Clogged duct but no lump?

[tudorqueenie]

Can you have a clogged duct yet not feel a lump? Or what is this? I have an area in my left breast (on the side, towards the back) that feels very painful, yet I feel no lump at all. I'm trying warm compressions, taking a hot shower, Epsom salt + warm water in haaka etc but nothing is working. I'm worried in case it turns into mastitis. Can this be a clogged duct if there's no lump? If not, then what could it be?
I'm breastfeeding and I'm 24 days postpartum.

Hi, congratulations on your new baby!

Does the area feel bruised & very tender? From my experience yes you can have a clogged duct with no lump. It doesn't take a lot to clog a milk duct so you may not be able to feel a lump yet. Keep massaging the area in the direction of travel & on with the warm compresses etc.

I never found the haaka trick worked for me & just needed to really work at the breast tbh.

On 2 occasions my nipple was covered - once by a tiny piece of fluff from my dressing gown & once by some dried skin after nipple trauma abs healing and they both causes a blockage that was painful with no lump so also worth check under a bright light to make sure there's nothing blocking the milks exit! Was such a surprise!

Really hope you can clear it soon though. I found the paranoia of a blocked duct developing in mastitis was worse than anything else & we had bad tongue tie issues for a while! Absolute best of luck!

Thank you so much!