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