Hi.  I'm a new subscriber to LACTNET, and a fairly new LC as well.  I'm
working in a community hospital where the support for breastfeeding
seems to vary according to the nurse or doctor who happens to be taking
care of a particular patient during any given shift.  Some are great;
others seem to feel that the solution to almost any breastfeeding
problem is the bottle!  My question for today is this:  The majority of
nurses (and even doctors) at this hospital seem to believe in the almost
mystical ability of wet tea bags to cure/prevent/eliminate sore
nipples.  I haven't found any research to back this up, and my instinct
is that keeping the nipples wet for prolonged periods of time is
probably counterproductive.  I'm also concerned that these moms will go
home and try to deal with sore nipples with tea bags rather than by
trying to determine what is really causing the soreness.  I can
certainly question this procedure, but it would really help to have some
hard facts.  Does anyone know of research that has been done on this?

Thanks in advance, and thanks for being willing to share your experience
via LACTNET.  It's a great service.

Lori Lerman, R.N. and CLC in Massachusetts