To my understanding this tingling pins and needles feeling on my nipples is the let down relfex right? Anyway, everytime I feel that which is all the time even right after a feeding especially today I've been feeling this burning sensation not on my nipple or areola area but above it. It burns really bad. Why? It just started burning today and it only happens during the let down of my milk. I know I am producing more milk than my baby needs right now could that be why. I've only been nursing for 4 weeks today. Oh and I have no fever or anything like that so I don't think it's Mastitis or anything like that. I just want to know if it's normal. Is it also normal to experience let down so much. It literally happens all the time!! I can be done nursing for about 10 minutes and it comes again and well baby is pretty good at emptying the breast! You don't have to be feverish for it to be mastitis. The suffix -itis just means inflammation - it doesn't necessarily have to be infected so you might not need antibiotic treatment, but this is the blockage I was talking about (I think it was you?!)! The upside down feeding thing WILL help (baby's chin "pointing" to the sore area). And of course, if it's not infected (which is unlikely given what you are saying - it would be red and hot to the touch, and fever or not you probably would feel a bit unwell) then the problem is that it might well become infected. And besides, it's sore!
OK, so. You have a blockage and you want it gone. There are several things you can do. Firstly, warmth will help soften the blockage (which is clogged up milk solids) and also soften/loosen the tissue/vessels around the blockage - so if you have a nice soft heat pack, place that on your breast for a while before feeding your baby (chin to blockage!). A hot flannel will cool down, so doesn't work so well, but if this is all you've got have two in a bowl of hot water so you can swap them and reheat them as they cool. If the feeding still doesn't help (babies are the most efficient milk-removing machines, so hopefully it will!) then try this: the milk ducts are positioned all around your areola - have a feel around your areola and you'll probably find a hard lump. It will be small, about pea-sized, and may be sore or may not. Massaging this during feeding if you can should help it to empty: use the flats of your fingers to "smooth" the milk towards the nipple and be firm but don't press too hard (this can cause more blockages!). If this doesn't work, then try this: it sounds weird! It might be best to do this in the shower - mainly because of the warmth factor again. But inspect the very end of your nipple and see if you can see a white dot - like a whitehead spot/zit. You might not see it straight away; if you can't then try HAND expressing for a few seconds (just enough to get the milk flowing, making sure you are putting pressure on the little lump if you have found one). This might be enough to push the blockage out far enough to see it. Then, you need to pull this out! If you can get it with tweezers do that, or use a needle if not. Sterilize whatever you do use! After getting it out, some women experience immediate relief and milk will actually gush out; for others it won't be so sudden but you'll definitely feel better. And I'm afraid that for some this is a recurring problem, but once you know how to sort it out it is not such a big deal.
So, things to try:
1) heat
2) point baby's chin to the sore area
3) massage the sore area (always smoothing towards the nipple - imagine a tube of toothpaste)
4) look for a white dot
And hopefully it won't come to antibiotics; BUT if it does don't let them tell you you can't feed your baby while you're on them. There ARE antibiotics they can prescribe that are better for your baby and the absolute worst thing would be to stop feeding - you'd be very unlikely to get him back on the breast again afterwards; babies do forget how to breastfeed alarmingly quickly.
I wish you the best of luck!!
EDIT: I've just noticed you don't say whether it is both breasts or just one!! Duh, sorry. If it is only one, it is highly unlikely to be thrush. If it is both, it is more likely to be thrush but still not necessarily the case. I know many many women, myself included, whose doctors gave them a yeast infection diagnosis and had to do all the treatment (which is a pain in the butt and not very good for you) only to find it didn't help in the slightest and that they'd had a blockage all along. So only go for that if you really don't think you have a blockage! It can actually be thrush or the beginning of mastitis. To be sure call your doctor in the morning and describe to him what you are feeling. I had a similar feeling and was on the verge of getting mastitis. I nursed two babies had extreme amounts of milk and also experienced the let down reflex alot. Just that new mother thing kicking in. You can just see a baby doesn't even have to be your own and the milk will let down.
I however never experienced any type of burning feeling, just extreme fullness and tenderness.
I would keep a close eye on it and let the doctor know just so he can monitor it.
Best of luck to you, the new mother.
May God Bless you. It might be that the baby is sliding down on your nipple and not taking it right. Ya know, he needs to take the whole nipple and a little bit of the areola. With my first child she took just the tip and made me so sour that I bleed. I had to stop and put her on the bottle within the first week. Sounds like thrush my ds got it when I was breastfeeding him. Here is a little article from baby center that tells the symtoms and what you can do about it.
Thrush is a common and harmless yeast infection in a baby's mouth that can affect your nipples during breastfeeding. Yeast is a normal part of everyone's digestive system, but when there's an overgrowth, an infection sets in.
Many infants first come in contact with yeast as they travel down the birth canal (you can have a vaginal yeast infection during pregnancy and not be aware of it). After your baby is born, or during labor and delivery, antibiotics taken by you or your baby can trigger a case of thrush. That's because antibiotics, which get into your breast milk, kill off "good" bacteria that keep yeast in check.
So, for example, a baby delivered by c-section can develop a yeast infection if his mother is given antibiotics right after surgery. Similarly, antibiotics given to moms during labor for group B strep can also set the stage for an infection.
Your baby can pass thrush on to you, so it's important to seek treatment for yourself and your baby at the same time. Otherwise, you may pass the infection back and forth.
Sometimes it's hard to pinpoint any one cause of thrush. Some women and babies are simply more susceptible than others to yeast. It thrives in warm, moist, sugary environments, and that's exactly what your baby's mouth and your nipples provide during nursing.
Some common signs of a yeast infection in nursing mothers are:
itchy, pink, red, shiny, or burning nipples (may be cracked) (Note that pink, tender nipples can also be a sign of a bacterial infection, or dermatitis, which should be diagnosed and treated by a dermatologist.)
deep, shooting breast pain during or after feedings
a vaginal yeast infection
Most young babies have symptoms, but older babies might not. Those who do may:
have white patches on the inside of the lips and cheeks that look like cottage cheese and aren't easily washed off. If you notice a white coating on your baby's tongue but nowhere else, it's probably just milk residue.
cry when nursing or sucking on a pacifier or bottle. The white patches mentioned above may be painful and make feeding uncomfortable if the infection is severe.
have raised, patchy bright or dark red diaper rash with distinct borders. Small, red spots frequently appear around the edges of the main rash. The affected area is red and may be tender or painful, and the rash can creep into the folds of skin around your child's genitals and legs. It almost never appears on the buttocks.
What can I do?
If you suspect thrush, contact your healthcare provider for diagnosis and treatment. Thrush should only take a few days to cure if the treatment is effective and/or aggressive, and you and your baby need to be treated at the same time.
Your provider may recommend that you apply an antifungal prescription medication cream called Nystatin to your nipples to treat the yeast on your breasts so that you and your baby won't pass the infection back and forth. Or she may recommend applying an over-the-counter antifungal cream like Lotrimin or Monistat to your nipples after every nursing for a week to ten days. If you're still in pain after this treatment, you may be prescribed a more potent antifungal medicine like oral Diflucan.
To ease any deep breast pain, you may want to take 600 mgs of ibuprofen every six hours (maximum of 1,200 mgs over 24 hours) until the worst is over and your treatment starts working.
To treat your baby's thrush, your pediatrician will likely prescribe Nystatin. You'll "paint" the medicine on the white patches with the enclosed applicator (or your finger) several times a day for ten days. Be sure to give the Nystatin after nursing so the medicine will stay in your baby's mouth longer. It may take a week to clear up the infection.
If the infection doesn't seem to be clearing up, call your doctor. Some babies with thrush also develop a yeast diaper infection. If that happens, your doctor can prescribe a fungal cream medication to use in the diaper area.
For more details on treating your baby's thrush, click here.
If you want to try alternative therapies, some lactation consultants and nursing-friendly physicians recommend applying gentian violet to your baby's mouth. Gentian violet is a dye that will stain anything it comes in contact with. It's much more effective than Nystatin because it penetrates mucous membranes and kills yeast on contact.
If you'd like to try this method:
Buy a 1 percent gentian violet solution. You can find the dye at many drugstores or order it from the pharmacy. A 1-ounce bottle should cost around $5.
Use a cotton swab to coat the inside of your baby's mouth. Have someone help you by holding your baby's head and hands while you swab the insides of his lips, cheeks, and tongue.
To avoid stains while applying the gentian violet, undress your baby from the waist up and protect the surface underneath him with a towel that you don't mind getting stains on.
When you nurse your baby, some dye may get on your nipples, which is perfectly safe. (There's no need to coat your own nipples, though.)
Do this once or twice a day for no more than three days.
In the meantime, wash all toys, pacifiers, and breast pump parts and sterilize them in an electric steam sterilizer or in boiling water for 20 minutes after each use, to avoid reinfecting you or your baby. For the same reason, wash your hands frequently, especially after feedings.
You may want to add lactobacillus acidophilus to your diet to recolonize your digestive tract with the friendly bacteria that keep yeast in check. Look for yogurt that says it contains live lactobacillus acidophilis cultures, or take it in pill form (40 million units per day). Exposing your breasts to sunshine and letting your nipples air-dry between feedings may also help.
Some moms find the pain so excruciating that they can barely stand to nurse their baby. If that's the case, pumping may be more comfortable until your nipples are more healed. I had a clogged milk duct, maybe that's what you have, and it hurt pretty bad, look at your nipple and if you see a white looking almost like a whitehead, if you do at least it's not mastisis, but could lead to it if you don't take care of it now, if it is let baby nurse on that breast first,and try to gently squeeze out milk to try to empty breast as much as possible. Is it like a warm sensation after you nurse? It could just be that you need to pump a little after he is through. As weird as it might sound, you may just still be a little full lol. Try pumping and see if that helps. If you are really concerned call the hospital where you gave birth and ask to speak with the lactation nurse, or consultant. They should be able to give you more advice. Yes, the tingly feeling is letdown,and completely normal.
The burning sensation could be a clogged duct. I doubt that it is thrush like some others said, as this makes your nipples hurt as well. Just massage your breast in the "hot" area while you are breastfeeding, and go without a bra for awhile. If you are having leaking issues (like I did) I would invest in some Soothies or LilyPadz. You can wear those without a bra on. If you are still having the burning in the same area after massaging and compression, call 1-877-LA-LECHE. They can help you determine what it might be and what you can do.
Good job breastfeedin, Momma! See a doctor |
