I have had thrush in my milk ducts which was very painful during let-down... and also had surface thrush that was very itchy. The surface thrush was much easier to heal. Try to make sure you change your nursing pads often if you are a leaker so your nipples are dry- the easiest/cheapest home remedy to try before you go the medication route (and you can do this even without even knowing if it's thrush) is to apply olive oil to the itchy skin- it's a natural anti-fungal. Wash your bras with a rinse of white vinegar in the final rinse... dry them in sunlight.
You may need to medicate (and check baby too) but that's a start that sometimes heads it off before it gets really bad.
Re: a nipple question
If you have really itchy nipples, look for signs of thrush.
If it's just dry skin, try using lanolin after nursing.
I have had thrush in my milk ducts which was very painful during let-down... and also had surface thrush that was very itchy. The surface thrush was much easier to heal. Try to make sure you change your nursing pads often if you are a leaker so your nipples are dry- the easiest/cheapest home remedy to try before you go the medication route (and you can do this even without even knowing if it's thrush) is to apply olive oil to the itchy skin- it's a natural anti-fungal. Wash your bras with a rinse of white vinegar in the final rinse... dry them in sunlight.
You may need to medicate (and check baby too) but that's a start that sometimes heads it off before it gets really bad.
Hope you feel better soon!