Does this sound like mastitis?

[Frolicacid]

Ds is 10 months & still bf’s. Usually only morning and night. But he’s had a cold the past few days and fed a lot. Then yesterday, his snot reached that lovely thick stage & he barely fed because he wasn’t able to breath through it.

Today, my boob is sore. Feels engorged, hot & painful. Feeding or pumping is helping a bit. But I’ve been feeling more & more rough as the day’s gone on. Just woke up from a lie down & I’m Shivering with a temp of 38, which is much higher than my usual.

Does this sound like mastitis? And if it is, what can I do?

Properly gutted because I’m going to have to self isolate and get a sodding Covid test, aren’t I?

Yes sounds like. Make a phone appt with GP and book in for a COVID test. Should be all clear and isolation will be over v soon.

Also bumping for you as my experience is very limited

Thanks @alltalknobaby! I’ve been doing some googling & I’m pretty sure it’s mastitis. So grim! It came over all of a sudden.
Will isolate & book a test too.

Definitely sounds like mastitis. I had a red rash when I had it too.

Hope you feel better soon OP

It does make you feel absolutely horrendous. Take care of yourself!

Yes probably mastitis. If you are feeling very ill you must call 111 and they can have an out of hours gp prescribe antibiotics. Mastitis can be very serious so be careful.

Home treatment is paracetamol, ibuprofen and express as much as possible. Empty empty empty. You may have a blocked duct- massage your boobs as much as possible, under hot shower with electric toothbrush. Or hot bath or water bottle. You have to clear the blockage. Can you feel one?

My sympathies I had it a few weeks ago and it was awful.

Plenty of fluids also, try feeding with babies chin where you think the blockage is.

Thanks all!

I’m pumping away. I’ll bet any money the baby sleeps all night. His latch is lousy when he’s sleepy, so I won’t wake him.
Paracetamol and bruphen have got my temp down. Also using a hot compress.

Covid year booked for the morning too!

How are you feeling today @Frolicacid?

@LatteLover12 thanks! Still feeling pants, but have antibiotics now, so hoping they work.
My covid test was unclear, so will get advice in the morning about getting another / isolating etc.

Ds is being a right pickle about feeding today, so I’ve been mainly attached to the pump. My boob is pretty red and sore.

Ah I'm pleased you got the drugs @Frolicacid hopefully you'll feel better in a couple of days.

Red and sore sounds about right. If you can keep emptying the boob it should help (but it does hurt ☹️) sometimes a hot flannel on top will help a bit too.

Fingers crossed for a quick recovery x

Hope you feel better soon! I had mastitis when my first baby was 8 months, went to bed fine woke up hours later violently shaking with an ache in breast, ended up on a drip very severely ill with what the doctor called the worst case she’d ever seen! It is no joke and takes hold frighteningly quick. I had it a few more times feeding DD after that so just be wary you are more susceptible now you’ve had it once, especially when I weaned DD I had to be so careful when dropping feeds. You know the signs now. My doctor knows how familiar I am with it that when I had my second baby in February and got it when she was about a week old, I was put on antibiotics within an hour. I went from a slight achy shiver to shaking within 30 minutes, emergency appointment and prescription given straightaway.
Glad you’ve got the treatment you need, take care of yourself. It will probably wipe you out for a while x

@LatteLover12 I’m using a hot flannel before every pumping.

Thanks for sharing your experience @hazandduck. I fed ds1 for 2.5 years without a problem. But I will definitely look out for this now. I think a combo of cutting down feeds over the past few weeks and then building them up again when he had a cold and ds not having a great latch due to teeth & snot.
It’s scary how quickly I went from a mild ache to feeling really weird yesterday. I’m definitely better today, but have started the antibiotics tonight.

@hazandduck a big yes to feeling wiped out. I’ve slept more in the past 24 hours than I’ve done in months! 3 kids, a puppy & pandemic have definitely left me run down!

You poor thing! Be kind to yourself. People assume you only get mastitis early on when bfeeding but it can happen at any stage, I fed DD1 longish term (til she was about 15 months), and I had a bout after she had hand foot and mouth just after her first birthday because she solidly fed off me for a week and wouldn’t touch any food. Your supply just goes all over the place when they are poorly doesn’t it!

@hazandduck so many people have been surprised I’ve had it at this stage.
I think that because I had such a settled supply and easy journey last time, I haven’t been careful enough about emptying properly this time. Lesson learnt!

Much better this morning. Soreness has massively improved, as have the red tracks. Ds decided to bite me hard on that side 3 times when I fed him this morning, which is just wonderful 🙄
all those people who say bf’ing past infancy is more for the mum than baby have obviously never had a wriggly, bitey thing on their boob!

In case someone looks at this thread in the future for mastitis tips, I’m just coming back to to add that the thing I think has helped me the most has been massaging my boob with an electric toothbrush. I saw it recommended on my local bf’ing group page. It was a bit sore, but sore in a good way, like when you get a proper massage.

I definitely recommend antibiotics ASAP as well, but I don’t doubt that the massage helped shift things for me. My boobs are massive and the blockage felt pretty deep.