White spots on nipples

[erin]

Hi all,

Some of you may remember from previous posts that I have been suffering from painful lumps on my breasts since two weeks after Maya was born. The midwves said at the beginning that it might be oversupply or bad latching but it clearly was not. Later they said it could be mastitis, had two courses of antibiotics, nothing, lumps are still here. Breastfeeding is very painful for me, it takes Maya an average of 40 minutes to feed and expressing is hard as well (impossible without breast compression).

I was starting to accept the situation, being disappointed by the doctors and midwives that don't seem to know what is wrong with me and I just thought I will go on for as long as I can - there have been moments of me being on the verge of stopping breastfeeding!

I kept noticing white spots on my nipples that the doctors have been saying are "milk". I can never wash it away with hot water though - had they been just "milk" they would easily come off, no? Anyway, I was reading some stuff on the internet about it, they are called "milk blisters" and may be caused by oversupply, pressure on the breast or thrush (a yeast infection caused by antibiotics among other things) in baby's mouth. Now, that rang a bell, because at some point the health visitor at the clinic said that Maya may have some thrush but the doctor (the same day) said she doesn't think so (now see why I'm disappointed by them!?)

Anyway, here is what I've been reading about it:

milk blisters and thrush

Has anybody had this before? Any tips? I will go and see my doctor tomorrow and tell her what I've been reading about this, maybe she will help me, I don't know - I seriously believe I shouldn't be the one telling them what could possibly be wrong with me! It's their job!!

Thanks for reading...I'm once again fed up with it all!

 

[valentine]

Hi erin,

I'm so sorry to hear you are still having problems and also difficulty getting through to the medical profession - grrrrrrrrr. I don't have any personal experience of your issues, but I will PM one of our experienced b/feeding members (budge), who I think might be able to help.

Much respect to you for still breastfeeding - you are doing brilliantly and should be very proud of yourself.

Valentine Xxx

 

[budge]

Hi all,

Some of you may remember from previous posts that I have been suffering from painful lumps on my breasts since two weeks after Maya was born. The midwves said at the beginning that it might be oversupply or bad latching but it clearly was not. Later they said it could be mastitis, had two courses of antibiotics, nothing, lumps are still here. Breastfeeding is very painful for me, it takes Maya an average of 40 minutes to feed and expressing is hard as well (impossible without breast compression).

I was starting to accept the situation, being disappointed by the doctors and midwives that don't seem to know what is wrong with me and I just thought I will go on for as long as I can - there have been moments of me being on the verge of stopping breastfeeding!

I kept noticing white spots on my nipples that the doctors have been saying are "milk". I can never wash it away with hot water though - had they been just "milk" they would easily come off, no? Anyway, I was reading some stuff on the internet about it, they are called "milk blisters" and may be caused by oversupply, pressure on the breast or thrush (a yeast infection caused by antibiotics among other things) in baby's mouth. Now, that rang a bell, because at some point the health visitor at the clinic said that Maya may have some thrush but the doctor (the same day) said she doesn't think so (now see why I'm disappointed by them!?)

Anyway, here is what I've been reading about it:

milk blisters and thrush

Has anybody had this before? Any tips? I will go and see my doctor tomorrow and tell her what I've been reading about this, maybe she will help me, I don't know - I seriously believe I shouldn't be the one telling them what could possibly be wrong with me! It's their job!!

Thanks for reading...I'm once again fed up with it all!

hi there

from what you have described its a simple case of thrush. which unfortunately for has not been treated for .
i would advise you going abck to your doctor or midwife and suggesting this to him/her.

Are your nipples (the areola ) shiny?

Is there pain when first starting to feed and in between feeds? like a shooting pain?

does LO have a white tongue.


if it wasn't thrush to start with i would say after all those anitbiotics that its thrush now and you need meds for it and so does LO. As you will be passing to and fro from one another .

Keep feeding as normal (try not to express) and go to docs as soon as possbible .

please update me .

hope this has helped.

budge x

 

[Tasha20]

If it is thrush, which I agree with budge about.

Make sure you have oral treatment aswell as them treating Maya.

Otherwise you will go round in circles with the horrid thing!

Keep feeding, andswab little ones mouth with bicarb of soda and cooled boiled water.

fluconazole is what they can give you, and you can keep bfing aswell.

Heres some other info:

Self-help measures
•thrush can be passed between you and your baby -
and also your partner and other children
•it is necessary to be very careful with hygiene in order to get ride of thrush completely - be sure to wash your hands well after each nappy change
•use a separate towel for each person in the family
•if your baby is also sucking on a dummy, bottle teat, nipple shield or plastic toys, make sure these are carefully washed and sterilised (boiling for 20 minutes while the infection lasts may be best)
•if you have expressed your milk and saved it in the freezer during the time you or your baby had thrush, it is better not to use it as it could cause another bout of thrush
•acidophilus capsules can help to restore bacteria which can keep thrush under control (available from health food stores or chemists)
•you may find you need painkillers to help you cope with the pain of thrush
•carry on breastfeeding
•IMPORTANT - To make sure that you get rid of thrush infection, both you and your baby need treatment. Usually once treatment begins the pain and other symptoms will begin to improve within 2 or 3 days. It may take longer for full recovery and treatment should not stop before 10-14 days

 

[erin]

Thanks Budge and Tasha20! So much useful information!

Yes, Budge, I do get shiny nipples, sore too and it does hurt at the beginning of the feed and shooting pain is there as well!

Well, I went to the baby clinic for Maya's vaccine yesterday afternoon and I told them about my problem and they had a look. They said it could be thrush. It could be (!)!!! I can't believe how they respond to people's problems!

Anyway, they gave me a cream (Dactarin) to put on my nipples twice a day and they said that Maya doesn't have the white bit on her tongue (I knew that already) so they won't treat her, only me. Now I'm so worried about washing the cream off before a feed, I wash my nipples and all but I can never be too sure.

I don't know what to do about them not treating Maya, they said it's not necessary but having lost my faith in them I now think it's trial and error with them and unfortunately the experiment is on me so...do you think i should give her the daktarin gel they gave me last time anyway? I'm so confused and I never get a straightforward answer from them!

Oh nooooo Tasha20, don't tell me i have to throw my frozen EBM noooo! Of course I will do but... Maya is only sucking on her finger and cloths and occasionally (whenever she is bothered with them) on a couple of teething toys we have, maybe I should sterilise those. Oh my, all these hygiene measures are so tough, I'm always careful but you can never be too careful!

Thanks so much, I'll let you all know how I'm doing!

Thanks for the encouragement Valentine! You always lift my spirit up with breastfeeding!