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Helping Breastfeeding Mothers Diagnose Pain

Helping Breastfeeding Mothers Diagnose Pain

October 6, 2016

Medical Research, Press Releases

A dermatoscope, typically used to provide magnified images for identifying skin lesions, is also useful for quickly diagnosing the causes of breastfeeding pain, according to researchers at Ben-Gurion University of the Negev (BGU).

A new article in the clinical research publication Breastfeeding Medicine details how using a dermatoscope for examination during lactation is an important advance for rapidly and accurately identifying the factors responsible for nipple pain that can cause mothers to abandon nursing.

A standard dermatoscope

A standard dermatoscope

“It is well recognized that breastmilk provides optimal nutrition and immunological protection for infants. However, many women experience nipple pain or soreness, which is one of the most common reasons they stop breastfeeding,” explains Dr. Sody Naimer of BGU’s Department of Family Medicine and Prof. Zeev Silverman of the Department of Physiology and Cell Biology, both in the Faculty of Health Sciences.

“Prompt evaluation and diagnosis is crucial for identifying the cause of this pain so that a new mother can resume breastfeeding,” the researchers say “A superficial breast exam with a traditional direct inspection is clearly inadequate for this task.”

A dermatoscope, which enlarges and illuminates an area of epidermis to obtain an optimal image for diagnosis, is an easily adaptable existing technology that requires little training at a reasonable cost. It can provide 10-fold magnification and a three dimensional image without distortion to conclusively distinguish between normal and abnormal tissue.

The authors hope that broader adoption of this readily available method for observing an area suspected of causing discomfort will lead to more correct, targeted clinical appraisals of nursing-related nipple pain. The dermatoscope can help identify causes of pain, ranging from asymptomatic candida infection to extremely painful minute lesions.

“Our eventual aim is to prepare an atlas with the full spectrum of normal and pathological states that any physician or health practitioner who joins the community of breast examiners can use as a reference,” the researchers conclude.

Breastfeed Med. 2016 Sep;11:356-60. doi: 10.1089/bfm.2016.0051. Epub 2016 Aug 17.

“Seeing Is Believing:” Dermatoscope Facilitated Breast Examination of the Breastfeeding Woman with Nipple Pain”

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By supporting a world-class academic institution that not only nurtures the Negev, but also shares its expertise locally and globally, Americans for Ben-Gurion University engages a community of Americans who are committed to improving the world. David Ben-Gurion envisioned that Israel’s future would be forged in the Negev. The cutting-edge research carried out at Ben-Gurion University drives that vision by sustaining a desert Silicon Valley, with the “Stanford of the Negev” at its center. The Americans for Ben-Gurion University movement supports a 21st century unifying vision for Israel by rallying around BGU’s remarkable work and role as an apolitical beacon of light in the Negev desert.

About Ben-Gurion University of the Negev

Ben-Gurion University of the Negev embraces the endless potential we have as individuals and as a commonality to adapt and to thrive in changing environments. Inspired by our location in the desert, we aim to discover, to create, and to develop solutions to dynamic challenges, to pose questions that have yet to be asked, and to push beyond the boundaries of the commonly accepted and possible.

We are proud to be a central force for inclusion, diversity and innovation in Israel, and we strive to extend the Negev’s potential and our entrepreneurial spirit throughout the world. For example, the multi-disciplinary School for Sustainability and Climate Change at BGU leverages over 50 years of expertise on living and thriving in the desert into scalable solutions for people everywhere.

BGU at a glance:  

20,000 students | 800 senior faculty | 3 campuses | 6 faculties: humanities & social sciences, health sciences, engineering sciences, natural sciences, business & management, and desert research.

 

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