I began breastfeeding my baby a few days after birth and she had difficulty latching initially but was fine afterwards. A couple of weeks in, I developed a white blister on the left nipple which my lactation consultant called a milk blister or bleb. I was advised to use a wet compress before nursing in the hope that the blister would burst - I did this for some days. I didnt have any accompanying milk duct blockage that I could detect. I also got the Newman all purpose ointment and used it a few times when I was worried about infection.
The blister persisted and was painful when the baby was nursing. A few days later, the whole breast became painful during and after nursing for quite some time. As I was told that my ob/gyn could burst the blister with a needle and that would start the healing, I went in to see my doctor but was told that this could make the area infected. They also said that the blister was actually over 2-3 ducts and did not seem to be a blister. My doctor thought that I possibly had fungal mastitis and gave me a two week course of anti-fungal medication. My baby's ped also added a suspension to put on her mouth several times a day, which I used for a few days and then stopped.
Since then the blister kind of reduced to one white point and over the original blister area, I have pink skin underneath which the doctor says is regular nipple surface without the pigmentation. The pain on the breast after nursing continues and I hav recently tried to reduce the ibuprofen I was taking for the pain throughout the day. A couple of days back, the nipple started bleeding one night when I went to pump (I have continued to both pump and nurse) and since then the pain has become worse after nursing. The nipple has also bled a few times in terms of there being a dried point of blood on the nipple (I have not seen any drops flow like the first time).
I am now wondering how this will heal/ get better. The pain on and around the nipple during and after nursing has become worse and for the last day I cannot bear to have anything touch the nipple, including clothes.
I hope someone out there has experienced something similar and can help!
thanks