Home and Medical Care

Home care

For clogged milk ducts

• You may notice small, red, tender lumps within the breast caused by milk ducts (tubes) that have become clogged (blocked with dried milk or other material).
  
  
• The best treatment is to increase flow to open these blocked ducts.
  
  
• Increase breastfeeding frequency and offer the affected breast first.
  
  
• Pump the breast after breastfeeding if the baby is not emptying the breast.
  
  
• Keep pressure off the duct. Make sure your bra is not putting pressure on the duct.
  
  
• Do not wean baby at this time, or pain and complications may increase.
  
  
• Apply moist heat to the affected area to increase blood flow and healing. (When applying heat, be careful not to burn yourself or the baby. Try 10-20 minute sessions two to four times per day for one to three days. Applying a warm water bottle over a warm, wet washcloth is one method to apply heat.) A warm shower and massaging the area will allow resolution of this problem. 
  
  
• Sometimes the baby will refuse the affected breast because the milk develops a sour taste. Pump the breast and empty it as well as possible. Continue to offer that breast to the baby until baby breastfeeds again.

• Expose sore or cracked nipples to the air as much as possible.
  
  
• Use a hair dryer on a low setting to dry nipples after breastfeeding.
  
  
• Wash only with water, never with soap, alcohol, benzoin, or premoistened towelettes.
  
  
• Unmedicated lanolin may help if nipple cracking is severe, but petroleum-based ointments and other cosmetic preparations should not be used.

Medical care

Breast inflammation (mastitis, possibly caused by infection)

• Seek medical care for symptoms or signs of breast infection.
  
  
• If you are breastfeeding and experience any of the following, call your health care provider:
  
  
  • Increasing pain in the breast
    
    
  • Chills
    
    
  • Sweats
    
    
  • Fever greater than 101°F
    
    
  • Increasing breast tenderness
    
    
  • Breast swelling and hardness
    
    
  • Redness
  
  
• Continue to breastfeed. Breastfeeding helps to empty the breast and prevent clogged milk ducts.
  
  
• Rest or get in bed at first sign of infection.
  
  
• Breastfeed and pump the affected breast as much as possible.
  
  
• Pump the breast to express milk on that side.
  
  
• Apply moist heat for 10-20 minutes at a time at least four times per day. Heat increases blood flow to the area, aiding in fighting infection. A warm shower with water on the affected breast may help facilitate healing. 
  
  
• Watch for additional signs of a localized infection called a breast abscess.
  
  
• The baby may not want to breastfeed on the affected side, so pump until the baby accepts the breast again.

• A delay in treating mastitis could lead to a more severe infection and possible breast abscess. If you are experiencing any of the following symptoms, go to a hospital’s emergency department.
  
  
  • A localized swelling that generally increases in size
    
    
  • Pain
    
    
  • Tenderness
    
    
  • Possibly warmth and redness if close enough to the skin surface
    
    
  • Fever greater than 101° F (May be associated with shaking chills alternating with sweating)
    
    
  • Breast abscess (pocket of infection)
  
  
• Surgical drainage may be indicated.
  
  
• Breastfeeding with the affected breast is generally stopped.
  
  
• A breast pump should be used regularly to empty the breast until breastfeeding can be restarted or symptoms could worsen.