Sore, hot, lumpy boob....

[Sparklyboots]

... with unattractive red streaks coming from the misshapen nipple. Kellymom suggests the red streaks mean GET HELP IMMEDIATELY but I don't feel unwell. Does anyone have any advice for easing (what I'm thinking is) blocked ducts? And whether I should go to the GP on account of the streaks? DS (16mo) seems unperturbed by it. It came on over night and initially I thought it was because he kicked me in the night

can you get your ds to assist by feeding on that side?
also,cold compress [cabbage leaf or frozen peas]
brufen and paracetamol regularly
drink lots of fluids
make sure your bra fits ok/isn't digging in
hope you feel better soon x

I need help an answers plz I ave a abcess on my breast an I just want to know if anyone has had one

I have found putting a hot water bottle to the breast (wrapped in a towel, of course) really, really helps to relieve the symptoms. The heat helps to get things flowing, so try hand expressing and also putting baby to breast - the best expresser! I felt really unwell with engorgement last week after my milk came in and i found the heat from the hot water bottle really comforting.

Thank you everyone. Well, DS is helping and I've been massaging, but it does feel quite different from engorgement, during which my boobs were like nuclear warheads. At the moment this is just a small area, which hurts more before a feed, with lumps that do seem to move (disgustingly) when massaged but overall it doesn't shift the problem... Will try hot and cold compress but we don't have any medication in the house.

Loveit - what treatment are you doing for the abcess?

If it develops into mastitis you'll jolly well know about it - it feels just like flu. This does need a GP, whereas a blocked duct can clear up by itself.

I used to clear them leaning forward while feeding, and really massaging the lump at the same time. So you have gravity, a sucking baby and massage all working on the blockage! Or lean forward in a hot bath and massage. Painful, but worth persisting.

"nuclear warheads" haha, spot on. i woke up on the saturday morning and they felt like they would literally explode!!

hope you're able to self-treat and sort the problem out xx

Thanks all, lots of massagy feeds and it morphed to a giant red mark instead of streaks, with the lumps disappearing. Today it is just a bit discoloured, but no longer painful, so it seems to have gone. I have felt a bit under the weather, but it's probably because I ran out of tea bags as much as anything else.

P.S. when my were in warhead stage, they literally creaked when I moved. As if I was rubbing polystyrene together. My actual boobs. Anyway, that's probably a whole other thread. Thanks again