I have mother's permission to ask for input here.
Baby is 2 months old, exclusively breastfed since birth.  No history of
antibiotic use or illness in mother or baby since birth.  For past month
mother has had intense burning pain deep within both breasts, concentrated
under the nipples, without a clear relationship to feeds.  Feeding does not
make the burning worse, nor better.  
Her nipples were considered quite pink and it was thought it could be
thrush, so she and baby have been using mycostatin for over two weeks, baby
as a mixture given orally and mother applying it locally.  Was only applying
it twice a day for the first 10 days but has increased it to after every
feed for the last week.  She also tried gentian violet a week ago as per
Jack Newman's regime, with no change in symptoms whatsoever, so discontinued
that after three days.
I saw her Monday 21 November, when her nipples were still blue from the GV.
There was a small crack between areola and the mamilla but I almost needed a
magnifying glass to see it.  We tried to culture from her nipples and from
the baby's mouth, for bacteria and for yeast and there was no growth
whatsoever of anything at all, but they were using two antimicrobials
(mycostatin and GV) that could have obscured the culture.  She is still
using the mycostatin for self and baby.  Her symptoms are the same as
before.  There is nothing about the appearance of the baby's mouth to
suggest thrush.  There is also nothing unusual about the way the baby feeds.

I have now suggested she apply a very warm washcloth to her breast just
before feeding, even though the symptoms are not the ones I find this
measure often helps with.  The other thing I proposed was to ask this list
whether anyone knows of a remedy for this kind of pain, hence this post.  I
am stumped.

Rachel Myr
Kristiansand, Norway

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