Nursing question. What is this?

[1ontheway]

I'm sure this has been asked before, but I really don't have time to search the archives these days. Please bear with me. I have a white spot on my right nipple, and it stings when DD nurses. Is this a plugged duct? No lumps or redness just the white spot. any advice would be greatly appreciated. TIA.

Christina
and Leah Grace 1/19/04

[Rachels]

It's called a bleb, and it's an area where your skin has grown over a little dried bit of milk. You can treat it similarly to a plugged duct, by taking lecithin (1200 mg 3x / day), using massage while nursing, and using moist heat (a very warm, wet washcloth, for example) to loosen it up before you nurse. Dr. Sears also notes that you can open it with a sterile needle, which is what I finally did to resolve one of mine. It heals very quickly once opened, but you may want to put a little neosporin on your nipple to prevent infection. Once it's open, you can also express a little breastmilk onto your nipple and let it completely air dry, which will help it heal.

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02

[1ontheway]

What a relief that it's not a plugged duct. nursing has been going well other than the delay in my milk coming in. I would hate to have major problems now. Thanks so much!


Christina
and Leah Grace 1/19/04

[Rachels]

Sometimes this does signal a plugged duct, but often it;s just one blocked pore. If your duct was plugged, you'd feel like you had a deep bruise in your breast. But either way, these are resolvable problems. Keep nursing! :)

-Rachel
Mom to Abigail Rose
5/18/02