Hi Camilla, Wow. Talk about everything but the kitchen sink. This is one dedicated mom. But maybe this plethora of treatments has become part of the problem. I would agree with Laurie Wheeler about stopping all the topicals - if this didn't heal up when she didn't nurse for a month, then something besides just a latch problem is going on. It is possible that all of these topicals has led to a really bad dermatitis - was she still using the topicals when she was not nursing? Has she been on antibiotics at all? It used to be that we did not pay much attention to staph epi - it was classified as mostly a contaminant or normal flora, depending on where the culture came from (I am also a medical technologist - hospital lab person). However, these organisms are capable of causing problems in folks with compromised immune systems and in particular they like to grow on things we put inside of people, like catheters and heart valves. It is possible that this woman's nipples have been colonized with staph epi (it is a common cause of hospital-acquired infections). One of the things that bacteria can do is form a type of film over whatever is has infected which makes it difficult for antibiotics or even the patient's own while blood cells to attack the bacteria. It is also possible that the finding of staph epi on the nipples represents normal flora and has nothing to do with the nipple damage. Unfortunately, many staph epi strains have become very resistant to the common antibiotics and docs often end up having to use things like vancomycin to treat. This baby has had multiple incisions for the possible frenulum problems. Although a surgically resolved tongue tie can lead to wonderful results, it can also take a long time for the baby to alter established sucking patterns. I would continue to concentrate on latch and using gravity, such as laid-back positioning, may help a baby that is having problems maintaining an open-jaw attitude while nursing. It will also help with the oversupply effects as the milk can just leak out if baby opens a little wider rather than using a clamping motion. However, considering the baby's age, again, ingrained habits have been established. It may take time. One other thing is that I would make sure that this mom is taking care of herself and her immune system. Is she getting enough Vit. D? Several thousand units a day wouldn't hurt. Astragalus is probably one of the best herbs for boosting the immune system. She should be eating plenty of colorful fruits and vegetables for antioxidants and vitamin C. And B vitamins are good for stress, which she obviously is under. The dermatology consult will be interesting. Perhaps it will shed needed light on the situation. Let us know how it goes. Sharon Knorr, IBCLC, NY *********************************************** Archives: http://community.lsoft.com/archives/LACTNET.html To reach list owners: [log in to unmask] Mail all list management commands to: [log in to unmask] COMMANDS: 1. To temporarily stop your subscription write in the body of an email: set lactnet nomail 2. To start it again: set lactnet mail 3. To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet 4. To get a comprehensive list of rules and directions: get lactnet welcome