> At least once a day when nursing my
> two-year-old I experience intense itching in my armpits. It feels like
> it is the hair follicles, somehow. It started when he was about one, I
> think. I don't know what causes it and I don't recognize a pattern in
> the times when it occurs. But I can tell you that it is very
> embarrassing when it happens in public. It is almost impossible to
> resist the urge to scratch!

 Thanks Andrea for your reply,   I probably should have stated the reason
for my curiosity at the time of my post. Its funny though, no matter how
experienced one might be I know  when I come across something new I often
get this sneaking suspicion that its something I've missed all these years
that everyone else knows all about. I am currently analyzing questionnaires
for mums participating in an expression study and three out of 21 mums
reported these itchy symptoms during let down. As I had never previously
heard anyone report these symptoms associated with let down before I was
interested to see how prevalent it was out there in the wider community. I
have received three personal emails letting me know that as breastfeeding
mums they had personally suffered with this. One found the symptoms
disappeared after a few weeks post partum, another related hers to allergy
and found relief by changing her brand of deodorant.  The third person had
always put it down to what she felt was an increased blood supply occurring
at this time. However interestingly, with blood supply to the breast during
feeding there has been some thermography studies here (in Western Australia)
that have found the temperature of the breasts drops during feeding (and we
assume that also, so does the blood supply). This, however is also being
investigated by some blood flow studies to the breast during feeding, by a
radiographer using ultrasound.

Regards
Cathy Fetherston RM MSc IBCLC
Western Australia

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