I am a bit unsure about posting, since we've also had the thread about danger of vit. A toxicity but, having spent two months solid with deep nipple fissures that tore open every time I nursed or pumped, I feel so much much sympathy for the mom with the same problem that I want to at least comment.  I had tried everything I could think of, putting everything imaginable on it, breast shields, etc., even going 48 hours only nursing on one side and doing nothing but hand expression on the other.  That side looked pretty good at the end of that time but, the second Joseph latched on, it tore wide open again.  

What finally took care of it, for me, was taking extra vit. A and E.  I believe I took 16,000 IU a day of A and 400 of E.  The fissures healed immediately (within 24 hours) and stayed healed, as long as a kept taking the supplements.  I could reduce the amount a little but, if I went more than a few days without it, the same spots would start to open back up again.  This was the case for the rest of the time I was nursing someone, which was three more years.  I don't know of anyway to help determine who might be helped by this, but I think that part of my problem was likely due to the fact that I had lost my gall bladder, and did not utilize fat soluble vitamins well, because of that.  With so many gall bladders being taken out in the USA over the past decade (many of them being found to be healthy, like mine) I suspect there are quite a few other mothers who no longer have theirs, and could have deficiencies to fat soluble vitamins, as a result, so I would ask any mom having trouble with fissures that don't heal is she still has hers.  I don't accept the standard, modern medical assertion that the gall bladder is useless, anymore than I believe that formula is just as good as breast milk.  

I don't know if this mom would be able to face having these nipple fissures tear open every few hours, indefinitely.  I had gotten to the point of having feelings of dread in between nursing times. If nothing else works, perhaps she could consider adding some vit. A and see what happens.  If that helps her, I would think the potential benefits of being able to keep providing breast milk for her baby may  be worth any risk of taking a reasonable medicinal dose of Vit. A.  Perhaps someone with a gall bladder would not need to take as much as I did, or have to keep taking it regularly, to see a benefit.  I am surprized to hear anyone say that Vit A can be toxic at such low doses as have been suggested.  I haven't looked at anything in a long time, but the research I did way back suggested that someone would have to take extremely high doses to have problems with it.  I remember specifically, one case where someone took 200,000 IU a day for weeks, and another where someone actually too a million units in one dose.  I am not arguing with anyone who is saying that much lower doses can be toxic, just surprized!

Anyway, I hope this poor mom finds something that helps her, soon!

Darillyn

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