Mastitis ?

Question

What were your first symptoms? I was feeling extremely cold earlier and now I’m feeling just so off/ feverish… my breast is also in si much pain!! No matter how much I let my baby drink or how much I pump I feel like I cannot get enough out it hurts… temp is only 99.1 when I checked 30 min ago… wondering if this is the start of mastitis and what other signs I should watch for ! Only a few weeks pp also! So kinda freaking out about other infections…. Husband isn’t very worried but this came on suddenly today and idk I just feel weird and not great….

Answer

I got mastitis twice while breastfeeding my son, my first symptoms were a sore boob, the next day my boob was warm to the touch, red, and almost throbbing in pain. I took a nap and woke up with a 102 fever and had chills. By day 2-3 there was a lump on my boob where a duct had clogged and I was having flu like symptoms. I felt awful but once the duct became unclogged I got better and it went away on its own thankfully

Answer

New recommendations for mastitis and clogged milk ducts
There is constant new research and new understanding of various conditions in various fields. This also applies to breastfeeding. As a rule, the recommendations change gradually, and they will therefore not always be equally well marked.
But recently there has been a marked shift in international recommendations regarding the treatment and understanding of mastitis and blocked milk ducts.
In the past, the recommendation for mastitis and clogged milk ducts has been frequent breastfeeding and thorough emptying. Some have recommended massage and heat.
❗️ In the new recommendations, it is the opposite:
If blocked milk ducts or mastitis are suspected, the breast should be kept at rest.
NB! This must not be misunderstood to mean that you should not breastfeed or pump at all. An important part of the treatment is to express milk. The point is not to overdo the stimulation.
The recommendations are as follows :
🔹breastfeed as normal on demand from the child*
🔹use cold compresses for about 10-20 minutes between breastfeedings to reduce swelling in the breast tissue
🔹take anti-inflammatory / painkillers if needed - ibuprofen is often preferred
🔹DO NOT massage the breast
🔹warm compresses on the breast just before breastfeeding can facilitate the expulsion of milk
If you suspect mastitis, this will be the first choice as treatment for 12-24 hours.
Contact a doctor before this if during this 24-hour period you become much worse, develop a high fever, nausea, vomiting or experience more chest pain. You may then need antibiotics.
*If the child is ill and/or does not feed as often or as effectively as usual - or if you are away from the child - then you should hand-milk or pump approximately as often as the child would feed if everything were normal. It's not always easy, but try to get about as much milk as the baby would.
In order for the new recommendations to be easier to understand, we can imagine that clogged milk ducts and mastitis are like a queue in all the lanes on the motorway:
Breastfeeding (or pumping) more often than usual, and thus increasing milk production, is the same as adding extra cars to the queue and creating more congestion. If we instead take it easy and don't add more cars, the queue will eventually dissolve.
In the same way, massage is not the first thing we think of as treatment if we have sprained our ankle or have inflammation in a shoulder:
Instead, we keep the painful area calm and cool it down, both to relieve pain and to prevent the inflammation from increasing. The same applies to a breast with inflammation.

Mastitis ?

Let's Glow!

The Top Baby Tracker App: Embrace New Beginnings with Tender Care

The Top Fertility Tracker App: Your Path to Achieving Pregnancy

The Top Pregnancy App: Nurturing Your Journey to Motherhood

The Top Period Tracker for Empowering Your Menstrual Health Journey