What to do if the areola is bitten by the baby? What to do if the baby bites the nipple

Many mothers will have their areola bitten by their babies during feeding, especially when the baby is older and has started to grow teeth. At this time, if the baby is breastfed, the baby may be more naughty and they will always want to bite the mother's nipples. Most mothers will have inflammation after being bitten. So what should I do if the areola is bitten by the baby?

1. Cleaning with hydrogen peroxide: If the nipple has been bitten by the baby, you can try using hydrogen peroxide to clean the damaged part of the nipple, which is very effective. Because the baby's oral microorganisms may affect wound healing, it is recommended to disinfect with hydrogen peroxide after each feeding. Hydrogen peroxide is very safe and cheap. The decomposition products after disinfection are oxygen and water, which are non-irritating to both babies and mothers. Moreover, after using it, it is not as painful as imagined, just a little bit of slight tingling.

2. Control the baby's feeding time: Nips are prone to cracking if they are soaked in the baby's saliva for a long time. Therefore, each feeding time should not be too long, generally 15 to 20 minutes is good; also, do not let the baby sleep with the nipple in his mouth. Change positions from time to time, and appropriately change the position in which you hold your baby during breastfeeding. Alternate the positions in which you hold your baby during breastfeeding, so that the baby's sucking force can be dispersed around the nipple and areola, reducing the burden on one place.

3. Stop using alkaline soaps, detergents or applying medicated oils when cleaning the nipples.

4. Improve feeding methods: Improve the baby's sucking posture and continue to breastfeed the baby. You can start by feeding from the breast on the side that does not hurt. When the feeding posture is improved, the pain will usually improve immediately and the fissures will heal quickly.

5. During breastfeeding breaks, expose the affected nipple to air and sunlight as much as possible.

6. Leave a drop of post-milk on the nipple after each breastfeeding to help the nipple skin heal.

7. Sometimes, after improving the sucking posture, the pain still persists, or because of breast swelling, the baby cannot get enough milk, which will cause the milk stagnation to worsen. Therefore, the milk needs to be squeezed out before the fissures heal.

8. When nipple rupture occurs, the mother should pay more attention to protection and local hygiene to avoid infection and inflammation. First, wash the ruptured part of the nipple with warm water, then apply 10% cod liver oil bismuth, or compound benzoin tincture, or grind equal parts of Chinese medicine Phellodendron chinense and Angelica dahurica into powder, mix with sesame oil or honey and apply to the affected area. Wash off the medicine before breastfeeding and protect the nipples with nipple shields or sterile gauze.

9. If the nipple is severely cracked, breastfeeding should be stopped for 24 to 48 hours; or the milk can be sucked out with a glass breast shield for indirect feeding so that the child does not come into direct contact with the nipple, or the milk can be squeezed directly into a sterilized clean bottle to feed the child.

10. The drug compound benzoic acid tincture has a good astringent effect on the skin and can promote early healing of the skin. After taking the medicine, the nipples need to be cleaned before each feeding. In addition, applying cod liver oil bismuth to the nipples can also promote the healing of cracked nipple skin.