Breastfeeding

Plugged duct or mastitis :(

I don't think it is mastitis yet as my fever is still low grade (100.1), but I feel awful. My head is all fuzzy and I'm just achey.  I've been trying to nurse frequently (which I feel is normal for us anyway about every 2 hours), but having a little difficulty as DD usually only nurses one side. All that I am reading say to nurse the affected side first, but then she wouldn't be taking any on the other side.  I've been applying heat with a rice bag and also massaging. I BF my DS for 18 months with no problems at all, so this has thrown me off a bit.  Anybody have any great advice for getting myself better and hopefully avoiding antibiotics?
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Re: Plugged duct or mastitis :(

  • I never ran a fever with my plugged duct, but I put scalding hot rags on it while DS nursed on that side (being careful not to let the rag touch him). Hope you feel relief soon.

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  • Follow up question- DD has been sleeping amazing at night (7-10 hour stretch). I hate to do anything to change that, but would you wake her up to feed?
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  • I'm not sure about that. My DS never slept that long at your DD's age. I would prob. say let her sleep, but obviously you should pump to keep your supply up.

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  • I'm at the doc right now b/c I think I have mastitis. I have the red patchiness on the breast along with soreness, but no fever or achy feeling. I guess I'll see soon what's going on!
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  • How long does your DD nurse? Try to get half a session in on each side during a feeding (exp. 15 minutes on affected side, 15 minutes on other side). Another option is to pump on the side she is not feeding on. (I would do this a lot as I had ridiculous let down and overproduction anyways... I would spray everywhere for like 5 minutes! Better to catch all that precious gold than have it end up on a washcloth!) Hot showers always helped me, massage your breasts while you are in there and really try to work on unclogging any blocked ducts.

    I don't know how safe this would be, but you could try massaging a tiny amount of castor oil on the area that is clogged. It would probably get things moving fast! You could even do it right before a hot shower and see how it works.

  • I'm strictly pumping and I get plugged ducts often. I've tried massaging and warm pads to no avail. The only thing that works is "unplugging the ducts" myself. After a full pumping session (or in your case, after a feeding), look at your nipple and see if there is a small white "blister" or a white pin point dot that doesn't seem to wipe away like other milk. This is dried milk that's plugging the duct opening. Use a clean needle and swipe the tip over the blister to remove it (similar to removing a splinter). After removing the blister, clear milk should come squirting out and you will feel relief immediately. I hope this helps you prevent further plugged ducts.

    You should also try pumping the side your baby doesn't nurse on. You can freeze the milk for future use. 

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