Many thanks to Marilyn for sharing the information about a possible link
between propylene glycol and seizures.  It will be interesting to learn
more about this.

I have had concerns about using these dressings for nursing moms since
reading the 1998 study by Nancy Brent and colleagues (Brent N, Rudy SH,
Redd B, Rudy TE, Roth LA.  Sore Nipples in Breast-feeding Women: A clinical
trial of wound dressings vs conventional care.  Arch Pediatr Adolesc Med
152:1077, 1998).  In this randomized controlled trial, the intervention
group was halted when a significantly higher rate of infection developed in
the women using gel dressings.  Greatest improvement was seen in the group
using lanolin and breast shells.

Talking to other LCs, I have heard of at least two cases of women treated
with hydrogels for cracked nipples who later ended up hospitalized for
treatment of severe mastitis.  One has to wonder if the hydrogel, in
artifically closing off the wound area, didn't create an environment that
allowed staph and other bugs to flourish.

Here we have embraced a new technology transplanted from another medical
field (sore nipples are not burns) and put it to use in a widespread
fashion before it is really studied.  We need to start asking manufacturers
to prove to us that their products are safe and effective BEFORE we start
dispensing them.
Cindy Turner-Maffei, MA, IBCLC
Massachusetts, USA

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