How long for mastitis to clear?

[Snowy87]

I started with mastitis on Sunday and got antibodies on Monday. I quickly went down hill Monday evening and yesterday temperatures of 39+. My temperature is starting to regulate again at 37 but the pain and swelling is horrendous...worst than my c section. How long has people's pain taken to calm down after starting antibiotics? I keep feeding from that breast but it's so painful it makes me cry everytime. Any personal experiences welcomed x

Mastitis is horrific, I'm sorry you're experiencing it! The sickness and pain doesn't pass until you remove the blockage. The antibiotic stop it becoming a worse infection, but don't remove the physical cause. If you can draw out the clog, the redness tends to go away immediately in my experience, and pain within 24-48 hours.

Things that might help:

• Keep a cold compress on when you're not feeding to help bring down inflammation.
• Warm compress and massage before feeding
• Deep latch and if possible have the babies chin aimed at the blockage. This helps a stronger suck towards that quadrant.
• Lymphatic drainage massage to reduce inflammation in the area. La Leche League have a video on it.
• Feed on that side as regularly - too much or too little can make it worse.
• Edited to add - ibrubrofen helps pain & swelling too.

Hope it gets better soon. 🤞🏻

Thank you, that's helpful advice. I can't feel a lump so just keep massaging towards the nipple on the area that's swollen and painful. How many times have you had it? Did you carry on breast feeding afterwards?

I've had it twice unfortunately, 5 weeks postpartum on baby #1 when I tried pumping for the first time with a flange wildly too big! And 3 weeks postpartum on baby #2, we were blessed with a sleepy little one that did 6-7 hour stretches without feeding at night. I kept breastfeeding after both times, as my supply regulated around week 8 and it got so much easier. I also knew the cause both times, so it was easy to think I could prevent again.

I know it's tempting to massage constantly but try only do it very gently when you're feeding. Too much pressure can swell the tissue and stimulate milk when you don't want too. 🙈

Do you see a red patch on the breast? That's a classic mastitis sign, and tends to form above the clog. When that starts to go down, it's a good sign it's going away.

Sorry one last note, how long is your course of antibiotics for? GPs are pretty clueless about mastitis, and mine only prescribed for 7 days. I saw a community lactation consultant that said they need to be 10 days at least, as this stops the infection recurring. She mentioned there's a high recurrence rate and you're better off being safe. Also told me to take sunflower lecithin granules and a probiotic to help prevent recurrence. Hope some of this info helps!

You have been really helpful thank you. I never got it with my first. I have a ten day course 👍🏼 I'm just so scared of getting it again because i have been that poorly I've not been able to look after my children. My mum nearly took me to a&e yesterday because I was so delirious. My little O is 9 weeks and I've had good supply since my milk came in but now he's feeding for nearly an hour and still fussy. Thanks again for your help

I know it's truly awful when you have little ones reliant on you. 💔 I did nearly give up when I got it on my second because it was far harder with a toddler to look after as well. I found it made me really emotional too - felt like it was messing with my hormones.

The lactation consultant said to treat it as an illness, because it is one at the end of the day. You wouldn't be expected to look after the kids if you had covid, and this is no different.

Hope it passes soon for you!

Thank you so much for sharing your experiences with me. It's helped a lot to hear your advice. I've been really emotional too these past few days. The hardest thing as a mum is that you always question everything and mum guilt that you've not done or doing the right thing. Tbh, I wasn't this ill with covid and I was in bed for few days with that. Hopefully I'm on the mend now. Thanks again x

Massage is meant to be very very gentle pressure, the same pressure you’d use to rub your baby’s face, no harder. Massage with more pressure can increase inflammation and irritation, just something to be aware of. If you don’t feel better soon contact your doctor just to be on the safe side or see if more help is needed to clear it.

Mine didn’t improve with antibiotics. I had to have an operation under GA in the end, when baby was about 10 weeks old.

I had it when I went back to work and couldn’t feed on demand anymore. It was agony! I took time off and continued to feed as much as possible in lots of different positions (so baby’s latch moves around the nipple and supposedly drains the breast differently), constantly massaged, and started taking a lecithin supplement which helps with clogged ducts.

@Snowy87 how is your recovery going? Hope you're on the mend from it all. 🤞🏻

Hiya! Thanks for checking in. I feel like a completely different person compared to last week. Finished my antibiotics today and the pain and swelling is nearly gone. I decided to stop breastfeeding though as I just couldn't face getting it again. I've never felt so ill before. Thank you again for all your help last week, definitely helped me. X

Really glad you're feeling better! And that you made the right decision for you, prioritising your own health is so important. ❤️

Sorry to throw more advise your way but if you have any pain / swelling left, there's no harm to stay on antibiotics for a few more days. The recurrence rate for mastitis is really high because the infection can lurk for a while.

Thank you. I will be keeping a close eye on myself over the next few days. X