Well actually it's just one and not really cracked. What happened ws my 6 month ol daughter bit me last week and must have broken skin with it. Well over the course of her eating this past week it has become a split open and you can see the next layer under it. It leaks puss and blood(sorry TMI) and is very painful to nurse off of. When I saw that it was leaking I decided that she can't nurse off of it anymore. I don't want to quit nursing. So I am nursing off the other and supplenting formula cause she does not get enough. My question is does anyone know how I can get this to heal fast? I don't want my supply to go down or her to get too use to the bottle. I have been putting Lanolin on it, it makes it less painful but has not healed it yet. Thanks in advance!! Nancy
Babies R us has these plastic nipple covers in the breast pump section. They go right over your nipple and you can still breast feed on that side. It doesnt take the pain completely away but it does make very bareable. They look really funny on, I used them when this happened to me.
But it will still allow you to nurse and heal at the same time. They have several different brands Im sure all work fine.
Good luck!
Sorry to hear, Nancy, about your wound. Same thing happened to me. I agree with the nipple covers, for when you are nursing. I know this is going to sound very strange...But, have you ever heard of "butt paste"? It is in the diaper rash section. It is amazing. When my son bit me, he went through both sides of my nipple. My mom suggested the but paste (she works in a nursary, washing her hand every day, she gets very deep cuts from having dry skin, anyway - she swares b the but paste. Sure enough it worked. I used it between feedings, cover the affected area also. I also found that nursing on the good breast and pumping my bad one was less painful. Good luck!
Oh, Nancy you must be in so much pain. I'd definitely keep a close eye on it, especially if you've had puss drainage, just make sure that if you run a fever, you contact your doctor right away. In between the butt paste the other mom suggested, you might want to use some neo-sporin. My biggest piece of advice, is to pump, pump, pump - you don't want to end up with a plugged duct or breast infection from not emptying the breast while you're giving it a rest. And besides, you definitely don't want to reduce your milk supply so drastically that you really end up struggling with continuing to nurse that beautiful baby. At any rate, just wanted to share that - hang in there and kudos to you for sticking with the nursing. It's so worth it and the benefits outweigh all these little minor bumps in the road.
All the best,
Kim H.