Effects of Aloe Gel on Lactating Women with Nipple Trauma.

ABSTRACT

Background: To investigate the efficacy of aloe gel in reducing pain and promoting wound healing in postpartum women with nipple trauma. Method: There were 80 postpartum women who took part in this study having developed nipple trauma during breastfeeding in the obstetrics department of a tertiary grade A hospital in Suzhou from January to December 2021. Postpartum women with nipple trauma whose hospital bed numbers ranged between 15 and 33 were included in the test group, whereas those whose hospital bed numbers ranged between 35 and 53 were included in the control group. Both groups received health education and breastfeeding guidance. The control group applied lanolin cream to their nipple trauma, whereas the test group used aloe gel. We used a nipple trauma severity assessment table to determine the severity of nipple trauma in lactating women and a Visual Analogue Scale (VAS) to determine the level of nipple pain and referred to the Traditional Chinese Medicine Standard for Diagnosis and Therapeutic Efficacy for Diseases and Syndromes to determine the healing time of their wounds. Results: The test group scored 3.70 ± 1.24 and 1.65 ± 0.74 points on the VAS on the first and third days following the intervention, whereas the control group scored 4.30 ± 0.94 and 2.23 ± 1.07 points, respectively. It took 3.75 ± 1.08 days and 4.45 ± 1.15 days for the nipple pain to completely disappear in the test group and the control group, respectively. The healing period for nipple trauma was 5.28 ± 1.26 days for the test group and 6.03 ± 1.61 days for the control group. All of the aforementioned distinctions were statistically significant (p < 0.05). Conclusions: Aloe gel can significantly alleviate the pain associated with nipple trauma in lactating women, accelerate wound healing, and reduce the duration of nipple trauma.