Got Mastitis and Milk Ducts Still Clogged

Hi J.- I struggled terribly while breastfeeding my first for weeks. Clogged ducts can lead to mastitis and for me sadly to abscesses. This is very rare so don't be too concerned it's just really important you get the milk flowing. Good advice here, hot showers, massage the breast towards the nipple, lots of rest and drink tons of water. Also you might need to rent a pump. The big and powerful ones are totally different than the personal ones most woman have, they'll really pull the milk out. Get the milk flowing by nursing and pumping every few hours. I had a lazy nurser and I had to actually wake up in the night to pump even when she was asleep just to be sure the milk was flowing regularly. I guess my message is take care of yourself. I was so concerned about my daughter and being a new Mom I was not caring for myself or listening to what my body was telling me. This led to me being very ill at a challenging time. Call your local breastfeeding experts (La Leche, etc.) as they are experts and can even come to your house to help. I was amazed at how many doctors knew almost nothing about breastfeeding and really were no help at all. Good luck and remember to to take care of your kids Mother!

Okay, this is going to sound weird but it's the only solution that worked for me.

Pumping doesn't work well to unplug milk ducts because you can't control the pressure well enough, or direct it specifically enough. It works best to massage and use the palm of your hand to slide against the plugged side of the breast towards the nipple while baby is nursing.

Sometimes, baby doesn't like to cooperate and gets upset or distracted and is unable to nurse - especially a newborn. Here's where the slightly weird part comes in: I had to have my husband help me out. He was able to remove the plug within 5 minutes, every time! It's slightly painful (but it's painful with the duct plugged anyway). Hubby has more powerful suction and is takes good direction. :) You must massage and hold pressure on the clogged area of the breast while he is 'helping', otherwise it doesn't work. Stay relaxed and apply a warm compress before attempting.

I've successfully nursed all 3 of my children, the youngest is now 4. I found that the most common cause of the plugged ducts was a poorly fitted nursing bra, sleeping on my side (the pressure must block the flow), and nursing with the baby's mouth not properly latched on.

Good luck to you. If you're successful, you'll know immediately because you'll feel a sharp pain (like a pinprick) and then RELIEF. And your husband won't be able to keep up with the milk flow. lol Hope your guy is as cooperative as mine was.

make sure you can empty your breasts . put warm compress on before pumping or if still trying to nurse . It may hurt but make sure you are getting the milk out. antibodics help but a good source of calcium with silicon may help you itis not a cure but I had a friend that taking this supplament really helped her. I could help you with a good sorce if interested S. ____@____.com

The lactaction consultant told me to apply heat to the breasts. It can be in the shower or with a heating pad and then massage the breast to break everything up. I did it in the shower and massaged like crazy but when it broke free it was like heaven. I had milk for days.
Good luck to you, I know it can be painful

here are some additional suggestions from kellymom.com (http://www.kellymom.com/herbal/natural-treatments.html#ma...) that may be helpful.

Hope you feel better soon!
L. Vachani

hfwellness.com

Hi J.,
Congrats on the new little one. Mastitis is a drag. I'm sorry you're having to deal with that while getting used to having two! I have done that dance. You've got plenty of great advice. Warm compresses and showers, non stop nursing and curling up in bed for a couple days worked for me. I think mastitis gives us moms a perfect excuse to let everything drop and just BE with the kids in bed, quiet and restful. I also wanted to put in a bid for gentian violet if you all end up with thrush after the antibiotics (I did). It's totally messy, but FAST in getting rid of the yeasty beast. Hope you feel better soon.

Hi,

I am getting over my second mastitis experience myself. The first time (at 3 weeks post-partum), I ran a fever of 102 and got chills and aches. Tylenol and nursing more frequently took care of the problem in less than 2 days. This time around (at 7 weeks post-partum), the milk duct did not unclog with nursing so I called the doctor and was prescribed antibiotics. I did not want to take the chance because delaying treatment can possibly cut off your milk supply permanently. I would recommend treating the infection with antibiotics. It worked for me.

Yes, keep breastfeeding, keep massaging during and not during feeding, do use very warm compresses, you can use Belladonna (homeopathic medicine) AND use french green clay paste to draw out the infection, just don't put it on the aerola (sp?). You can find this in bulk at the Co-op or other natural foods store. All you have to do is add a few drops of water on a teaspoon of the clay powder and mix till it's a paste, spread it on the plugged duct area and let it sit for ten minutes. Putting a paper towel or dry washcloth over it and then your shirt or bra to keep it in place helps. BUT ABOVE ALL, it's not just massaging you have to do. It's HOW you massage that makes the difference. I always used to prep with very warm washcloth, then use circular massage, then while nursing, I'd massage from right above the plugged duct down to the nipple. Be careful not to give yourself friction burn: you are not sliding or rubbing your boob, you are pressing the skin down and pushing it towards the nipple.

I hope all this makes sense. I had recurrent plugged ducts that lead to mastitis so many times I lost count with my fingers. But always struggled my way to free flowing boobs.

Is the area hot to the touch? I had a clogged milk duct once and it turned into mastitis literally in a matter of hours. I spiked a fever and went to the ER. They gave me an antibiotic which was safe for breast feeding and it cleared the mastitis within 24 hours.

put a hot compress over the clogged area. mine disappeared the same day i started putting the compresses on it. just be careful not to use to hot of water.

Point the baby's chin towards the clogged duct. Works like a charm!

Oh, I do feel for you. One thing I found very helpful (if you can stand the soreness) is massage. Use the pads of your fingers, and start right around from your shoulder blade, reaching under the armpit. The milk ducts actually start from right round there, believe it or not! Use a style that I was taught by an ancient retired midwife from India - you play your skin like the piano, starting from the pinkie to the index finger. Be gentle but firm and continue right to the nipple. Move around above, below and to both sides of the breast. Then gently stroke with firm pressure with your knuckles - all towards the nipple. Always move in that direction. This should help get things flowing. Doing that in the shower helps even more, with the hot water. Keep feeding as normally as you can, if you can bear it, otherwise things will really get clogged up. Don't ignore a fever or if you feel worse rapidly, get yourself seen as soon as you can. You can start feeling pretty terrible very quickly. Hot showers help too. I had terrible mastitis with my second daughter (with the first one, I nursed for 13 months, no problems at all!). You are doing everything right, and I wish you the best of luck.

I agree with Wendy. Use a hot wash cloth compress on your breast and massage it as much as possible. This might sound kinky, but if you have a husband around I would hire him for the job. Trust me, it makes them feel special that they are helping ;)

This may sound strange but another mom told me this trick and it has worked for me. Put the baby on the bed face up and then lean over him and make sure to position yourself so that the area with the blocked duct is by his bottom lip. Gravity and the strong suction that occurs from nursing should clear out the duct and the relief is great. Antibiotics will help clear the infection.

Hi There, My midwife never recommended antibiotics unless the fever went past 3 days, because when you take anti biotics during your early nursing days, it's likely to cause thrush in your milk ducts, and possibly give the baby and you thrush,which is ANOTHER icky breastfeeding difficulty.

Here are the suggestions I was giving, (I had it at least once with all three of my kids) a hot shower with HOT water running over the blocked duct. Cabbage leaves,(cold), and hot compresses. And as painful as it might sound, breastfeeding MORE on the side that is hurting and red, to try to clear up the clogged duct. I hope this helps!!

W.

I know this will sound strange but my grandmother swears by this old natural remedy of wearing fresh cabbage leaves over your breasts, wear them for two hours on and four hours off. Continue to massage each night in the shower until you see some results. The cabbage leaves are even shaped to cup your breasts, peel apart the cabbage leaves for the perfect fit! Good luck!

Massage the specific "hard" spots a lot, especially while nursing. Also, hot compresses when baby is not nursing may help. Heat and massage were definitely helpful with several cases of clogged ducts for me. It was surprising how much forced was required to get the clog to break up. It feels worse to let the clog stay there than to really work it with some deep massage. Good luck.

I also used heat and just made sure to nurse on the affected side. Although it hurts a lot, you need to nurse or pump to release the milk, it's the best way. The other thing is have you check to see if there is a spot on your nipple? One time I had a plugged duct that was back up because of milk blister. Check on kellymom.com for some info on how to mend that. I literally scraped the blister and pulled out a string of solidified milk. Hope you get better soon.

From my experience: After pumping or nursing the breast you may notice a small white spot on your nipple. A sterilized pin can be used to remove the blockage (prick it open) and milk should flow readily.

As a preventative measure, my lactation consultant had me take Soy Lecithin daily. It worked wonders to keep my milk flowing and reduce pain. I got it at a nutrition store and took 2-3 capsules three times per day or less as needed.

Best of luck to you.

Sometimes it just takes a while, which stinks because IT HURTS!!! Take a few showers a day, nurse the baby and start on that side so that the baby is doing strongest sucking to help unclog it, drink a beer - that;s supposed to help and it won't hurt the baby. I used to use a warm washcloth, then lay myself out on my stomach and try to use gravity to help, and massage and keep trying to squirt it out by hand. Really the strongest thing is to get the baby to do it. Also, when the holes were covered in that white coating I would scrape it off. Not sure if that's entirely sanitary, but it would help to open it up.

I had clogged ducts/mastitis a number of itmes, and after the first time I would be on the lookout for it starting and do whatever I could to stop it before it starts, and to get the antibiotics right away when I thought it was actually getting infected.

I'm sorry this is happening - I know it's horrible!! But it will go away!! Good luck!

Also try cold compress's or an ice pack wrapped in a towel, cold seems to work better for me than heat, also get rid of the bra, put on a shirt you don't mind having milk stains on, I have also found that just letting my breasts hang as they may helps, and takes the pressure off the sore spot, alternate hot and cold compress's massage during the hot ones and while breastfeeding, pump when you can, I found pumping after a cold compress for whatever reason works great! Good luck, I hope you unclog soon! I know how painful it is!

Hi J.,

I got clogged milk ducts with my little one a few times and applied firm pressure to the clogged duct and rubbed down - as though you are rubbig it out. I also took hot showers and continued to do this rubbing to the duct in the shower. I also increased the amount I nursed on that side, changed nursing positions of my daughter. It really hurts - I am sorry you are going through it. I did not use antibiotics.

Hi J.,

I am so sorry you are going through this. Over the course of the first 1 1/2 years of nursing, I had mastitis 8 times! I think the best things to do are: take hot showers and massage your breasts while you are in there, put a heating pad on your breasts and let it sit for awhile (not too hot to burn your tender skin), make sure you take all of the doses of your meds, just keep on massaging the area and hopefully it will get better. The sickness always lasted about 2-3 days for me (the first day always being the worst). Then it can stay really sore for a few more days. I think by the time everything ran it's course, it was a good 6-8 days.
Good luck with everything. If you don't feel like things are getting better, call your OB or your local lactation consultant. They both should have some great advice for you.
Take care!!!

The antibiotics worked for me when I had mastitis. I believe they gave me Keflex. But that was several years ago. It took a few days before they kicked in though. Good luck!

When I was breastfeeding my lactation consultant said I needed to continue to breastfeed, it was the fastest way for the ducts to clear. Try using a pump; you should be able to rent one. The rentals are often gotten from the hospital where your baby was born. The hospital should have a consultant on hand to assist with this problem. Also, the hospital grade pumps are stronger and better for this problem. I am sorry you have this, don't give up, I know it hurts; the milk produced will NOT hurt your infant. However if you have questions, my lactation consultant also owns a baby shop and you can contact her with questions for free via email . Her name is Rochelle and a link to her site is:
http://www.babies-in-bloom.com/

Check it out, it’s free and she's great! Best of luck,
D. Jones

I dealt with this last week but fortunately before infection. NOTHING was working to unclog the ducts. I kept nursing and trying to pump and got a blister on nipple tip that is still healing and hurting. My homeopath told me to use hot and cold compresses alternately at least twice and more if it did not work initially. This is how you do it... apply hot wash cloths, as hot as you could stand, for 3 minutes then ice packs for 30 seconds... do this 3 times. I did it twice even though the next nursing session after doing it once I found sudden relief. Baby wasn't fussing, was gulping large amounts of milk and the breast deflated much to my surprise and delight. By all means continue nursing or you will lose that breasts' production.

I hope this helps. If it does not please respond as I have other ideas while I looked for my solution, but I did not use them as this worked.

Best wishes on speedy healing!

J.

Hi J...

Mastitis can be very challenging... there are several things to consider... I am a nutritional consultant and work with toxic body burden.

I encourage you to take a look at www.ncdsupport.com.

There is some very valuable info as well as an opportunity to get a monthly newsletter. This is an informational site. It is very important to remove the toxins that lodge in the breast tissue/ lymphatic system. Studies have proven that within 2 weeks over 13 toxins can be removed safely.. for you and the baby.

The environmental working group did an umbilical cord study which indicated over 287 toxins run through the umbilical cord to the baby in utero. There is something that can be done to remedy this.

Additionally, it is very important to nurse often. Pumping cannot get the "letting down" reflex to surge like a baby can and this is very helpful in clearing a milk duct. Also, hot compresses several times a day before and after nursing.

Take care of yourself. Also, the antibiotics really do not address the duct but only a subsequent infection potential. They do however upset the balance of the digestive tract/ colon for you and the baby and can cause yeast/ candida. I suggest using Helios Organic keifer with FOS 1/2 cup 3 times a day .. in between the antibiotics if you are taking them. Do not take together.. counter productive.

.. I would be happy to chat with you .. you can reach me at ###-###-#### if you would like.
Take Care.. L.

I just wanted to second taking lecithin. It keeps your milk ducts flowing. I found that when I had a clogged duct or the beginning stages of mastitis, that I could take large doses of lecithin (2-3 pills every 3 or 4 hours) for a couple of days and it would make it go away w/o having to take antibiotics. But if I was to the point of high fever, I had to take the antibiotics to get rid of the bacterial infection. I took lecithin in addition to those meds to help reduce the clog. And I also did the alternating of hot and cold on the infected breast. Hope this helps!
take care,
J.

HOT shower & massage!

Ugh, mastitis is the worst! I'm sorry you are dealing with it. I only got it once when I was breast feeding, and the antibiotics plus massage did clear it right up. If you just started the antibiotics, I wouldn't get worried. It takes a little time to clear up.

I did get clogged ducts probably 5 times during my first year of breast feeding, but after having an infection once, I recognized the feeling as soon as it started. I would do lots of massage (especially while nursing), hot compresses, massage & expression in a hot shower or bath, and drinking tons of water, and that always cleared it up before a full blown infection got going. So just keep a close eye on yourself and you should be able to prevent it in the future. I hope you're feeling better soon!