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Old 03-18-2005, 12:48 PM   #1 (permalink)
Erica
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Clogged milk ducts

ouch! I'm massaging and applying heat and letting her nurse as much as possible....but I still feel lumps and they hurt


any other advice aside from massaging?
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Old 03-18-2005, 12:52 PM   #2 (permalink)
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What worked for me was also taking hot showers (heat, I know)

and not wearing a bra (it helped let it leak more freely!) Just wear a soft cotton knit shirt and you can pin a prefold in it to help collect leakage.

Leakage is a good thing to aim for when you have a clogged duct!
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Old 03-18-2005, 12:59 PM   #3 (permalink)
countrygal
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Try nursing "on all fours" with your breast hanging down and the baby under you. I think that this position helps gravity to do its job!

Good luck!

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Old 03-18-2005, 01:09 PM   #4 (permalink)
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Point the baby's nose in the direction of the clog... that will help pull the milk out cause the sucking will be stronger that way. It takes creative nursing positions but it does help. Also massage and heat while nursing.

Take care of yourself mama.... plugged ducts can get very nasty!
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Old 03-18-2005, 01:12 PM   #5 (permalink)
Susannah
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Nurse with Ellery's chin pointing toward the clogged area.
Hot vinegar packs.
Cabbage leaves.
Extra C and calcium.
LOTS of water.
LOTS of rest.
LOTS of nursing.
I totally agree with going braless, using towels or folded sheets to catch any excess milk.
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Old 03-18-2005, 01:18 PM   #6 (permalink)
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Ask Dr. Sears.com

http://www.askdrsears.com/html/2/T022100.asp

PLUGGED MILK DUCTS
Sometimes a milk duct leading from the milk-making cells to the nipple gets plugged, resulting in a tender lump beneath the areola. There may also be a wedge-shaped area of redness extending from the lump back towards the wall of the chest. Unlike mastitis, the pain comes and goes with a plugged duct, and unless the duct is infected, you will not feel generally ill. If left untreated, however, a plugged duct may become infected, resulting in mastitis, infection, or a breast abscess.

To unplug the duct and prevent subsequent infection, try these suggestions:

Continue to breastfeed on the affected side. By any means, get the milk out! This is the golden rule of preventing engorgement, plugged ducts, and mastitis. Use a breast pump or hand expression if baby is unwilling to nurse.

Breastfeed on the affected side first. Baby's sucking is strongest at the beginning of the feed, so he is more likely to dislodge the plug when he starts on the affected breast.

Vary the baby's position at the breast, so that all of the milk ducts are drained. Be sure the baby is latched-on well, so that he can nurse efficiently. Try the clutch hold or side-lying position. Before each feeding, massage the affected area by kneading your breast gently from the top of the breast down over the plugged duct toward the nipple.

Drain the affected breast better by positioning baby so his chin "points" to the area that is sore. For example, if the lump is around 4 o'clock, use the clutch-hold and position baby's chin around this point on the nipple clock. The lower jaw is often most effective at getting milk out of the breast.

Apply moist heat compresses for a few minutes before feeding or pumping, or soak the affected breast in warm water or in the shower as described under Engorgement

Rest. Lie down with the baby and nap-nurse.

If you notice a small, white dot at the end of the milk duct on your nipple, that is the end of a plugged nipple opening. Apply moist heat on this white blister and with a sterile needle gently pop the blister. If this pore stays plugged, it could block milk drainage and lead to a plugged duct and mastitis.

Try a pressure massage on the area of your breast that is swollen and painful because of a plugged duct. This may help to loosen the plug. With pressure massage, you do not actually move your hand over the skin as you would with a normal massage. You simply press more and more firmly with the heel of your hand to move the plug in the duct down closer to the nipple.

To do pressure massage, start at the edge of the lumpy area closest to your chest wall. Apply pressure to that area with the heel of your hand to the point just before it becomes too painful. Hold the pressure at that level until the pain eases off. Then increase the pressure again, (without moving your hand) and hold it until the pain eases. Continue to gradually increase pressure at that same site until you are pressing as hard as you can. Then pick your hand up, move it down toward your nipple about a half inch, and repeat the pressure massage in this area. Continue moving your hand a half inch and repeating the massage until you get all the way down to the nipple.

You may see the dried milk come out from an opening in your nipple. Even if the plug doesn't actually come out, you will at least have dislodged it and moved it toward the nipple so that when baby goes to the breast and sucks, he will remove it with his suction. Always put baby to the breast on the plugged side first, when his sucking will be the strongest.

PREVENTING PLUGGED DUCTS FROM RECURRING
To prevent plugged ducts, feed baby in different positions with his nose pointing "around the nipple clock," so that you empty all the milk sinuses and ducts.
Studies have shown that taking a tablespoon a day of oral granular lecithin or a capsule of 1,200 mg lecithin capsule three to four times a day is helpful in preventing and treating plugged milk ducts.
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Old 03-18-2005, 01:34 PM   #7 (permalink)
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holding E

thanks!

i guess i'm clogged because that side happens to have an excruciatingly painful crack.....i think i skipped a feeding....darn!

will try the ideas...thanks
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Old 03-18-2005, 02:30 PM   #8 (permalink)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Erica
thanks!

i guess i'm clogged because that side happens to have an excruciatingly painful crack.....i think i skipped a feeding....darn!

will try the ideas...thanks


ooooo watch out... you gotta keep using that side.. I got mastitis from going easy on me sore side... not fun...


Oh, and that dangle nursing really works.. that's how I finally got that side unclogged...
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Old 03-18-2005, 04:05 PM   #9 (permalink)
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i pumped (on lowest setting) when it hurt too much to breastfeed......just until it let up.
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Old 03-18-2005, 04:15 PM   #10 (permalink)
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Cabbage leaves could seriously decrease your milk supply, I wouldn't suggest it at this stage personally...

But, I had plugged ducts a couple of times a week when DS was very small and mastitis a couple of times when I couldn't clear the duct. What worked for me was massage in warm shower, LOTS of nursing, I offered it as much as possible because baby's suck is GREAT suction. Just be consistent, don't let it turn into mastitis, that can be quite painful.
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Old 03-18-2005, 04:17 PM   #11 (permalink)
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Oh, and sometimes it would hurt the worst while nursing when the plug was passing through the opening, but once it was clear, relief! I guess sort of like childbirth, lol. Sometimes, it would just come shooting out in the shower with massage and gentle squeezing...once you get the plug out, be sure to nurse a ton, too. I could always tell when it was cleared by DS because he would start sputtering on milk when it came rushing like a dam!
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Old 11-30-2005, 12:51 PM   #12 (permalink)
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Angry OUCH

Ive nursed 3 kids and never have I hurt this bad! My daughter will be 1 next week and now I get a clogged milk duct just as im weaning her. She doesnt nusre like she use to do im not sure shes going to do me any good. Im trying everything I can to unclog it but i must be doing somethimg wrong. Shes reallt picky about the position she lays in to nurse. I cant get her out of the cradle position. The clog is about 11 o'clock position so in order to put the chim there i would have to have her feet at my head...lol. I am definatly afraid of mastitus...I woke up this morning a little drained feeling I hope its not infecting Well if anyone else has some way to help me please let me know

Thank you
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Old 11-30-2005, 01:35 PM   #13 (permalink)
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I took a hot shower and massaged and soaked the breast by leaning over a very warm bowl of water, when this happened to me. It was the only thing to work. It had hurt so bad I felt like I would pass out. once I soaked it and massaged and fed it went away.

Good luck
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Old 11-30-2005, 04:52 PM   #14 (permalink)
Erica
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funny this thread got bumped cause I recently had a clogged duct. man it hurt! I just kept nursing on the side exclusively and it cleared up in two days....oh and I took a few Lecithin
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Old 11-30-2005, 06:16 PM   #15 (permalink)
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I was on a nursing fourum a few years ago and the moms told each other about how they would hop in a hot shower with a wide toothed comb and "comb-over" the aria that hurt.They would all report great sucess with that added to all the other things you are trying.The fourum went thru a long time of thrush and plugged ducts that year.I hope you get well soon.
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