Help please... Mastitis...

[HLanders]

I started on antibiotics last week for mastitis... but I've been dealing with pain while nursing for going on 4 weeks. It started with a little white spot on my nipple, I thought it may be a milk blister, so I had hot showers and nursed a lot, but it never budged. I tried lancing it myself, I've kept in coated in lanolin and now Motherlove nipple cream and it's still not budging. Last week I developed a bright red streak across my breast, which is why I'm on antibiotics now... but I've still got the spot on my nipple, and it's still painful to nurse. HELP!!!

My nipple feels hard 99% of the time, the little white spot is not raised, and I can't seem to express milk out of the spot, even after lancing. I get shooting pains while I'm not nursing, it feels like it's going straight from my nipple to my chest wall. Sometimes it's also a burning feeling, like my nipple is on FIRE. What could it be... and how on earth do I get rid of it?!?

 

[Katteh]

Sounds like it might be thrush. Google for breastfeeding network thrush as they do a good fact sheet on it with info to give doctors on best course of action in regards to medication.

 

[Katteh]

Apologies for the brief answer by the way, I'm on my phone.

Hope you feel better soon x

 

[HLanders]

It says thrush should not be diagnosed if pain is only in one breast... which it is. I can nurse just fine, without any pain on my left side. The white spot, and pain, is only on my right side.

 

[MoldyVoldy]

the streak makes me think mastitis, which you should have been given penicillin for.

the other stuff sounds like thrush, and YES you CAN in fact have thrush in only one breast. get this checked for asap.

in the meantime, have warm/hot showers (whatever you can tolerate)...let the water hit your sore breast but don't let it hurt you. gently massage the breast.

lasinoh may help the nipple pain while you latch your LO on until you can seek treatment.

nurse LO while dangling above him/her. this will help the mastitis.

hope this helps...keep us updated??

 

[MoldyVoldy]

ALSO, look into "vasospasm". i had it for a while with my son.

 

[MoldyVoldy]

here hun, i did it for you: https://kellymom.com/bf/concerns/mother/nipple-blanching/

 

[fieryphoenix]

Sounds like a bleb to me!

https://kellymom.com/bf/concerns/mother/nipplebleb/

 

[Debi]

It def sounds like a milk blister/ bleb.. does the white spot bulge out when you squeeze your nipple? I've had a few milk blisters and have just used a clean nail to sort of scrape it away.. it can take a bit of fiddling, but eventually you see a squirt of milk and you know you've got it. Feels amazing haha. Poor you, I've heard how terrible mastitis can be. Sending you hugs xxx

 

[HLanders]

Thanks ladies... I'm still dealing with it... I'm almost on my last day of antibiotics for the mastitis.... but the white spot is still there. It's not a blister, because I can't pop it (it's not raised from the rest of the skin)... there's just a little white portion of my nipple that IS white.

The pain has been getting better, and then this morning I nursed and I had shooting pains for about an hour after nursing. I'm going to bite the bullet and make my hubby buy the expensive Lecithin supplements. I'm thinking it's a plugged duct thats underneath my nipple. Ugh... I wish this would just go away!!

 

[firsttime83]

I had a white spot and was totally blocked (super painful) and I sterilized a needle and actually pricked the spot. I did this in the tub, and it actually allowed me to express all the backed up milk. It felt soooo amazing! But I am not a professional, just sharing what I experienced.

BTW I think my backup was caused by pumping a lot (was freezing milk) so my supply was out of whack. It kept happening and only fixed when I stopped pumping. Also, cold cabbage leaves are supposed to take away the inflammation, but may lower your supply as well, so be careful.

 

[HLanders]

After reading more... I'm convinced it IS thrush, but a mild case (which is why it's only one side). KellyMom says it's thrush if it burns and hurts *after* nursing, which is what I'm experiencing. Neither one of the girls have any signs of thrush, so I'm just coving up my nipple with some clotrimazole 4 times a day. I can already feel that it doesn't sting and burn as much. Hopefully in 3 days this will be a thing of the past!! And thankfully the redness of the mastitis has completely cleared up!