oh no sophable...mastitis...or blocked duct

[Heathcliffscathy]

the bleb has all but gone...however the whole underside of my boob (on that side) is painful to touch, red and hot.

I felt lousy last night, went to bed early with ibuprofen and fed ds as much as poss (he is 8 weeks on thurs).

have been doing hot flannels in bath and massaging the painful bits.

have had ds feeding on that side as much as poss.

i REALLY don't want to take antibiotics...so any other tips?

it's all a bit depressing as I thought at 7 weeks i was out of the breastfeeding woods

You had a baby! I've been off MN so much I missed it. Congratulations!

Anyhow, been there - I feel for you. Jack Newman (I think) suggests blocked ducts will almost always go away after 2-3 days on their own. You're doing all the right things. Wide-toothed comb down towards the nipple in shower/bath is supposed to help too... Keep going for 24hrs more and then perhaps re-assess. Good info on his website and on Kellymom website also...

awww, hi wilf...yes he is nearly 8 weeks now

I've cleared mastitis (shivers, pain, redness) without antibiotics by following all the blocked duct advice and making sure the breast was drained as fully as possible.

Keep up the ibuprofen, to make you feel better and because it's anti-inflammatory.

So, yes, if I were in your shoes I would give it another 24 hours to see if the shivers etc passed (the redness takes a while to go) but I know other people would be happier seeing a doctor as soon as possible, and of course if it does prove to be intractable with out abs you'll have been suffering for another day.

hi soph
feed feed feed feed feed and massage. hot and cold face cloths. ibuprofen. you are doing all the right things.

What's your temperature? With ds1,I left the redness too long and ended up doolally with a temp of 41. So keep an eye on that too, along with the comb, massage etc. Hope it goes without the need for antibiotics.

why does cabbage help?

i was dubious but asked dh to bring a savoy cabbage home and it seems to help the pain. my temp is a bit raised, like it was last night, but went down in the morning

Raw cabbage leaves are a great mastitis treatment. They can be placed directly on the infected area of the breast, also to help draw out the heat and infection.

Scrunch the leaf in your hand first so it cracks open the veins of the cabbage. change it for a fresh leaf once it has wilted a bit (i.e. several times a day).

Put a cold flannel on the breast about half an hour before a feed and then a warm one for a few mins just before the feed.

you could also try this from kellymom:

"Juice Jar" breast pump
This simple pump can be useful to help with engorgement, and to draw the nipple out when baby is having a difficult time latching on.

?Find an empty glass jar or bottle at least 1 liter in size with a 5 cm or larger opening. The type of bottle that cranberry juice comes in is often a good size.
?Fill the jar nearly full with very hot water. The glass will get very hot and you will need to hold it with a towel.
?Pour all the water out of the jar.
?Use a cool washcloth to cool down the rim and upper part of the jar so you can touch it without burning yourself (test it with your inner arm).
?Place your breast gently into the mouth of the jar so that it makes an airtight seal. Some moms lean over a table to do this, others put the jar in their lap on a pillow and lean forward. Expect this to take a few minutes, so make yourself comfortable.
?As the air slowly cools inside the jar, it creates a vacuum inside the jar and this gentle suction expresses milk from the breast. Break the suction immediately if you feel discomfort - if the jar cools too quickly it may create excessive suction which can damage breast tissue.
?Repeat for the other breast.
?Some moms need to repeat this, others find it works sufficiently with only one try.

the ONLY thing that helped me with mastitis (and that includes two different types of antibiotics ) was the following -

bursting into tears repeatedly in the course of the worst day - thereby showing the HV / Receptionist / Doctors just how BAD it was! I had been ill with it for a WEEK at this point! Feeding through it, on antibiotics, massaging, cabbage , everything!

so the receptionist put me on to the best doc for it at the surgery (she had fed twins and had it in both boobs at once ) she was lovely and fit me in at no notice and let me cry for ages then she checked my boob as she was wondering if it had developed to an abcess (as it had gone on so long) and as she checked she was pressing REALLY firmly - I am talking deep tissue sports massage pressure... and really pushing from the outside of by boob into the nipple... all the way around - now at this point I could tell she was trying to sort it for me as well as double checking for abcess... she told me to go home and relax - then basically put a really hot flannel on my boob and do the same massage - as often as possible and I was to see her the next day....

within an hour of leaving her room I felt better - I continued the massage for days after just in case! Basically I did have mastitis, and a nasty infection of it at that... but the blocked duct had moved as a result of feeding on it - and basically got stuck behind the nipple - so poor DS couldn't get anything out on that side at all!

Please do all you can to get rid asap - I basically had a nightmare trying to get DS feeding normally on that side again - and after about 3 weeks had to conceed to one sided feeding!

good luck and hope you are feeling better soon

Nora you saved me! did it (owwwww) and it worked. also took homeopathic remedy belladonna which seemed to help and like I said the cabbage helped. also mars's tip of hot shower head against area.

phew.

will have to keep a close eye as it isn't still totally free of soreness but the relief is incredible.

thank you all SO much

I am SO glad it helped you!!!!

Its bloody awful isn't it and I wouldn't wish the 9 days it took me in the end to get better on anyone in the world!

just remembered the amazing doc also prescribed me declofenec (voltarol) for the inflamation after the previous doc not even letting me take ibuprofen..... can you tell I now love this doctor?! I now see her whenever possible!