Milk bleb

[joyjen]

I've have left nipple pain for over a week now then a white spot appeared yesterday which i believe is a milk bleb accdg to description in google. It's really painful, all the time, worse during breastfeeding. Is there anyone here who have success in healing them using the remedies mentioned on the internet (olive oil, saline soak, wash cloth after shower)?

It's annoying that after episiotomy wound has healed, grazed nipple has dried up and haemorrhoid has gone, I'm still in pain due to a different cause.

[lauzie]

I used to get these sooooo often!
What worked for me was hot shower and rubbing a face washer over the top to dislodge it whilst manually expressing. Once it pops your milk will go flying FYI haha

Other times I did have to resort to a fine needle and pricking the top. Probably not the best advice, however I did have to resort to this with stubborn blebs.

These were the bain of my breast feeding journey!

[turquoisecoast]

i think they can be caused by an incorrect or poor latch. how old is bubs? could be worth getting checked for ties and to ensure a good latch??

[MLadyEm]

Milk blebs are the worst. I got them with DD and they were one of the worst things ever. I had high fat milk which is what contributed to mine and made them super hard to break. I would almost always get a blocked duct at the same time as well. The wash cloth in the shower worked occasionally, but for me the only thing that consistently worked was using a sterile needle to break the blister. If you are going down this route you need to make sure that the needle is sterile and your hands are clean. I can guarantee you do not want an infection in your nipple/breast from a dirty needle. Also if you’ve got long nails you can try to pinch the bleb to break the ‘skin’. Again, make sure they’re clean. I was also recommended to use phisohex (antibacterial and ph neutral) to massage my breasts daily by one of the IBCLCs I was seeing, to help prevent the blockages/blebs, so it might be worth getting into a good LC to help you through this. I have the benefit of being a midwife and working with LCs every day to feel confident enough to do this though. I wouldn’t recommend just sticking a needle Willy Nilly into your nipple. If you’ve got a good GP you can even book in with them and ask them to break the bleb for you. I always found time was of the essence though as it was like being stabbed with hot knives when feeding or expressing off the affected breast. Make sure that as soon as you break the blister you put baby straight on to feed. It will clear out the immediate blockage behind the bleb to stop it reforming.

[joyjen]

i think they can be caused by an incorrect or poor latch. how old is bubs? could be worth getting checked for ties and to ensure a good latch??

We just started to have good latch 3 days ago, that's when I finally didn't need to pump as much as she was feeding more on the boob. She's 4 1/2 weeks. No ties, we have seen lactation consultant twice now and I've had her checked. Must have been caused by her poor latch last few weeks.

[joyjen]

Milk blebs are the worst. I got them with DD and they were one of the worst things ever. I had high fat milk which is what contributed to mine and made them super hard to break. I would almost always get a blocked duct at the same time as well. The wash cloth in the shower worked occasionally, but for me the only thing that consistently worked was using a sterile needle to break the blister. If you are going down this route you need to make sure that the needle is sterile and your hands are clean. I can guarantee you do not want an infection in your nipple/breast from a dirty needle. Also if you’ve got long nails you can try to pinch the bleb to break the ‘skin’. Again, make sure they’re clean. I was also recommended to use phisohex (antibacterial and ph neutral) to massage my breasts daily by one of the IBCLCs I was seeing, to help prevent the blockages/blebs, so it might be worth getting into a good LC to help you through this. I have the benefit of being a midwife and working with LCs every day to feel confident enough to do this though. I wouldn’t recommend just sticking a needle Willy Nilly into your nipple. If you’ve got a good GP you can even book in with them and ask them to break the bleb for you. I always found time was of the essence though as it was like being stabbed with hot knives when feeding or expressing off the affected breast. Make sure that as soon as you break the blister you put baby straight on to feed. It will clear out the immediate blockage behind the bleb to stop it reforming.

I have sterile needles for insulin pens. Will that work? I haven't tried the wash cloth might try it later, although the skin on top of the spot seems too thick to just break off.

[MLadyEm]

I have sterile needles for insulin pens. Will that work? I haven't tried the wash cloth might try it later, although the skin on top of the spot seems too thick to just break off.

Yep, they’d be perfect. I had a surplus of needles from the puregon pen I used for IVF. They’re nice and fine too so that’s a good thing. Try to go more from the side so as you pierce the bleb you can try to drag the needle up and break the top (if that makes sense). Think of digging out a splinter or an ingrown hair. If you go straight in you won’t get the same effect I found. If you do it in the shower you can then have the hot water running to help massage your breast/express a bit off too if you’re especially uncomfortable.

** I will just add anything I say in relation to using an needle to piece a bleb is as a breastfeeding mother, not as a midwife. This is not something they taught us at uni, and until I had one myself I didn’t even know blebs existed. Dr Google was my diagnostician and helped me through that first bleb experience **

Also, if you have fatty milk like I did, do some research on Lecithin. I was recommended it by the IBCLC I was seeing to help keep my blebs/blocked ducts at bay. Made a MASSIVE difference.