Nip Tip: Milk Blebs

Wondering what that painful white spot on your nipple is?

It’s likely a milk bleb, or a milk blister. (Side note: “bleb,” what a strange word).

Basically, it’s when a nipple pore gets covered with a thin layer of skin.  This causes the milk to back up behind it and it can be really, really painful.

Have you ever had one?  Thankfully, I never did.  But a recent poll I did on my Instagram page was 50/50!  Half of everyone who took the poll had had a milk bleb!  This was actually surprising to me, I didn’t think they were QUITE so common.

So what to do?? First off, try to resist the urge to pick at the blister yourself.  This can introduce bacteria.  The next thing you’ll need to do is begin to start softening the skin of the blister.  This can be done with:

• A warm wash cloth: Put a warm wash cloth on your nipple before feeding. You can also GENTLY exfoliate the area when you do this. (Remember, we want to be gentle with our breasts, so don’t go overboard with the exfoliating!)

• An epsom salt soak: Use a Haakaa or other silicone milk collector (or even a shot glass!) to soak your nipple in an epson salt solution. To make the solution, you can mix two teaspoons of epsom salt in a cup or so of warm water. Soak for a couple of minutes.

• Olive oil: Soak a cotton ball in olive oil and let it hang out on your nipple in your bra for a while

• A combination of those three things!

  
  If none of the above methods work, you might need to pay a visit to the doctor to have her use a needle to remove that layer of skin to give you relief.

By the way, pumping or feeding your baby is what is going to help all of that milk get cleared out from behind the bleb.  So empty empty empty the breast.  Milk blebs are often caused by friction from a poor latch.  So if you are getting them recurrently, it’s best to reach out to an IBCLC for some 1:1 help.  Let me know if you need to set up a consultation!

Here’s to your bleb-free nipples!

Jess