Re: Safety of iodine painting while breastfeeding

[Guest guest]

I've nursed 10 babies.  With some of them I would have engorgement up into my armpits.  I was concerned about it with one pregnancy where it was worse than others and my OB told me that it was just milk glands that go into that area. So, if your baby is just a week old and your milk is still coming in at full force, it is probably that.  But, it would be a good idea to get it checked out anyway. 

My suggestion would be warm compresses and lots of nursing ; )  I'm not sure about the iodine painting and nursing and how much iodine would get into the milk if those marbles are indeed milk ducts. 

LaraleeOn Thu, Mar 1, 2012 at 12:46 PM, brite.trice <wbtrice@...> wrote:

 

Hello,

I have been a member for a while, reading and gleaning the boards almost every day, and using iodine for about 18 months. I had to back way down when I got pregnant (to the recommended 12.5mg) but now that my baby is a week old I am working to increase again.

Mid-December I noticed a lump- actually two small marble-sized lumps- under my left arm. My midwife suggested it was a clogged lymph node, and said to watch it but that pregnancy does weird things to your body. It seems to get swollen, then decrease in size, sometimes painful, other times not noticeable at all. I have an appt. with my family doctor next week, but I was wondering if I could paint the area with Lugol's while I'm breastfeeding? I've done this a few times in the last week (because it's hurting, and the pain extends into the left side of my breast), and once when I did it at night I had trouble sleeping...I know there's no way to know exactly how much is being absorbed, so maybe the sleeping trouble was unrelated. But I'm wondering if the painting is safe to do while I'm breastfeeding? Should I wait until after my appt. with the doctor/possible ultrasound of the area before I do the painting? Leave off it entirely while I'm nursing?

Thanks for any advice- it seems like there are so many exceptions when pregnancy and nursing are involved and it gets confusing!

Gratefully,

Brite

[Guest guest]

Brite-- It's a little unfortunate because if you'd already been taking iodine

before

your pregnancy, there was no reason to lower your dose. The lower

recommendation is ONLY for women who weren't already doing iodine. But ok,

here we are.

1. Very possibly, it keeping you awake was the iodine-- iodine gives a lot of

people energy. So, paint it in the morning.

2. The breast milk ducts use a lot of iodine, so it's highly compatible and

appropriate.

3. Your child is now only getting iodine through your breast milk, not through

the

placenta. imo it is safe to paint with it as you are doing, in addition to your

oral

intake. You need more iodine than 12.5mg.

4. Be sure to use a carrier oil. Just put a few drops of a good nutrititious

oil that

soaks in quickly like coconut oil, jojoba oil, or castor oil is very healing and

probably the best bet here, although it is less quick to soak in. Put a few

drops

in your palm, drop in your Lugol's, and smooth over the skin. You want to

protect your skin from the irritation that Lugol's can cause-- especially in

that

area and esp. while breastfeeding. (Plus it's a good idea to lubricate your

breasts to keep your skin supple)

I agree with Laralee that a panic about this is not needed. The fact that the

marbles are swelling and receding indicates it's purely a mechanical issue of

some kind-- meaning, nothing to xray, scan, or biopsy. Warm compresses

sound perfect to me.

--

moderator

On 1 Mar 2012 at 12:58, Mommaof10 wrote:

>

>

>

> I've nursed 10 babies. With some of them I would have engorgement up

> into my armpits. I was concerned about it with one pregnancy where it

> was worse than others and my OB told me that it was just milk glands

> that go into that area. So, if your baby is just a week old and your

> milk is still coming in at full force, it is probably that. But, it

> would be a good idea to get it checked out anyway.

>

> My suggestion would be warm compresses and lots of nursing ; ) I'm not

> sure about the iodine painting and nursing and how much iodine would

> get into the milk if those marbles are indeed milk ducts. Laralee

>

> On Thu, Mar 1, 2012 at 12:46 PM, brite.trice <wbtrice@...>

> wrote:

>

> Hello,

>

> I have been a member for a while, reading and gleaning the boards

> almost every day, and using iodine for about 18 months. I had to back

> way down when I got pregnant (to the recommended 12.5mg) but now that

> my baby is a week old I am working to increase again.

>

> Mid-December I noticed a lump- actually two small marble-sized lumps-

> under my left arm. My midwife suggested it was a clogged lymph node,

> and said to watch it but that pregnancy does weird things to your

> body. It seems to get swollen, then decrease in size, sometimes

> painful, other times not noticeable at all. I have an appt. with my

> family doctor next week, but I was wondering if I could paint the area

> with Lugol's while I'm breastfeeding? I've done this a few times in

> the last week (because it's hurting, and the pain extends into the

> left side of my breast), and once when I did it at night I had trouble

> sleeping...I know there's no way to know exactly how much is being

> absorbed, so maybe the sleeping trouble was unrelated. But I'm

> wondering if the painting is safe to do while I'm breastfeeding?

> Should I wait until after my appt. with the doctor/possible ultrasound

> of the area before I do the painting? Leave off it entirely while I'm

> nursing?

>

> Thanks for any advice- it seems like there are so many exceptions when

> pregnancy and nursing are involved and it gets confusing!

>

> Gratefully,

> Brite

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>

>