I've been following this thread with amusement and interest. I think that
most of us agree that there is no threat with saliva left "clinging" to
breast and nipple after a nursing session; heavens! Do the gorillas, cats
and dogs wash off afterwards, too?

However, I am wondering about the source of this concern. I have heard on
occasion of women whose nipples just seem to "dissolve" into a bloody
mass when breastfeeding when there is no apparent problem with suck and
positioning. I am also thinking about those mothers who have had
dermatitis reactions after their baby has started on solids. Could it be
that concern has grown for a few select people out of the observations of
occasional nipple soreness that has occurred under weird circumstances? I
definitely know of cases where the reaction subsided with changes to the
baby's diet--- perhaps some MDs have not differentiated the wholly
breastfed baby from one who is ingesting other food.

On the other item, I dealt indirectly with a mom who had a history of 2
babies and nipples that just seemed to dissolve into slime for no apparent
reason. I never did get to see her and was dying to examine this
phenomena; there may be something unusual that can occasionally happen,
like the rare reaction of a woman to her partner's sperm. However, I think
the main point is that these are all anomalies and NOT the norm. No need
to treat the whole population for an unlikely complication.

-Lisa

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Lisa Marasco, BA, LLLL, IBCLC
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