm water - boil it and cool it if you you like - then bathe nipple in it. Use a small basin and hang yourself into it. This is great for cracked nipples too.
Best of luck!
Just to echo some of the other responses below - I've always found the Lansinoh cream that comes in the purple tube to be amazing. It's really thick and is awesome for healing. I even use it on my dry hands in the winter (they typically start to crack at some point during the winter due to handwashing and dry weather). And it's so gentle that you don't even have to wash it off before nursing. Great job on the breastfeeding!
My daughter liked to bite me when she got her first teeth (and both bottom middles came at once) so I can relate! I bought a nipple shield that I used for a day or two on the wounded side, which she tolerated but didn't like. I also used lanolin ointment to help heal and protect. It actually healed pretty quickly. I also stopped the session for several minutes when she bit.
Apply some coconut oil. Coconut oil has a lot of healing properties in it. I sure pure organic coconut oil on my face and arm at night when I go to be for dryness.
I'd stop nursing if she has a tooth
I had cracked nipples when my daughter was born. Lanolin did not help for one sore. My lactation consultant recommended I use polysporin (NOT neosporine - it's harmful to baby) after each feeding & put gauze on it to absorb any extra moisture. You don't have to wash it off before feeding as it isn't harmful to baby (in that small amount). Sore healed within a week - it was REALLY bad to begin with.
Lansinoh works wonders. Mine was a biter and giggler.
I set him down every time he bit and giggled. Usually his was related to being tired.
Also keep the area dry when possible. Express if it's real bad. I hope you feel better soon.
Hi C. -
Glad to hear I am not the only one that went through this. My daughter (who is just about 11 months) has done this to me 4 times - she got her first tooth at 3 months, and now has 7 teeth. The wounds were so bad (open, deep, big) that I described it more as a puncture wound. Nursing and pumping were extremely painful and even just anything touching my breast (i.e. my daughter pressing against it while I held her, etc.) was painful. Each time it took about 2.5-3 weeks to fully heal. I called my doctor the first time. She called in a prescription cream. The pharmacy actually had to mix it for me. It was a combination of something like neosporin to prevent infection, along with another component to quicken the healing. I applied it after every nursing and pumping. It helped a lot, but I think ultimately it just needed time to heal. Good luck. I feel you pain!
I would just use the lanisoil cream that comes in a tube. It is completely safe to use and nurse from. I would put it on after nursing and before you bathe.
Earth Mama Angel Baby nipple butter---I also use it for nicks/cuts/burns/chapped lips...its great!
Hi C., I breastfed all four of my children for nearly two years each and experienced pretty much everything you can experience as a breastfeeder. My daughter was a biter (even before she had teeth!) and it was very painful.
All I can say is just stick with it...I know it hurts like heck at the moment but it will get better. Try to get as much fresh air to the bite area as you possibly can and keeping it as dry as possible will help it heal quicker. Maybe you could try feeding more from the side that is okay...and then express the rest of the milk from the sore side so you don't feel so full.
Good luck with it C. and well done for doing so well with your breastfeeding so far.
All the best :o)
This can be super painful. When my son bit and broke the skin, it took 7 days for me to be able to nurse him without pain. I put polysporin on it twice a day and would rinse the area with hydrogen peroxide. Also instead of alternating which side to start nursing, I always started with the side that wasn't hurt, because it takes a while for the let down and it was too painful to have him nurse that long. I still nursed during the healing, but always did that side second. As painful as it is you have to keeping nursing or pumping to ensure you still have milk.
I did as a couple of others said too... when my son bit me while nursing I yelled "ouch" and stopped the nursing for a couple of minutes and said "no biting." I also used Lansinoh to help the healing.
Have you tried lanolin? I like the Lansinoh brand because you don't have to wipe it off before you feed baby, and it's instant relief! I have a little biter too. He just got 2 teeth, and has bitten me a couple times. WOW, those teeth are sharp, aren't they?
Wow, very helpful stop nursing......uh....no.....
I'd just use lanolin. You don't really need an antibiotic cream as the breastmilk being on it should help with that. The lanolin should help soothe the skin and protect it a little and promote healing.
Usually if you yell loud enough (not hard to do when it hurts like that) or put them down and deny nursing for a few minutes they will eventually get the point.
Did you ever use any of that Lansinoh nipple cream right after she was born to help with your nipples? I would use that because it acts like a barrier against water and such and it helps to heal and feel better. Now you have to teach her not to bite. My son bit me twice. The first time I said "ouch" rather loudly and it startled him a little, not enough to make him cry, though. I told him "no biting". Then we resumed nursing right away. The second time he did it, I repeated the same thing, but waited for him to start to cry a little before I resumed nursing. I think it taught him that if he bites, the boob goes away. A friend of mine actually had to put her daughter down on the floor for 20 minutes before she resumed nursing again, to teach her not to bite. She was quite the biter. Anyway, hope this helps and good luck.
