CANDIDA-ALBICANS - IS IT ASSOCIATED WITH NIPPLE PAIN IN LACTATING WOMEN

Persistent nipple pain in lactating women, burning in nature, and asso ciated with radiating breast pain, has been claimed by some authoritie s to be due to 'thrush' (candida) infection. Yet, scientific proof has been lacking. This study compared microbiological assessment of 61 wo men with nipple pain, 64 women without nipple pain, and 31 non-lactati ng women. Swabs of the nipple and baby's mouth, and expressed breast m ilk were collected for culture. Growth of Candida albicans (nipple and milk) was found more often in the women with nipple pain (19%) than i n the control group (3%, p < 0.01). In addition. Staphylococcus aureus was also associated with nipple pain (p < 0.0001), and independently associated with nipple fissures (p < 0.0001). Neither C. albicans nor S. aureus was found on the nipples of the non-lactating group.