I have a milk blister on my breast

Nipple blisters

If you suddenly notice an area on your nipple which is white or clear, it could be that you have a nipple blister.

You may also be experiencing shooting pains in the breast while your baby is feeding on the side that has the blister.

A nipple blister is a layer of skin that is covering a hole at the end of your nipple and preventing milk from getting out at that spot.

Sometimes there is no skin covering the end of the nipple. Instead, it looks like a white spot. In this case, please look at the related video – white spot on nipple.

If you have no pain with the nipple blister then it is likely to resolve on its own.

You may be wondering what has actually caused the nipple blister? One of the most common causes is simply a poor latch leading to some trauma of the nipple.

Another potential cause of nipple blisters can be due to an oversupply of breast milk, where your baby may be struggling with a fast flow of milk and trying to clamp down to control the flow.

Tongue-ties are sometimes the culprit. Although some babies have a tongue-tie which don’t appear to cause any issues with breastfeeding, some babies with a tongue-tie may have difficulties latching, which in turn can cause nipple blisters for some.

You may be wondering what you can do to get rid of the nipple blister, which is likely to be causing some pain too.

One of the most important things is to feed as often as you can, keeping the breast as soft as possible.

You may find it helpful to place your baby on the floor and to lean over your baby on all fours.

Doing this allows your baby to attach, and you can massage the breast while you also feed your baby. This can help to get rid of nipple blisters.

If you find that this measure alone isn’t working, then try warm wet compresses on your breast, or have a bath or shower before you start frequently feeding – this will help to soften the nipple blister.

Something else to try is to soak a cotton ball with olive oil and put it into your bra. Leave it there for a few hours to soften the skin of the nipple blister.

It should then be a lot easier to peel the skin away gently.

If the nipple blister has not resolved with frequent feeding, try some extra pumping alongside the wet warm compresses and olive oil, and very often, you’ll find that the combination of feeding, pumping, and all of these things will help to resolve the situation.

Review Date

Version 1.3 published in May 2023