Meet the Other Phone. Protection built in.

Meet the Other Phone.
Protection built in.

Buy now

Please or to access all these features

Infant feeding

Get advice and support with infant feeding from other users here.

help! - sore boob - possible blocked duct??

5 replies

alannabanana · 16/03/2009 11:54

i've had a blocked duct before (funnily enough on the same boob) but this feels a bit different. noticed yesterday when changing bras - i had stupidly been wearing a slightly too small bra due to laundry backup - its actually on the underside of my boob, feels sore like a bruise, can't find a specific lump but the whole underside of my boob feels sort of hard and tight. not sure if its thrush - no signs of thrush in babys mouth.
any ideas anyone? will try hot bath and mega-massage later when husband gets home to take over baby duty...
i always tend to sleep on my left side (problem is in left boob), is it possible this has caused the whatever it is??

OP posts:
hmmSleep · 16/03/2009 13:00

Does sound like a blocked duct, I always found blocked ducts on the underside more tricky to unblock with massage, just more awkward and 'like a bruise' is exactly how mine felt.

Do watch for Mastitis symptoms though, I've had it and it's horrible, but as soon as I was given antibiotics the symptoms dissapeared. Found the following on nhs24 website;

The symptoms can include:

High temperature; Redness, swelling, and hardening in the affected breast; Severe breast pain when pressed (tenderness); Enlarged and tender lymph nodes in the armpit; General aches and pains, and headache.

You may also be aware of a cracked nipple or a break in the skin. If you are breastfeeding or expressing milk (using a breast pump), you may notice that your breast is very full (engorged), because it is not draining properly. Women who are breastfeeding might also find that their baby does not want to feed from the affected breast, because the taste of the milk has changed.

I was also vomitting and shivering.

Hope the hot bath and massage does the trick, another thing I found helped was hand expessing whilst massaging just to try and get the milk flowing. Think the tight bra probably caused the problem. The joys of breastfeeding!

SweetEm · 16/03/2009 13:32

As hmmSleep says it does sound like a blocked duct.

Not sure how best to describe it, but I used to have a problem with blocked ducts that were caused by a small "milk blister" that I had to pop to get the milk flowing again. It wasn't always immediately obvious which nipple pore was blocked either - and feeding the baby/expressing didn't always clear the problem. Might just be worth checking for that. here's a link to kellymom

alannabanana · 16/03/2009 13:38

blimey, i do not like the sound of full-blown mastitis.
im glad to know my thing rings bells with you - i was starting to get a bit worried it might be something more sinister.
it does feel really engorged but when he feeds theres nothing coming out. plus you're right i have noticed the nipple is sore too, luckily ive got some nipple shields i can dig out.
i desperately dont wanna take antibiotics so better crack this today i think.
thanks loads.

OP posts:
alannabanana · 16/03/2009 17:40

booby update:
ive just been feeding while massaging the affected area, having first warmed my boob, and the pain has certainly eased, and the hardness has reduced. when i get the chance to have my bath later im sure i can work the rest of the blockage out.
dont think ive got a milk blister but i could be wrong. thanks for the kellymom link.

OP posts:
hmmSleep · 16/03/2009 17:52

Great news!

New posts on this thread. Refresh page