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For Cracked and Bleeding Nipples
There is a pregnant woman about to give birth in about 3 weeks. She has had a very hard time with her nipples during her pregnancy. They are cracked, bleeding and sore. She is afraid she won't be able to breastfeed. Suggestions?
Please note the following suggestions these are "simply tricks of the trade" and should be verified with your Healthcare Practitioner before taking any of the suggested courses of action.
- She most likely has candida in her system. A high quality probiotic might be good for her. She should go to her Naturopath or OB/GYN doctor to check for a yeast infection and follow their recommendations. If it is indeed yeast, she should cut out wheat, dairy and sugars (including fruit) from her diet until it clears.
- Yeast again ... with a few more suggestions: along with the diet recommendations above, she should do away with warm, moist conditions (including what she wears) as well as looking at the products that she uses on her body (soaps, dyes, etc). There could also be some emotional trauma going on. Some women manifest yeast so they don't have to have sex. There might be some sexual abuse issues that need to be resolved (very skillfully). Clare
- She may want to think about adding some oils and good fats in her diet. Sounds like she might be just "dried out". Flax seed oil and omega 3's are excellent. Try cooking with coconut oil and use olive oil on salads or anything else that isn't heated.
- I usually use comfrey for sore, cracked nipples. I think an ointment is great and helps nipples heal quickly and comfrey poultices are very soothing and relieving. Kristy Matthews
- 10,000 units of vit C for 3 days will do it. It may give diahrrhea but not usually because its all used up in the nipples! It will heal them up! Its worked on me and others already. Sunni Karll
- For the woman's nipples, may I suggest she drink more water and then also apply liquid Acidophilus culture to her nipples. No swimming in highly chlorinated water, no soaps, no alcohol-based creams or lotions, no shampooing in the shower. Let's see what happens... She should see improvement within just a few days.
- Regarding the woman's nipples Jeanice Barcelo:
- Is she drinking TONS of water? This is very important.
- See if she can find a lotion made with collagen and almond oil. This might be very beneficial.
- Encourage her to explore whatever issues she might have about nurturing. What was her relationship like with her mother? Was she breastfed? Does she fear breastfeeding? Does she nurture herself? These types of questions are all very important if she wants to uncover and heal the root causes of what is happening in her body. Any lotions, herbs, etc. are sort of like a band-aid but don't really heal the issue.
- If she wants help, please let her know I work with women during the childbearing years. Maybe I can help.
- For the cracked nipples I would check to make sure she doesn't have a fungal infection, especially so she does not pass it on to her newborn. Castor oil comes up for me for it is also antifungal and great for cracking/dry skin. I would suggest she soaks a cotton nipple pad (made from wool flannel from home health ) in castor oil and apply it to her nipples when she sleeps. She can put dry soft washcloths over the castor oil pac and then a loose bra. The castor oil pack can be reused for up to 3 weeks, have her store it in a glass bowl with a lid when not using it during the day. Dr. Bonnie Marsh
- For the nipples what comes to mind for me would be aloe vera or laukahi(plantago) leaves. For the aloe, just pick it and apply the gel. For the laukahi, chew up the leaf and apply the poultice to the nipple. Uala Lenta
- I would suggest cold cabbage leaves be placed over her sore nipples for approx. 20-30 min., 2-3 X's each day.
There are a couple enzymes in cabbage leaves that are very good for sore nipples, as well as engorgement. Darlene Waddell
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