Iran: Study on Nipple Fissure Treatments

Results from a systematic study reveal that herbal and non-herbal remedies may be more effective in relieving nipple pain and healing fissures. Further, natural treatment with breast milk was shown to cure nipple damage, but it took a longer time for healing than other treatments. The study appears in the journal Advances in Integrative Medicine.

Nipple fissure is known to be an important factor that causes early cessation of breastfeeding. Untreated nipple fissures lead to several problems including:

• Bleeding
• Severe pain
• Mastitis
• Inadequate milk excretion
• Nipple abscess

Herbal and non-herbal preparations have been suggested to reduce nipple pain and fissure.

Considering the above, Azin Niazi, Applied Biomedical Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran, and colleagues aimed to review topical treatment for the prevention and relief of nipple fissure and pain in breastfeeding women.

For this purpose, the researchers searched the online databases from inception to May 2021. The searched keywords included:

• Sore
• Nipples
• Pain
• Trauma
• Wound
• Prevention
• Treatment
• Therapeutic
• Therapy
• Clinical trial
• Breastfeeding
• Herbal
• Drug

Twenty-two out of 520 found articles were selected for the review, including non-herbal medicines (nine) and herbal products (thirteen).

They studied clinical trials regarding the effects of herbal (olive oil, Calendula officinalis, Aloe vera, jujube oil, mint, saqez, frankincense, and Portulaca oleracea) and non-herbal (lanolin, breast milk, hydrogels, and collagenase) medications on nipple pain and fissure.

In 12 studies where people used breast milk for treating and preventing fissure and nipple pain, the results showed the effectiveness of breast milk in improving and preventing fissure and nipple pain.

Further, lanolin was found to be a common treatment for nipple fissures. Breast milk is recommended for treating fissures due to its emollient, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial properties.

"Herbal medications on fissure and nipple pain have also indicated a positive effect on the treatment and prevention of fissure and nipple pain," the authors wrote. "Still, definitive conclusions about their effects are not possible due to the limited studies."

Reference

The study titled, "Topical treatment for the prevention and relief of nipple fissure and pain in breastfeeding women: A systematic review," was published in the journal Advances in Integrative Medicine.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.aimed.2021.07.001