Difference between Thrush and blocked duct?

[r3dh3d]

Well, I think I've got one or the other. But I can't tell which. I've googled both but I only seem to have the symptoms both have in common. I have:

• stabbing pain when feeding
• tender/bruised feeling when touched
• general feeling of malaise - don't know if it counts as "flu-like" but DD is 4 weeks old so I could just be tired!

I don't have:

• sore nipples (well, no sorer than usual!)
• red nipples
• lump in the breast
• red streaks

I'm high risk for Thrush (have vaginal thrush atm as am on antibiotics) but also for blocked ducts (as DD isn't emptying the boob at feeds) So could be either really.

I'd quite like to know which it is as apparently if it's thrush I should stick with my nipple shields and if it's a blocked duct I should take them off and use pads!

Anyone with actual experience of these (rather than just reading internet sites!) got any idea how I tell what I have got?

yeah, see a gp! erm... dunno... does your dd have any white patches in her mouth?

When I had a blocked duct I had a pretty discreet painful lumpy bit on one breast - it settled with hot showers, lots of massage & ibuprofen.

When I had breast thrush I has intense stabbing pains in both boobs which got worse & worse as each feed when on. It was awful and much worse than the blocked duct. It did clear up with treatment.

I had "great" time breastfeeding, can you tell ?

HTH

I think thrush hurts when you're not feeding, too. Stabbing pain.

Blocked ducts, in my experience, are more on one side than the other, and include lumps. So this sounds more like thrush to me.

(How do you know your DD isn't emptying the boob at feeds? Are you having oversupply issues at the moment?)

I'd talk to a GP about thrush. Also, your DD should be treated too, if it's thrush.

I don't think nipple shields help with either, though.

Well, it's only one one side. And it does seem to have got better today. Which makes me think blocked duct?

I'll go to the GP anyway - it's just that instead of 2 or 3 full-time GPs we have 10 or 15 very part-time ones; so although technically you can get an emergency appointment, if I want to see the same person twice running then it's about a 2 week wait till they're next working.

Sounds like it could be a blocked duct. How do you know your DD isn't emptying the boob when she feeds?