Breastfeeding

Plugged Duct

Last Wednesday, (it's now Monday) my darling son bit me.... Hard.  Instincts kicked in and I did exactly what your not supposed to and pulled back.  His teeth drug and I was left with a pretty nasty battle wound.  He is 8.5 months and rocking teeth on the top and bottom.  Thursday was hard because my nipple hurt so much that I may have, although I tried not to, fed him less off of that side.  Friday, same thing.  Saturday started out the same but by the afternoon my breast was a lot more sore.  I noticed up the top half was engorged, did my research and figured out it was probably a plugged duct.  It didn't take long to get it unplugged however the milk coming out of that hole was bright red fresh blood, and a lot of it.  By this time it was near midnight, I called my mom who is a nurse and she told me not to worry and to just pump and feed him a lot off that side keeping it empty.  Yesterday there was still traces of blood in my milk, giving it a bit of a rusty color but the juices were flowing although my breast is still quite sore.  I'm wondering if it is due to the intense hand expressing or possibly just having some blood in there (the same way blood feels like knives when you have a UTI).  I guess I am just curious as to how long the tenderness lingered after getting a duct unplugged?  Have any of you seen a lot of blood in your milk?  Besides a hot cloth, hot showers and ibuprofen do you have any other tricks?  I have been so lucky as to not really hit to many hurdles during our breastfeeding relationship and am far from ready to stop.
Married:09/27/14 
Baby N-Born:10/29/15
Our Angel: EDD: 05/11/17. MC at 6 weeks
Baby #2- EDD: 07/18/17

Re: Plugged Duct

  • If you have a pump get on your hand and knees and pump for a few minutes. It helped clear a plugged duct for me very quickly. You should feel relief almost immediately. But it won't change the pain from the bite wound. 
  • I have cleared a plug but still felt the soreness in that area for a 3-4 days afterwards. I never had blood in my milk so I'm no help for you there. I take sunflower lecithin supplements now to prevent plugs and it has worked well, though obviously it seems your plug was due to (understandably) not nursing as much on that side. A friend told me when they bite to push their face gently into the breast which will cause them to open their mouth to breathe and release their grip. So hard to remember that and not jerk away when they do it though. Hope he is more gentle going forward! 
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  • At the beginning I frequently got plugged ducts. Sometimes it took every trick in the book and 2 days to unclog. Often leaving me sore for several days after. I did not find any tricks to make the soreness go away faster. Keep up the ibuprofen, warm packs and hot showers! I used the lansinoh pearle packs, put them in the microwave and then into my bra.. they were lifesavers for the first few months.
  • My best trick is to stand in the shower with hot water running over the affected area and use a hairbrush (pushing hard) to massage out the clog. You can also do it in the bathtub if you submerge the breast. It really helped me when other tricks did not. My soreness went away pretty quickly. Could it still be a bit clogged? Good luck!
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