Daily hygiene
During breastfeeding, the nipple and the area around it should be carefully cleaned both before and after feeding. Boiled or distilled water can be used as a detergent, but generally it is convenient to use cotton wool pads already soaked in detergent substances: it is better to avoid soap (especially if it is not neutral), because using it in this way is often "violent" for the skin.
After cleaning at the end of the feeding, a greasy ointment should be applied and then gauze or breast pads (special disks to protect the nipple) until the next feeding. If the milk flows spontaneously and soils your underwear, simply insert special milk absorbent cups between your breasts and bra and throw them away after use.
Abrasions and fissures
Simple peelings of the nipple skin are uncomfortable, but heal easily.
The case of fissures is very different: these are cracks that can have a circular pattern all around the nipple or arranged in a radial pattern with the center on the tip of the nipple itself. In any case, fissures make breastfeeding extremely painful and, moreover, represent an open passage for microbes which can make inflammation of the breast (mastitis) possible.
To prevent them, you need to strengthen the nipples already during pregnancy with adequate preparation.
The other precaution is not to keep the baby attached to the same breast for an excessive time. At the beginning you have to start by holding it for a maximum of 5 minutes per breast and then alternating the two breasts; then the feeding time for each breast will gradually increase up to about 10 minutes.
To treat them you need a special silver nipple cover or suspend breastfeeding for at least 24-48 hours and treat the area with a special healing ointment. To ensure the baby does not run out of milk and to prevent milk secretion from decreasing, a special nipple can be applied to the breast which allows the baby to suck without touching the breast or a breast pump equipped with a teat.
