Blocked duct - what else can I try?

[odi1]

I think I have a blocked duct. There is a hard area in the breast tissue sort of wedge shaped. It is quite large feels sort of bruised it is warm but I'm not sure if that from all the massage and prodding. So far I have tried feeding (massaging area while doing so), expressing, a hot flannel, hot shower on area while expressing, combing the area.

Further to this I have always thought baby's latch is shallow but always been told it's ok. I have large breasts and it seems a lot of milk so I think they mask the problem to some extent. We had a tongue tie snipped almost 2 weeks ago. I have seen little to no improvement. I don't feel she is sucking hard enough to dislodge the block. I have looked at videos of the 'flipple' technique but the babies are all quite small it's a lot more difficult with a 5 week old with flailing limbs!

Any advice appreciated, sorry for the essay!

I'm so sorry, I had them a couple of times they're quite painful.

What I did, which eventually cleared them up is hot compress then immediately afterwards feed the baby. I know it sounds weird but it works, get on all fours on top of baby and feed them in this position. It's supposed to help empty the breast and clear the blocked duct. They say you should use a cold compress after the feed but I never did and after a few feeds it does clear up. I always found the pain only disappears the next day so do persist.

If you start getting feverish, see your gp because it could be the beginning of mastitis. Hope that helps.

You could also find a private lactation consultant in your area who would come out and do a drainage massage... ask for recommendations from friends or the NCT - there are good ones and bad ones!