Nipple pain, find the cause before you want effective treatment

Nipple pain for the first time makes you very worried and scared every time you breastfeed. Finding the cause of the pain will help you to resolve it easily.

When it comes to taking care of your baby after giving birth, there will be hundreds of problems in your mind. In particular, painful nipples when breastfeeding is a nightmare that many women encounter. So what is the cause and what is the solution to this problem? Let's find the answer in the article below.

Are nipples sore while breastfeeding is worrying?

Nipple pain is a very familiar condition in first-time breastfeeding. It is very normal to feel pain or comfort in the first few weeks when your baby latches on the nipple. However, if you experience chest pain most of the time or during breastfeeding, this should be taken more seriously.

Pay attention to how you feel and see your doctor as soon as you notice the first signs of chest pain. If you ignore this problem, your nipples can be scratched and bleed, by then breastfeeding can become a pain!

7 causes of nipple pain

Here are the causes of nipple pain in many women when breastfeeding:

1. The baby is not properly latched on or caught

Because the child only latches on the nipple, the mother will hurt and damage the nipple. If you observe that the nipple is shaped like a new lipstick tip or has a line running down the nipple, when breastfeeding, you should bring the breast deeper into the baby's mouth.

2. Use a breast pump

Improper use of a breast pump can cause nipple pain and even deep damage to the nipples. The reason may be that the breast pump rim is too small compared to the nipple or some mothers adjust the suction level of the machine too high.

3. Fungal infections

If your baby has thrush or has a fungus in his mouth, it will spread to the mother's nipple during breastfeeding. Signs when a mother is infected are itching, redness, nipple pain, and nipple headache leading to breast tenderness during or after breastfeeding. If your symptoms persist, see your doctor right away.

4. Stick your tongue

When the skin between the tongue and the floor of the lower mouth (the tongue) is too short and is close to the tip of the tongue, the baby will have a tongue twitch. This problem makes it difficult for the mother to breastfeed her baby.

5. Milky bumps under the nipples

Mom will get milia when the thin skin develops to cover the mouth of the duct, causing the milk to block. A milia nodule looks like a white or yellow bump on the nipple and is painful. However, this condition should go away on its own after a few weeks.

6. Nipple blistering

This is yellow blisters or blood blisters that grow on your nipples, causing severe nipple pain while breastfeeding. Friction or improper attachment of nipples can be the cause behind this phenomenon. Another common cause of nipple blistering is that a baby is not latching on a breast or using a breast pump incorrectly.

Stop using nipple pain creams or remedies until your dermatologist is diagnosed. Until the disease is completely clear , you should express milk by hand  to breastfeed to avoid erection. If you have only one breast rash, you can still breastfeed from the other breast.

7. Vascular spasm

If the nipples are very painful and look pale for a few seconds or minutes after a feed and then return to normal, it may be a constriction of blood vessels in the nipple. Injury, nipple compression or fungus may be the cause of nipple contractions.

Less common is spasm caused by Raynaud's syndrome. In this case, you will feel nipple pain on both sides at the same time, the pain from cold usually lasts a few minutes. See your doctor for treatment and breast-feeding if you experience this.

Should you continue to breastfeed if you have nipple pain?

You can still breastfeed, but if it is too painful, don't endure it. Get the help of doctors to make things easier. When you feel so much pain that you are afraid to latch your baby , take a break for about half a day to a day. Meanwhile, use a suitable pump or hand express milk to give your baby milk.

Hopefully, through this article, the sisters will know the cause of nipple pain and have appropriate treatment to make breastfeeding softer.