Any suggestions for plugged milk ducts??
Thank you everyone!! I continued to nurse & nurse but that wasn't working. I read that several people had suggested lecithin and after only two pills the pain and swelling was gone. If that hadn't worked I was on my way to the store for some cabbage. Thank you again everyone! I really appreciated the advise.
If none of the other methods have worked to clear the duct, you can buy Licithin from a vitamin store. It works great and it is completely safe. It breaks down the fat in the milk that is causing the duct to clog. After 5 days of suffering in pain, my lactation consultant suggested the vitamin and it worked that day - what a relief it was! You can prob even find it in the vitamin section at walgreens or csv.
I would get hard places in my breast nurseing my first daughter. They would last several days. I would nurse frequently and take some motrin. A hot shower would help. If you have a fever and fell like the flu you have mastitis. Call you og/gyn. They will prescribe you a antibiotic that is safe to use. Hang in there. This to shall pass.
Keep nursing. If you get a fever, you have mastitis. The fever is high and your breast will still hurt. Call your OBGYN right away if that happens. They will need to prescribe an antibiotic. I hope you are able to avoid it. Best wishes for a speedy recovery!
Hi, A.! I have nursed 4 of my 5 sons and had mastitis more often than I can count. It isn't fun and you'll know you have it if the area gets red and swollen and you develop a fever and flu-like symptoms. If that happens, call your OB right away. My suggestions:
1. nurse, nurse, nurse oon the affected side as often as your baby will comply (start with the affected breast every time -- that is when the baby's suck is the most aggressive and will, hopefully, help dislodge the clog). Don't worry about your baby being affected by the infection -- his/her mouth is where the germ originated from so the baby will be absolutely fine
2. I know this sounds odd, but I had very stubborn ducts and this took care of the problem nearly every time: fill a somewhat shallow bowl with hot water (as hot as you can stand) and soak your breast in it, massaging all around the duct, until the water begins cooling off -- sometimes, milk will spurt from the nipple into the water as the duct opens up).
Good luck!
Try nursing in totally different positions. I even had to nurse laying down with my son laying in the opposite direction. I have heard to put the childs chin at the position of the clog to help.
Hi A.,
Sounds like you might have mastitis. I got it when my daughter was about 14 months old and not nursing very often. My doctor put me on antibiotics... not sure if there's another cure or not.
Good luck,
J.
I have had the same problems you are having. Here is what I tried that worked. Take Motrin, not Tylonol (sp). If it hurts and is sore, use hot compresses right before you nurse and cold compresses after you feed to reduce swelling. Do not continue to pump IF you are not getting anything out. Pumping and getting no milk makes the glads swell and the "solid" part in your breast will take longer to clear up. It always took 24 hours for the "solid" part in my brest to clear.
I have had may problems and currently have Mastitis. All that being said, I would call La Leche League or one of the call nurses at the hospiatal you go to. If you are by chance military, the Navy hospital has an awsome resource to call with Lactation consultants on call 24 hours.
Hope this helps.
Nurse!!!! But also change positions. The baby's chin should be facing the clog. It helps!!! And next time when you start feeling just a little uncomfortable and think that the duct is getting clogged, start nursing on that breast. You will prevent the future clog.
Get better soon.
My dr actually suggested cold compresses if warm didn't work. She said that the heat acts to increase your blood vessels which doesn't help when something is clogged up. She said the cold will actually make the blood vessels smaller and reduce the swelling enough that the duct will open back up on it's own instead of being swollen shut. Best of luck, Jen
Hi A.,
I ended up getting an infection from clogged milk ducts. It went away pretty fast, but it was so painful. Just don't let them get to that point. It felt like the worst flu that I'd ever had. Worse, I was almost incoherent with pain and the high fever and couldn't take care of my daughter by myself. I had to get really aggressive and painfully massage around the duct until something happened. It hurt so bad, but it finally gave me relief. I also used an oldtime remedy of cold cabbage leaves in my bra. I would wash them, and freeze them in the freezer and then wear them in a tight fitting bra. Sounds weird, but it actually helped so much. I was producing too much milk and it seemed to help regulate the flow of milk production. I know that doctors would probably laugh and say, "What are you thinking?" but it helped me. Good luck and take care of yourself. Please don't let it get to the point of mastitis. If that happenes, you will be one miserable mommy!
A.,
I have breastfed my older daughter until she was 1 yr. and 4 months and still breastfeeding my youngest (1 yr. 6 month). I think I am genetically prone to plugged ducts and even had mastitis with my first one. Through trial and error I found what I think are the best methods for treating this problem.
1. Buy a cabbage at the store with leaves big enough to fit on your breast. Separate the a leaf from teh cabbage, wash it with warm water and cut out the hard part where it was aattached to a step in a triangular shape. What you should have at this point is a clean whole cabbage leaf with a triangle cut out at the bottom. Put the leaf on your breast under your bra and walk around with it. It will wilt after a while - put a new one on.
Cabbage acts similar to a cold compress and also has an ability to take away lumps. It also reduces milk supply to let your breast get rid of the plugged duct. You have to be careful to stop using it after your cleared, not to reduce your milk supply too much. Make sure you remove it when breasfeeding.
2. Breastfeed often and massage the lump/hard part of the breast during breastfeeding.
3. Pump after each feeding and massage the spot while pumping. Electrical pump is the best. You might want to make it a habbit to pump after each feeding even if you are not plugged up. It helps avoid the plugged ducts. I did this with my first. With my second I simply reduced my milk supply with cabbage at the beggining and had a lot fewer problems.
4. Take 2 pills of Lecithin about 3-4 times a day. You can buy it in a local drug store.
5. You might also consider washing your breast before and after feeding while you are plugged to reduce the chances of infection. I used very mild cleanser (not soap). I can remember what the name was - unfortunately.
6. Generally it is not recommended to use heat since it could increase the milk supply. I used to try it and alternate with cabbage. I used though heat pads you can buy in the store shake and they work for 8 hours, but found out that cabbage is much more effective.
7. I am not sure how old your baby is, but if you can try and feed her while you are on all fours and she is lying on the bed, so your breast is pointing down. That way the gravity will also help.
8. If you have cracks in your nipple - use polysporin on it, but make sure you wash it off before feeding. This should help you avoid infection.
9. There are also professional breast massagers - there is a lady at Suncoast Clinic at Bayfront Hospital. I went to her when I had a very bad case of mastitis and we've cleared it out. Let me know if you want details on this.
10. Now some wisdom on mastitits - antibiotics are generally not needed if you catch it and work on it at the right time. Doctors in this country believe that this is the only cure for mastits - it is not. It actually does not cure the plug, just take care of infection, but at a high cost to you and your baby. I was put on antibiotics with my first one because I didn't know better. If I knew then what I know now - I would not have used them.
Do all the things listed above and you should be fine. Take IB for fever if you develop it. Avoid stress and rest a lot. Make sure you keep breastfeeding.
E-mail me if you have any questions.
Good luck! You will feel better soon!
T.
The only other suggestion I can make is while in the hot bath, try hand expressing and or try using a hand pump (non-electric)in the bath. If you look close you may even be able to see which duct is pluged. Keep your massage strokes firm by making a fist and starting at the arm pit going towards the nipple or if you clogged duct is on the inside start between breasts and go towards nipple. You have to go deep and it hurts pretty bad. Sometimes you can even work a little piece of dried milk out of the duct, kind of like popping a pimple. Kinda gross I know! I hope this helps.
Hi--Try positioning your baby so that her nose is pointing toward the clogged duct (I've had to lie down on the bed with my baby's feet pointing away from me before...). Something about the sucking action and this position helps to clear the clog. It will still be uncomfortable (like a bruise) for maybe even a couple days, but it won't be so hard and painful. I think if it's not cleared soon, it could develop into mastitis.
