[Guest_Nyz31_*]

I will be going to the doctors next week regarding this but wanted to see if anyone has experienced something similar.

My daughter is now 12 weeks old (sheesh, that went quick!) and have been exclusively breastfeeding her. In the beginning I think I had a case of very mild (nipple) thrush but that seems to have gone away. In the last four weeks though, the underside of my left breast is driving me insane with itching, to the point that I've broken the skin in quite a few places because of scratching. My nipple isn't itchy at all, just the skin below and slightly to the side. It doesn't matter what bra I wear or if I have breast pads in or not, it just itches and gets worse when I get in the shower. It's not sweat and I'm assuming it's not contact dermatitis otherwise I'd be getting it elsewhere. I've checked my breasts for lumps but nothing there (and I realise that's not always a symptom) and I'm not sore at all. Apart from where I've broken the skin, I can't see any changes in the colour or feel of the skin.

I never experienced anything like this with my first daughter and unfortunately when you google 'itchy breast' it just screams 'cancer' at you, so while I'm sure it's nothing I can't help but wonder why it isn't going away?

Anyone experienced something similar that I may be able to research a bit before going to the docs?
Cheers ladies!

[josie01]

Is your baby teething? The reason I ask is that their saliva can change and cause a dermatitis or eczema around the nipple area. I recently had both breasts really really itchy, and came out in a rash. It wasn't painful so I knew it wasn't thrush. I went to my gp who prescribed a mild cortisone cream. After a week no improvement even though I went bra less as often as I could and exposed to the sun when it was out, I went back to gp who prescribed an antibiotic thinking something else, but that made it worse....eventually he put me on a stronger cortisone but an ointment this time, it cleared in a week. It could be many things so you should see a gp as soon as you can and your gp may not even know for sure but can help with ways to safely treat and keep bf too. Good luck.

[MummyIHK]

I also had an itchy breast (not the nipple) and I have only just made this connection but I noticed recently that on the underside of my breast I have a few stretch marks (I have never had these before) but I believe that stretch marks can be itchy before they appear (as the skin stretches).

[earthmagickmama]

I had this happen to me, too. The doctor said it was nothing to worry about, but it did make me crazy quite a bit. My breasts also felt a bit hot. She said it was likely just my milk increasing or let down making my breasts 'itch'.

[Guest_Nyz31_*]

Thanks everyone.
According to the doctor, something has irritated the skin and I've developed an itch/scratch cycle so with a bit of ointment and will power not to scratch, it should improve.
Just wanted to update just in case anyone uses this thread as a reference.
Cheers again.