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You may have heard of Raynaud's Phenomenon, where your fingers or toes to go white, numb and painful in the cold. But did you know you can also get Raynaud's of the nipple? You may have heard of Raynaud's Phenomenon where it doesn't take much for your fingers or toes to go white, numb and painful in the cold. Well you can also get Raynaud's of the nipple and it can bad enough to stop breastfeeding. Raynaud's of the nipple has been reported in the past but according to a group of paediatricians in San Francisco, the condition may often be misdiagnosed and treated wrongly. They describe 12 women with the problem, which is charaterised by severe pain in the nipple during breastfeeding. And since they were feeding their babies several times a day, it became quite disabling. The common but wrong diagnosis was a yeast infection - but that's usually associated with inflammation or nipple damage. When the women with Raynaud's were examined during breastfeeding, the nipple area went pale, then flushed after feeding had stopped. One woman said she even got pain when she opened the fridge. None of the women had Raynaud's anywhere else. The treatment is to avoid smoking because that can make it worse, and feed the baby in a warm environment. If that doesn't work, there's a medication called nifedipine, which is safe for the baby, and usually helps. Another reason for being glad that spring is here.
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