Geneva, I did a bit of reading about psoriasis before writing this and discovered that among the causes of psoriasis outbreaks are an immune system compromise, for example stress increase, irritation to skin (possibly swelling of her feet? nipples rubbing against her bra?) and low levels of calcium. I'm wondering about this mom's diet and overall health and whether she could see a naturopath or nutritionist. Also, complimentary treatments, such as acupuncture, CST or chiropractic to treat underlying causes of nervous system malfunction. Topically, from a natural approach I found a cream that contains among several other things, coconut oil which by itself could be applied safely to nipples now and when breastfeeding. Bee propolis was another ingredient in this cream so sterile manuka wound honey (available online) and used medically in the form of dressings, might also be an approach. I always feel that topical treatments in and of themselves are band-aid approaches and what occurs systemically needs to be addressed, as well. You might want to post on the herbalist/LC site to gain insight from some of the herbalists in this group, _bfg-herbsdiscussion@yahoogroup_ (mailto:bfg-herbsdiscussion@yahoogroup) . Poor mom to have gone through two previous pregnancies and babies without some solution. I wonder if a nipple shield coated on the inside with say coconut oil might enable her to not experience friction and pain and be able to breastfeed. I don't know enough about psoriasis to predict how long a course of systemic or even topical treatment would normally take, but if she's due soon, beginning treatments now would be wise. Let us know about her progress, please, as I'm interested in learning. Barbara Latterner, BSN, RN, IBCLC *********************************************** 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