Help.....I'm breastfeeding and I've never had an mastisis..?

Question

I've breastfed both my children and this has never happened.
Yesterday...I woke up very swollen and tender on one side...It hurts to lay on my stomach..Like I'm laying on a bag of marbels...Should I use hot/cold compress to make the swelling go down...?

Thank everyone for all your suggestions, I believe everything worked and I feel much, much better...Thanks for all that responded

Answer 1

nurse nurse nurse nurse and pump in between. lots of it, and it will hurt but will help clear it up. in between pumping alternate hot packs and as odd as it sounds, cabbage leaves on the infected area. also, The only thing that gave me any comfort was taking a hot shower and warm compresses. Also another add that I forgot, I researched a natural remedy and this is what I found: Garlic - in mass quantities. Chop up 5-6 garlic cloves a day and swallow them like pills. You can swallow them with a sweet drink like orange juice to cover up the taste if you like. My mastitis was gone in 3 days. After the first day it was much much better. The redness had faded considerably and each day after it faded more and more until it was completely gone by day 3. Garlic is a natural antibiotic. I really hope you give it a try. It is amazing.

Answer 2

I agree with all the self-help measures here, but they will ONLY work if you have a clogged duct.

If you have mastitis, you will see redness, you might run a fever, and the pain will be more all over the breast. Mastitis generally requires antibiotics. In the meantime, try wet heat and nurse like crazy.

If you have a clogged duct, it will be tender in a specific area, with no fever and no redness. Moist heat and nursing, nursing, nursing, with massage, are the answer here. Another goofy trick: when you nurse, point the baby's chin at the clogged duct. If that's what you have, you might even feel the duct become UNCLOGGED, and you'll immediately start feeling better.

Answer 3

I second what everyone else has been saying ...
And definitely massage your breast. While your baby is nursing, gently but firmly stroke the tender area (those hard little balls) toward the nipple. It will help push milk through the clogged ducts. I got pea-sized, mildly painful clogged ducts pretty frequently, and a little massage at each feeding for a day or two always cleared them up.
If you're very, very sore, you should see your doctor. If the clogged ducts are infected, you may need antibiotics to clear that up.

Answer 4

Warm compresses help. Try to take a hot shower, as hot as you can stand and, it's going to hurt, but, massage the breast starting at the outside and moving toward the nipple.

Also,drink tons of water, like to the point where you think you might float away.

Finally, try to get some rest-as much as possible. Take your baby to bed with you and rest tomorrow.

Best-
DN

Answer 5

yes use both and most important....MOST DO NOT STOP breast feeding ....i know it kills but trust me if you stop the pain will be sooooooo much worse.... pump every 2 hours if you can and breastfeed to move things along more effectively... if you are still very uncomfortable after 2 days go to the doctors.
I had two and i was able to move past it after two days by pumping every hour and breast feeding, but one didnt go away and needed to be drained because i stopped breastfeeding due to pain... i learned my lesson so with the last two when i got a mastisis i kept pumping...do the same you will be fine....

good luck hun and i commend you on doing the right thing for your baby by breast feeding !.

Answer 6

I think that everyone pretty much covered it but the advice I can give you is to make sure you breast feed both breasts equally. This can help prevent it. Don't fall asleep with baby on boobie! Try putting a marked breast pad in the one that you used if you need help remembering what tit to use next.