woman's health

Breast Rags

Generality

Breast fissures are small nettings with a sharp edge, more or less deep, that affect the nipple and the areola that surrounds it.

Common causes of breast fissures :
  • inadequate breast hygiene
  • wrong attachment of the child

Sinus Chestnut Symptoms »

Very common during the first weeks of lactation, especially in primiparae, breast fissures appear as rather painful cracks, especially during sucking. These small cuts become an important problem when they cause pain of such intensity as to discourage the baby's attachment to the breast, thus depriving it of the most recommendable food for its growth.

Furthermore, the nipple fissures can represent an entry way for bacteria, with possible infection of the mammary glands (mastitis), especially in case of missed breastfeeding or traffic jams.

Prevent breast fissures: what to do before giving birth

Playing in advance in the last months of pregnancy can be a valid aid in the prevention of breast fissures. For this purpose some nipple rotation and stretching exercises can be performed:

  • Nipple rotation: to favor the extraction, grab it between the index and the thumb making it rotate clockwise and anticlockwise.
  • Stretching the nipple: place the thumbs at the opposite ends of the areola (both vertical and horizontal) and perform delicate stretching movements.

Prevent nipple fissures: how to breastfeed and take care of your breasts

In most cases, the nipple fissures recognize the wrong positioning of the newborn, which, by greedily sucking only from the nipple, produces excessive trauma. The most effective intervention, both for preventive and therapeutic purposes, therefore concerns the correct attachment of the child, useful also to stimulate the secretion of milk.

  • To attach itself well, the child must open his mouth wide and introduce the breast to the bottom, thus grabbing most of the areola and not just the nipple.
  • The child should be lying on its side, with its belly against its mother's body and its head wrapped in a maternal embrace; the nipple must be at the height of the baby's nose, so that when it opens, the mouth will take it from the bottom upwards.
  • In the correct position, during the feeding a part of the areola will be visible above the upper lip of the child, while it will not be visible under the lower lip, which will appear upside down outside; the baby's cheek will appear swollen and round, lacking the typical bottle-feeding dimples, while the chin and nose will remain in contact with the breast.
  • Adopt a different position for each feeding (sitting, side, lying down) so as not to irritate the nipple and to allow the child to put pressure on different areas of the nipple and areola; this care allows to prevent both the appearance of irritations and fissures on the breast, and of breast engorgement.
  • Before attaching the baby to the breast, check that his nose is well clear so that he can breathe during sucking.
  • At the end of the feeding, the baby will come off spontaneously from the breast; if it is necessary to remove it prematurely, the operation must be carried out by placing a finger at the corner of the mouth, stimulating it and then pushing the breast downwards; all this to save the nipple useless "tears" and tensions deriving from a too abrupt detachment.
  • When the child is properly attached, decreasing the duration of the feed does not protect the nipple from the sinuses at the breast; during breastfeeding the mother will be able to hear the correct noise generated by swallowing (glu-glu), without any snap that would represent the light of a vacuum suction. However, if you find that the child remains attached for too long, it is good to detach it as listed in the previous point. The feeding should not last more than 25-30 minutes, to prevent the nipple from becoming irritated or for the baby to suck empty.
  • Breast fissures should not stop breastfeeding, as they tend to heal spontaneously once the root causes have been removed. Only in the case of bleeding rats it is appropriate to suspend breast-feeding and resort to the use of healing and antibacterial medicines under medical supervision.

Breast fissures care: is there a useful treatment?

Accurate hygiene is very important to prevent breast fissures.

  • Before feeding, the hands should be adequately cleansed with warm water. To clean the nipples, avoid soap or other aggressive detergents, possibly using the specific cleaning tissues for cleaning (make sure that the components are natural and do not require rinsing, also check the absence of surfactants that dry the skin or scents that could change the natural smell of the breast and disturb the baby). The ideal is to use boiled water and a sterile gauze to gently cleanse the feeding area, with movements that go from the nipple to the areola.
  • At the end of the feed, dry the nipples in the air or dab them without rubbing. This operation is important to avoid skin maceration caused by wearing a still-nipple bra; eventually, after feeding, the breasts can be covered with absorbent and breathable cups, to be changed as soon as they become wet.
  • There is no need to wash the breast more than once a day, or use soaps or rub it heavily with a towel. Water and detergents, in fact, remove the natural protective fats of the skin and can dry it and make it more prone to irritation and cracking.
  • Softly let a few drops of milk out of the breast, and spread it around the nipple, it can be helpful both before feeding, to soften the areola, and at the end of it, to favor the healing of any cracks.
  • For the care and treatment of irritations that can turn into painful fissures, many experts advise against the use of specific ointments or medicinal lotions, which could irritate the skin without bringing real advantages, but also give the milk an unpleasant taste. Generally, vegetable oils are used to prevent the formation of breast fissures, such as sweet almond or hypericum oils.