Clogged Milk Duct Again!!???

Updated on September 02, 2011
M.M. asks from Tucson, AZ
12 answers

Uhg my boob hurts sooooo bad. Im on the third day of a very painful nipple. I cant get it unclogged and i want to cry when my baby nurses! I have tried soaking in hot water then feeding baby and no luck. I've tried squeezing and picking at it. It hurts. ANy other suggestions. Last time these method worked for me.

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So What Happened?

I don't have the mastitis (spelling?) yet. But it is still clogged. i tried the shower. Nope. I tried pumping. No help. Its still really sore even when he isnt eating. there is a constant pain. I havent noticed any redness around the area. I did have a lump, but it went away with the massaging and hot water plus feeding. I can see a white spot right in the middle of nipple. It is a clogged milk duct right?

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J.L.

answers from Savannah on

I had this happen a few times and you are right - it is soooo painful. Things I found to help: pumping as much as possible (after each feeding), hot showers (as long as possible), holding a heating pad on it, or if you don't have a heating pad i also used a big ziploc bag with hot water in it. Also massage as the previous poster said. I'm sorry - I hope it clears up soon.

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S.D.

answers from Tampa on

When I had them, I'd soak with a moist hot washcloth frequently, massage lots, and fed the baby in a different position. I would get them (only a few times) on the outer part of the breast, so instead of cradle hold for feeding, I did the football hold. A couple days of this was the max and it was releived by all the above. As well as letting the hot water from the shower hit it for awhil and massaging it in the shower under the water. Good luck, I feel your pain! And do watch for mastitis. I had it once with my second child but caught it very early and oddly enough it was the opposite breast that ever had clogged ducts and I never even felt like I had a clogged duct on that side, just woke up one morning with red tender streaks on the breast and a low grade temp. Hope you can clear the duct!

2 moms found this helpful

K.C.

answers from Albuquerque on

my niece who is a new mom and a nurse. they gave her soy lecithin (internally) to keep the ducts slick. Now...I nursed 4 and had mastitis a number of times with each...painful painful! I'm so sorry. I just had to deal. However, I was telling my niece about my bread baking and she asked why I use soy lecithin with oil on my bread pans. I said cuz it keeps the dough from sticking, where oil alone doesn't. she then told me about the mastitis she'd had and that she takes a soy lecithin supplement to keep the internal breast ducts flowing smoothly. wild. however, a "nature" store is right around the corner and its a cheap fix. Hope it works for you.
K.

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F.R.

answers from Phoenix on

I've had this problem several times and twice it went as far as turning into mastitis. Once I start feeling a lump grow, I put warm packs on my breast before nursing and I massage the lump toward the nipple while baby nurses. This is incredibly painful, as you well know, but you've got to get the milk moving again. I found that I only have these problems when we're traveling or I've been away from my boys for too long. I nurse twins, so I produce a lot of milk and it only takes four or five hours without nursing to start causing problems.

Another thing I read is that you should consider reducing the amount of saturated fats in your diet (e.g. butter and ice cream), if you have trouble with clogged ducts. In my case, the butter and ice cream are here to stay, so I just make sure to nurse often.

Good luck!

P.S. I just read the other posters' comments. I'd be cautious about pumping to relieve clogged ducts. You're breasts work on supply and demand; by pumping you're telling your body to produce even more milk. Baby, heat and massage are your best bet.

1 mom found this helpful
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E.F.

answers from Kalamazoo on

Ouch! I'm so sorry! Have you tried massaging it, during/after soaking in the hot water? It may be clogged further up or deeper and therefore take a bit more work than squeezing/picking. And changing the position the baby is nursing from? (football hold, rather than cradle etc) I had this problem several times with my first baby and wow, it can hurt. What finally worked for me was a marathon nursing session in every position imaginable after a long soak in a hot bath. I hope you get it resolved tonight! xox

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M.M.

answers from Chicago on

Acutally, when I had recurring plugged ducts it was because I had thrush so you might want to talk to your OB or lactation consultant. When my ducts were plugged i soaked in a HOT tub for about 15 minutes and then was able to hand express the plugged duct. good luck!

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J.J.

answers from Phoenix on

Try to massage it out while in the hot shower.

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A.

answers from Albuquerque on

Sounds like you're prone to this, so you can try preventive measures in the future:
take poke root tincture
take lecithin
do not sleep on your breasts or wear underwires

Actually, a white spot on nipple is more an indication of a milk bleb/blister than a plugged duct. Try reading this:
http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/mom/nipplebleb.html

Blebs are different than plugged ducts so please try to determine which might be your case!

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D.S.

answers from Chico on

Hi M., I have had 4 kids and breast fed all of them for at least a year. I used to get these breast infection too often. You need antibiotics, and I know that's probably not what you want to hear! But, a breast infection is called mastitis, and will make you extremely sick if you wait too long. If you get a fever, Please call your DR. or midwife right away and do not minimize your pain. I tried all kinds of homeopathic remedies including the hot damp heat, and for me, it only seemed to make it worse. Hope this helps and I hope you feel better soon.

P.M.

answers from Tampa on

After you allow hot water to run over your breasts and you try to self express a bit, hurry to get your baby ion the floor while you are above the baby on your hands and knees and your breasts are hanging down. The breast that is clogged offer first. I call this the cow position. Between gravity, the previous heat and expressing and the baby's suckling (do this more than just once!) it should dissipate quickly.

***ADDED after post was edited***

No, that isn't a clogged duct, that is what I think is called a bleb? Sterilize a sharp pin or cuticle trimmer - then open the white spot (just a jab or something) to allow the fluid to be released or go to the Dr to have it lanced. This will NOT go away with nursing, expressing or hot showers. You may try to pop it like a pimple, but that would probably make it worse.

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L.M.

answers from Phoenix on

Are you sure you don't have mastitis? I had it with each of my babies and it is miserable. If you start feeling like you have the flu (fever, chills, body pains) then you really need antibiotics. And I am not an antibiotic person. Otherwise it can get infected. But also, like everyone else has said, really really hot water helps with the pain. So hot your skin turns bright red. And pumping through the pain. Good Luck.

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C.T.

answers from Phoenix on

Whenever I got any soreness I would take a hot shower and pump out the milk until there was no more coming out. My baby was on both breastmilk and formula, so letting it go down the drain didn't bother me. I used the Advent Isis pump (w/o the petals) - best pump ever! It worked better than any electric pump I had tried and is manual so it was waterproof.

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