Blocked milk ducts help urgent please

[Oscar's mum]

I need some suggestions on what to do for a blocked duct. I have tried:


Massage
Warm water
Pumping
Breastfeeding more often
Getting Ozzy to breastfeed too (more vicious suck)
Cabbage Leaves
Hand Massaging


I am already on antibiotics and have been since boxing day night. However the duct is blocked more now than then and I have been to the Dr's today but he refused to do anything but suggest the cabbage leaves as it wasn't overly red so he didn't seem to think it was infected.

There are no Dr's open now and even if there was we don't really have the money to keep paying out to see Dr's that are only going to tell me to try something I have already done again.

I am willing to try any suggestions at all as it is really really quite painful.

[Benji]

Have you tried feeding Oscar with his chin facing the lump / sore?

I hope you don't get sick.

[Oscar's mum]

Have you tried feeding Oscar with his chin facing the lump / sore?

I hope you don't get sick.


Oh yep - I forgot to mention that one, yep tried that - and it did help part of the blockage. The blockage was the whole top half of the breast but now it is only the top 3/4 of the breast (he managed to clear part of the blockage on the right side) but, he refuses to feed anymore now - it was kind of a little difficult to get him to feed as it was, no one was allowed to look at him as he became quite embaressed - but yet he did still want to feed.

[Benji]

Aww dear little thing. He likes helping his Mummy :yelclap:

I had mastitis early this year and from what I can remember the lumps took a while to completely go away.

It sounds like yours might be on the mend if the lump is getting smaller. As long as you don't feel sick or dehydrated it should be ok. Keep up the antibiotics.

[Oscar's mum]

Aww dear little thing. He likes helping his Mummy :yelclap:

I had mastitis early this year and from what I can remember the lumps took a while to completely go away.

It sounds like yours might be on the mend if the lump is getting smaller. As long as you don't feel sick or dehydrated it should be ok. Keep up the antibiotics.

The lump became alot bigger today compared to what it was like when I first started the antibiotics.

Also long story short I am sick I have a bladder infection too so between both the mastitis and the bladder I have had terrible fevers also.

Do you remember how long approx it took for it to stop being so painful?

[Benji]

You poor thing :(

Well, I went to hospital on the first night, stayed three days and was still yucky for another two or so days so from memory I think it was about just under a week before I was better.

My lump didn't get bigger though.. Did you tell your doctor about that?

[Dea]

try feeding in football hold.. head near your boob legs round near your back .. worked for me ....feed feed feed .. is how i got rid of mine .. i had it .. 10 times with my 4 kids ....cabbage leaves was good .. & a washer put in the freezer then mould to your boob .. express in shower ... but you have done all of that ... hope it gets better soon
xxxx

[bel_aiden]

mmmm havent had a bad blockage for a while but a combo of a few like feeding in shower/bath, massaging....and a cold compress after?

hope it goes soon, i feel ya pain!

[punkbaby]

I pretty much did what your doing, how long have you been on the meds for? Hopefully it only takes 24 hours to kick in, I know the chin or nose towards the lump was quiet effective for me whenever i had it, and i would also massage whilst bub was feeding, plus usually when i feed bubs they would get it straight away, making them wait that extra 5 minutes tended to make them suck harder.

I found expressing in the shower helped too plus a warm face washer on the boob when feeding or expressing (if i couldnt get in the shower and needed some relief) this helped heaps too.

I hope the antibiotics kick in soon its the most painful thing to have

[splishy]

Hi there, I got assistance from a lactation lady for this and her advice (which worked immediately), was to add the warm pack then hold an electrical vibrating applicance (he, he) to the area. Then apply a cold pack once it gets going otherwise there will be to much (curds or whey?) due to the high flow and this needed slowing down ....due to the treatment (warm pack and vibration).

I used an electric shaver (nice big head/area which vibrates) and it worked within 5mins. I got the pump on to it. Then bub. Then the cold pack.

Sorry this is disjointed, but my memory is hazy, as this occurred in the first few weeks when my milk hadn't settled down.

[splishy]

Sorry, not sure if this is a vital part I left out, but I think i put the cold pack on when bub was latch on so the ducts didn't block again...if this makes sense.

[Beany]

Heat pack while feeding the little one lets the milk let down and so get the blockage moving a bit.

Have you expressed? I have had awfully lumpy, sore blockages twice and my routine both times was to get my husband to take the kidlet at any point where he wasn't going to feed, express using a breast pump, jump in a hot bath and relax as much as possible before hand expressing into the water using firm strokes all the way down the breast (not just the blocked lumpy bit).

I'd only allow my son to feed from the blocked side while pumping from the other side. This meant that his efficient suck was being put to good use on the needed side and also, because it was pretty empty, he had to suck harder to get milk.

Also, though I haven't tried it yet, apparently using an electric toothbrush against the blockage helps jiggle it free. If you don't have one, any other vibrating thing would work ... :p