I know a mom who developed mastitis when baby ws about 5mnths old and had been nursing well. Mom said she had gotten a crack from maybe the baby biting or pulling on it. My question is that would germs from the babies mouth be the culprit? I always thought the mommy and baby germs when breastfeeding for that long would not be the issue. And now she says she thinks she has a blocked pore on the nipple that hurts when baby gets on. Anyone have any clarification on this. It was just unusual to me to see a mastitis case that late.

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also a nursing bra with underwires (or some other kind of pressure) can cause a blocked duct....

<nodding>

okay, dunno what happened ther,e lolo



(nodding in agreement with the above 2 posters.) she can also use massage to help unclog it...

The problem is she says its the milk pore on the nipple. So when the baby nurses she can't put pressure on it because its in the baby's mouth. And you would think the baby nursing onit would get the pore open. ????? I have dealt with clogged ducts in general before, but this is different and strange. I am with her this week, she is my aunt by the way, so we are going to work on it. I know it sounds wierd.

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Tape the cottonball on and leave it for 12 hours, or until the skin is softened.

Mastitis can occur at any time during nursing. It can be caused by any number of things--ill-fitting bra, cold or flu, lack of adequate sleep, etc.

While it can occur anytime during lactation, the two most common times are in the beginning when your mature milk first comes in, and when you are weaning.

My friend got mastitis at around 8 months and used cabbage leaves and Grapefruit Seed Extract. She was really quite ill with it, high fever and terrible pain. The cabbage leaves helped quite a bit.

Also, I just have to say that Babies Bellies Boobies has the best quote ever!! I lauged so hard at this: I've seen the village, and I don't want it raising my children.

Thanks for everyones input. It was a milk bleb and the cotton ball and oil thing worked great! Thank all of you so much for helping. I am so glad to have this huge pool of knowlege at my fingertips.:notworthy

[QUOTE=Sheryl

Also, I just have to say that Babies Bellies Boobies has the best quote ever!! I lauged so hard at this: I've seen the village, and I don't want it raising my children.[/QUOTE]



:notworthy taking my bow, :lol

glad it is better jo.

Another trick when mama has a plugged duct, nipple pore or mastitis is to have her get on all fours so the breast is hangin freely from the chest wall. Then point babies chin toward the block or area of centralized pain.

I had mastitis a lot while bf (11 years!!!) Once when Charlie was an infant (less than 3 mos old) I was lying on the floor nursing and playing house with Kelsey. I was the baby so I could nap. :grin She stepped right on my boob! Not so hard to imagine when you realize I was a 36 I !!! I knew as soon as it happened I'd end up with mastitis. OMG! I can still remember the pain of her stepping on my boob!

I became very adept at recognizing symptoms of a breast infection doing phone counseling when I was a LLL Leader.

Things that work well are warmth (a heating pad on low heat). Get in the tub on all fours before nursing baby. Slippery Elm Bark and Marshmallow Root. And go to bed! Gather up everything you need-diapers, wipes, etc and drink LOTS of fluid. You could make a base Red Rasperry tea (my recipe is under the herbal thread I beleive) and add things like marshmallow and slippery elm, chamomile is good and lemon grass for relaxing, No running around doing errands! No scrubbing floors! No cleaning toilets. You get the picture.

Oh, and every other nursing have the baby nurse on the affected side first. The baby's suck is stronger on the first side and is more likely to work the plug out.

Ibuprofen is recommended by most IBCLC's nowadays. 600 mg every four hours. Ideally mom would time it so that she takes the med 1/2 hour before the next nursing. This not only helps to alleviate the pain but also as an anti-inflammatory for the inflamation in the breast.

Lastly I have to tell you all that I ended up with an abcessed breast when the twins were 13 months old. It was Presidents Day weekend and my best freind (who's an IBCLC)and I went to my HMO 4 times that weekend. They kept saying it wasn't absessed. We couldn't beleive it! I was pumping PUS out of that side and had two baby's. On the Tuesday after the Monday holiday I went to see my OB's partner, she took one look at my breast and her face turned scarlet. I swear you could see smoke coming out of her ears! She said, "Your septic. We're doing emergency surgery on this right now!" I ended up with an open wound that was about 3 inches wide, 3 inches long and at least 3 inches deep. I worked with my bf and her mentor LC but we couldn't get that breast to produce more than a trickle of milk. The infection had ruined the whole top half of my ductal system. Grrrr, it made my life hard. I continued to nurse both babies for about 9 more months on one side! I say that just goes to show that our bodies adjust, I had no problem producing enough milk on one side for both baby's.

Anyway's, I'm glad your client is better.

Oh and there are times when mastitis is more likely to manifest. When you start your menstral cycle, when your dehydrtated, when your tires, or if your under an undue amount of stress.

K- bye :wave