I think I have a breast infection help!

my3hens

my3hens

New member
Okay so I am so sorry if this is tmi but im not sure what to do. My boob is sore but not overly painful however its all red and streaky. I am weaning noah and he doesnt even nurse every day anymore but im not engorged so I thought I was doing really well. Just taking it down one step at a time. Well tonight I was feeling a bit icky and then my boob was kinda sore on one side. Then when I was in teh shower I noticed it was really red and streaky. I had an infection a long time a go but I kinda nursed through it and that was that. Now that I can not do that im not sure what I should do. How do you treat an infection when your not nursing frequently and weaning. Thanks so much in advance, this is so annoying LOL
 
We are still nursing but I have heard that when you have an infection sometimes if you put a warm compress on it and then massage it that helps. Hope it feels better soon lovie!!
 
oh those are so painful. Not sure what to tell you b/c I just nursed through those. You could try applying a warm wash cloth (but in my experience that didn't help much).

this is the advice my mother gave me: have DH suck on your breast (I don't think she put it quite that way).

FTR, I did not follow her advice.

I'm sure someone will post with better advice!
 
I got mastitis (sp?) with Derrick when I was weaning and the doc gave me an antibiotic and I think I did warm compresses and massaging. It hurts a lot!!!
 
Yes it sounds like mastitis ( not sure if I spelled that right either). I had it several times while nursing. It happens when either the baby is not completely emptying the breast or like in your case when you're weaning. It is very painful and I ran a high fever as well. The only thing that helped me was antibiotics :(
 
oh you poor thing! sounds like a clogged duct or mastitis those are the worst!!!

I agree heat, and massaging to help with the pain... i know you are trying to wean but you may need to express some milk to help it out some (and to ease the pain!)

Try a warm shower and then express some milk while you have the water massaging the sore spot.... hahaha, well if your post wasn't tmi, this post is sure to put it past that mark!

Enjoy the mental image everyone :p

Because you are weaning, you may want to try cabbage leaves - right in your bra on the sore spot, it helps relieve the swelling, cut down the milk production and also it feels good (it is odd i know, but it works!) also, I always take a benedryl before bed a few nights in a row when i'm weaning, it is an antihistamine so it "drys you up" so to speak... and it tends to work not just on my nose but also on my milk supply.

Just take it easy and do what you can... but often the only way to get better from mastitis if it has reached full on infection point is to get an antibiotic from the dr.... that is pretty painless and easy, and some dr.s will even prescribe it over the phone if they know you are nursing. That will knock it right out right away.

If you are feeling tired and achey and fluish, you can try some home remedies, but i say call the dr if you aren't feeling better by morning so you don't get too beat up.

Good luck!
Shawna
 
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I had mastitis, and it sucked!

Right now, it's possibly a clogged duct since you are weaning. I would try what Shawna recommended (since it was exactly what I was going to say LOL), and if it doesn't work, go to the doctor. It could be mastitis, and antibiotics might be needed. I needed them for mine, and it really cleared it up quickly.

Feel better soon Sarah!
 
I say call your dr., I think you do need some meds prescribed. And also cabbage leaves are supposed to do wonders and hot showers. I am so sorry you are going through this. Watch for a fever too.
 
I'd call your doctor. I had mastitis twice while nursing my first and it was horrible. The antibiotics can clear it up pretty quickly.

Good luck!
 
Oh sweetie, that sounds awful! I don't have advice, but I just wanted to pop in here and say that I hope you feel better soon! Nothing's worse than hurting boobs.... lol
 
Ooh no! So sorry you're not feeling well! Definitely sounds like Mastitis. I had that a few times when I was nursing. The redness is a symptom of it.

Here's some more tmi lol- one of the times it was really bad and if I tried to express milk, only infection came out. So the Dr told me to get as much out as I could or he would have to stick a large needle in and drain it out. Thankfully with the help of antibiotics, it didn't come to that.

Hope you feel better soon!!
 
It sounds like it might be mastitis. I would give the warm compress and massage a try and if you are not feeling better very soon see the doctor. I had mastitis with my first DD and was feeling like I had the flu. I went in and the doctor put me on anti-biotics right away. Like Sarah said if it gets really bad they will have to drain the infection with a needle.
 
Oh you ladies are the greatest! Thank you so much for all your advice! Its hurting a bit more now and for some reason it feels like the pain is spreading towards the side near my back which is really not fun. I am gonna call my doc tomorrow, god ima sound dumb but should I just call my ob? I dont have a normal doctor right now. Thank you again, Im lucky to have you girls!!!
 
Ouch, I'm so sorry!!! I didn't breast feed, but my ob did tell me to use the cabbage leaves when I got sore! I don't really have any advice for you and I don't see why you couldn't just call your ob...but I'm clueless about that too!
But I hope you get better soon!!!!!!
 
Yep, cabbage leaves is what I've heard of too ... and to call your doctor. HUGS!!! I'm sure that feels just awful. It is the reason my mom stopped nursing me as a baby. HUGS!
 
my3hens said:
Oh you ladies are the greatest! Thank you so much for all your advice! Its hurting a bit more now and for some reason it feels like the pain is spreading towards the side near my back which is really not fun. I am gonna call my doc tomorrow, god ima sound dumb but should I just call my ob? I dont have a normal doctor right now. Thank you again, Im lucky to have you girls!!!
Click to expand...

Yes, I think it'd be totally appropriate to call your OB. HUGS. That tissue is all connected, so I can see how it might hurt in your back.

~Melinda
 
Yeah I'd call the doc for sure...sometimes it will go away on it's own, but my sis had it so bad when she was weaning that she actually had to have the milk duct drained that was infected...you definately don't want it to get that bad. Hope you get some rest tonight!
 
Hope you feel better soon!!! And definitely call your doc - even if it is your OB. Sounds like it may be getting a little worse.
 
I had that and was told to put the hottest compress on it that I could bear. I did and it really helped a lot.

Sorry that you're in pain sweetness.
 
I haven't read through the thread so I'm not sure if it's been said or not.... but antibiotics girl! And, if it's an infection, you'll prolly have a fever. I was prone to them when I nursed both my girls, but they were never quite as bas as the 1st one. OMG, I thought I was dying and my baby was only 3 weeks old... I had to have my mom drive 50 miles to my house at the drop of a hat cuz I was SOOSOO sick. Good news though, the meds start helping almost instantly.

I hope you're feeling better already!
 
i was definitely going to say the hottest compress you can stand, express as much as you can. if you have a manual breast pump, you may want to try it. it will hurt like HELL, but it should pull some of it out. mine got really sore from all the wet hot compresses and I had to use lanolin for a few days until everything healed up. and your OB is exactly who you should call. since you are trying to wean, i'd suggest cabbage leaves, too. so sorry you are dealing with this.
 
Ugh, I'm so sorry Sarah :( Let us know what the doctor says tomorrow. I've never had mastitis, but I did get cellulitis (infection of the subcutaneous skin tissue) on the side of my breast that req'd antibiotics. I was all freaked out that it was the inflammatory BC (sorry, I can't even type the c-word). I'm a mild hypochondriac, so I always call the doctor. {{HUGS}}
 
Thanks so much again girlys! When I woke up ths morning it wasnt quite as sore and the streaks have faded quite a bit. Those hot compresses did wonders! I am sending wes right to the store for some cabbage when he gets home today!!
 
Something I did a lot, too, was to put really hot water into a ziplock bag ( a freezer one - and not boiling, but as hot as the faucet would get) and tuck it under my breast, inside my bra, and allow it to sit there til I needed to replace it. It helped a TON.
 
That is a great idea Darcy!!! I have some of those laying around too!

Thanks a bunch Col your a gem!
 
Glad you're starting to feel better!

I'm just starting to wean here too... and just now starting to think of the 'side effects'. Ugh.

Hope everything gets all better soon!
 
i used to microwave wet washcloths and put them in a ziploc inside a sports bra. make sure you aren't wearing an underwire bra because it can pinch the milk ducts that you are trying to empty. and it really helps to reach around your back as far as you can and pull towards your breast. so, any milk that is stuck back there in that tissue can be pulled forward, too, and not get infected.
 
Glad you're feeling better, Sarah. The hot compress is also good for other things. It did wonders for me when I had a sty one time and pink eye at another time.

Yes, putting them in a Ziplock bag is a great idea! Thanks, Darcy.
 
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