From: cn262@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Cindy Carpenter)
Newsgroups: misc.kids
Subject: Re: Breast Infections
Date: 5 Jan 1993 19:21:59 GMT
Organization: Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland, OH (USA)
Reply-To: cn262@cleveland.Freenet.Edu (Cindy Carpenter)
NNTP-Posting-Host: hela.ins.cwru.edu


In a previous article, salvaggi@sunshine.Kodak.COM (Nanette Salvaggio) says:

>
>My sister has developed a breast infection,  it started on Christmas day, and is 
>not improving.  She has seen her doctor 4 times in the last week.  They 
>keep changing the antibiotic to a stronger one.  My niece will still nurse,
>but my sister just about has to bite on a bullet the whole time.  The pain
>is pretty intense.  They are concerned that she may develope an absess.
>Does anyone have any experience with this,  I never had one while I was
>nursing.  Any info would be helpful.  Thanks
>Nanette
>
>salvaggi@alnitak.kodak.com

My sympathies to your sister - breast infections are *miserable*, I felt
sicker than I ever had in my whole life.  I got two of them during my
daughter's first year, the second one on Christmas eve (last year).  The
stress of the holidays can often bring on an infection for women who are
susceptible, so the first remedy is to reduce the stress.  The best cure
is simply to go to bed, with your baby, and do *nothing* else for a few
days.  Get someone else to do the essential housework, ignore anything
that isn't essential, eat simply, turn on the answering machine, stay in
your bathrobe.  Rest is essential.

Nursing the baby is often *very* painful, but it is also *very*
important - the baby's nursing is the most efficient means of opening up
the clogged duct, which leads to relief of the pain and healing.  It
won't hurt the baby in *any* way (even if there's pus!), and weaning at
this time will only make it harder to clear the infection.  Vary your
nursing positions as much as possible, to make sure that the baby is
drawing from all of the milk ducts.  My midwife recommended that I
specifically try to find a position where the baby's chin was close to
the clogged duct (the red & streaky & tender area).  Sometimes this
involves a little gymnastics!  Try putting the baby down on her back in
the middle of a big bed or on the floor and then kneel over her. 

The other thing to do is to apply warm, moist heat to the infected
breast.  I used to soak a cloth diaper in hot water, put it on the area
of the clogged duct, and then put a heating pad on top of the diaper to
keep it warm.  I'd lie in bed like this for an hour or so, then
encourage my baby to nurse for a little bit, then reapply the diaper,
then nurse again, etc.  Sitting in a warm tub while directing a spray of
warm water onto the affected breast is a variation on this theme.  Hand
expressing a little milk every so often helps to supplement the baby's
work on opening the duct while giving you a little more control over the
level of pain.

In both of my infections, at some point during my rest/heat treatment,
my baby nursed and I suddenly felt the pain and pressure slip away - the
duct had finally opened.  From that point on, the healing went very
quickly and I just needed to rest and recuperate for a day or two.  The
antibiotics help your body to fight the infection, but the clogged duct
also has to physically open - and that's where you need to put your
attention.

One final point - doctors aren't always as informed about breast
infections as they should be (breastfeeding hasn't been a very high
priority in medical education).  For more information and support, try
calling your local chapter of La Leche League (usually in the phone
book, or try the national 800 number).  There's also a lot of good
information about infections in books about breastfeeding (for example,
_The Womanly Art of Breastfeeding_).  

Good luck, and a fast healing.
- Cindy