Discomfort from Plug-duct

Hi D.,

I remember those days. What I found most helpful were hot compresses. I would soak a face cloth in hot water, ring it out and hold it on the affected area. Also, gently massage the plugged area, pushing towards the nipple. Just watch carefully for infection. If you see any red lines get to a doctor. Hope this helps.

Jen

I used to get these ALL the time with my daughter! It was so frustrating. I tried ALL the advice...massage, hot compress, etc. However, the ONLY thing that worked for me was to have her feed from that breast with her chin facing the area of the blockage. I read it in a breastfeeding book. It sounds strange, especially when you need to actually position her in that direction. I've sometimes used the changing table to feed her....or I've placed her on the bed, propped up with a pillow and placed myself in a postion as best I could to allow her chin to face where ever the blockage was....good-luck!

The quickest and best way is to position yourself so his chin is directly under the blockage. It happened to me a couple times, and it worked like a charm. Anyone watching me nurse would have thought I was trying to smother my baby, or at least gotten a good laugh. The easiest way to acheive it is to lie him down on a bed and hover over him. Mine always seemed to be on the top, and holding them upside down is not an option! Hahaha. Oh, if your whole breast gets hard, hot and red, you prob need to get on some antibiotics. But it seems like you should be able to "nip it in the bud" -pardon the pun. Good Luck girl!!

I have had good luck with drinking Traditional Medicinal's Mother's Milk tea or Yogi Nursing Mom. I also always try to massage the area while taking a hot shower. The best way to get out a plug is to position your baby so that his chin is pointing at the place where you are plugged up. This may be difficult, you may have to literally stand over your baby to let him nurse but it really works.. After the plug is relieved it will be sore for a day or two but will feel sooo much better.

I hope this helps and make sure to drink lots of fluids!! :)

C. C. SAHM to two boys 2.5 years and 3.5 months

D.,

Try warm compresses and massage your effected breast from the base toward the nipple to help dislodge the plug.

Also, begin each nursing session on that side so the strongest suck is that breast.
Good Luck.
C.

I just had this problem for the first time last week with my 9 month old. I found the fastest relief came from nursing (or pumping if needed) as much as possible on that breast and also positioning the baby in a different position so that he could really suck from the clogged ducts. I also found massaging the area while he nursed helped. Heat like a hot shower felt good too. Good luck! Once I started taking care of it the duct cleared up in 24 hours. I hope you also have a speedy recovery!

Hi D.,

I found that taking a nice hot shower worked for me. Let the warm water run on your breast(s) for 5 minutes or so. Not only is the warm water relaxing, but it seemed to "melt" away the plugged duct :)

I hope this helps. Good luck!

Have baby nurse on that side a lot, and this will sound weird, but put the baby's bottom lip toward that duct, you may need to do some gymnastics to get the positioning right. Their suck is strongest there, so he will clear it faster that way. Massage that spot before and during nursing. Putting Arnica Montana Gel/cream on the sore/lumpy spot(get it at Whole Foods) will also help in a safe non-toxic way. Warm compresses also help during and before nursing. Plugged ducts are common with older babies who have irratic nursing patterns, so get him back on more frequently until it clears.

Oh wow, I feel your pain...ouch ouch ouch! What worked best for me was worm compresses..moist too, so a warm washcloth. Do it every time right before you nurse, that will also help with the let down. Another thing I tried...I was nuts! Cabbage leaves....I warmed them up with warm water and then wrapped them around my breast. I know, crazy but I tried it pretty much for two days. Don't do it too much but maybe after you nurse for 20 minutes or so. If you google it on line they will tell you. Oh wow, I am soooo sorry to hear that though. Mother Nature should have made breast feeding a lot less painful then more people would stick it out and not just determined people like me...or stubborn, whatever you want to call it. I hope you start to feel better soon though. Good luck

I massaged from the outter-breast toward the nipple (the way the milk would flow) and kept nursing on that side particularly. best of luck!! L. C.

Make sure that the baby's chin (as someone else mentioned) is pointed at the blockage- a hot shower and massaging the area first and then nursing with the baby's chin pointed at the duct always worked for me within a few sessions.

Hi, the Best rememdy for a plugged duct is to nurse as much as possible from the affected breast. The baby's sucking will unplug it. Something that also helps is keeping a hot washcloth on you breast while the baby sucks. Good Luck!

D.--

This was the best remedy while I was bfing my son.

Let your bath/shower or sink run with hot water only. Let it get extremely hot. Get a baby diaper (cloth or disposable) and once you've gathered some hot water, soak the diaper in the hot water. Apply it to the plugged duct with some pressure, circular massage worked really well for me. It should be hot enough to barely stand it. Be careful not to burn yourself! The disposable diapers retain heat very well because of the gel in the diaper so really be careful (can you tell I burned myself once???) Keep the hot compress on the duct as long as possible, keep massaging in little circles. When the compress cools reapply with hot water. Keep this going about 10 minutes. Then NURSE YOUR BABY!!! Or pump...this will help to naturally unplug the duct. It should resolve itself. If it doesn't try the cycle again. If after a day or two it doesn't resolve, you may have an infection, so you should definitely contact your doctor.

Hope that this is helpful--happy nursing! You're doing great!

R. P--Mom to Wyatt 27 Months, baby #2 on the way April 2009. Nursed Wyatt 1 year 2 weeks!

Seems to me 11 months is rather a prolonged time to have a plugged milk duct.
I have suffered that affliction and it took several weeks or months to clear up.
Dont know what docs reccommend now but in my day we would put a hot pack on the breast before nursing ( or pumping) to encourage the flow.
Have you talked this over with your doctor?
Best wishes and God bless
Grandmother Lowell

Hi
I remember having this when my twins were 6 wks old. I was told by another nursing mom to try hot compresses on the breasts and try to nurse as much as possible, even though it can be uncomfortable, its better than taking anti-biotics
good luck
C.

I second all of Kristen C's advice. Hot showers and massaging where it hurts to express milk was relieving to me and keep nursing from that side - even though its going to hurt. As for healing, its going to depend on how often you nurse to unblock the duct. I felt better after about 3 days. I hope you are doing better today - good luck.

D.,
You can try putting a cabbage leaf over the affected breast. You can keep it in place by wearing a bra. You can try warming it a little in the microwave for 1-3 seconds, for added comfort. Continue to nurse your baby on both breasts. Good Luck

My heart goes out to you! I had plugged ducts, mastitis and yeast problems for the entire 3 months my sons was in the NICU! The only good thing was I had a hospital grade pump that helped the clogged ducts. I would put heat on the area for about 20 minutes and then pump (depending on my baby's feeding schedule and if I could dump the milk, I sometimes took ibuprofen at the start of the heat). It hurt, but the pumping worked better than his nursing to clear the clogged ducts. Also, I massaged the area while applying heat - always working towards the nipple. Not great for the environment - but at some points I actually slept with one of those thermaheats pads in my bra and pumped after that. Good luck!

Warm shower,warm compress and some advil.

D.,

I had mastitis 6x time with my son. Countless plugged ducts with my daughter ( 14 mo)

Apply moist heat to the area-shower, hot rags. Dip your breast in the sink for 20 min ( keeping the water as hot as you can stand) at the same time massage your breast from the top toward the nipple to push out the milk. This will make you VERY sore for a few days take Tylenol as far away form your nursing schedule ( if you have one yet at two weeks some babies are already stretching out their nursings if they are big). Your goal is to get the milk flowing. Keep nursing nursing nursing. Plugged ducts are from many things, improper latch, improper compression, abundance of milk. IT is never a case of not enough milk. I always get them when I let my daughter hold my breast to tight, had one just last week! I was through it in two days. Each time it's different.

Rest rest rest, drink and nurse and get help if you can as you need to tend to the spot diligently and this takes lots of time-

Best of luck to you. If you feel a fever or ill call your Dr. Immediately. They should be able to call in a scrip ASAP for you. You should not need to go in to the DR. it's hard when your a new mom. This info is all coming from a mom who is as natural as some might come I hate meds and stay away from them as much as I can but when it comes to your breast health and feeding your baby take care of your self and if it comes down to taking antibiotics don't beat your self up-know you are doing the right thing!

My best to you!
C.

Hi - poor you! I had recurring problems with plugged ducts while nursing both my son and daughter. Here's what worked for me: hot shower and massage (massage from the hard spot toward the nipple until you hand express some milk from the plugged duct). Nurse as usual OR "dangle feed." Dangle feeding involved laying your little boy on the bed, couch, or floor and nursing him from above. It looks and sounds ridiculous, but it works. For a better explanation, search for "plugged duct" on kellymom.com

If you begin to experience flu-like symptoms, your plugged duct might have turned into mastitis. Get antibiotics for this.

If the plugged duct keeps coming back, take lecithin four times a day (I took two in the morning, two in the evening). Worked wonderfully!!

Best of luck - I know how painful and frustrating it is.

If you can feel the outline of it, after a warm compress (hot water in a diaper conforms wonderfully if you're large) or during a hot shower, push from the 'back' toward your nipple, like a tube of toothpaste.

Hand-express in a hot shower
Line up baby's chin to plug
Drink lots of water
Nurse/pump frequently
Watch for fever (plugged ducts can turn to mastitis, which require a trip to the doctor)
Take lecithin if it recurrs

I got plugged ducts about every 2 weeks for a while with my firstborn. Combination of ill-fitting bras and overproduction. The right bra plus regular intake of lecithin (I took 6 a day) fixed it for me.

Note about massage: it may not have been necessary, but I pressed so hard getting my plugs out that I would keep a bruised feeling for an extra day, making it difficult to decide if I'd gotten the plug gone.

Go to your doc immediately and they will give you antibiotics. I had this recur 3 times with my third son and let me tell you it only gets worse if you don't get the meds!! Once you start the cure it only takes a few days for the pain to go away. None of the other remedies worked for me.

Good luck!

H. Z. (SAHM 5, 4 and 19 month old boys)

Use a warm compress between feedings and attempt to massage the area while feeding your baby...that should help it go away quicker. You could try pumping so you empty the breast completly and the should eliminate some of the discomfort. Good luck

I usually take a hot shower and massage the breast, followed by pumping or nursing. I also use one of those buckwheat hull pillow things that you heat up in the microwave and apply it to the breast with the clogged duct. Upping your vitamin C intake while clogged is supposed to help, too. For me it usually it clears up in a few hours but it has lasted up to 2 days once or twice. Good luck, I hope it clears soon!!

Hi D.,
I have had the same problem a few times. The best thing that worked for me was heat, massage, motrin, and nursing as much as possible. I know it's really uncomfortable. My blocked ducts cleared up within 24-48 hours. The second time, I wasn't able to get the blocked duct to clear, and wound up with a nasty case of mastitis that took a month to clear up. Good luck!

hello
i had a really bad one that took almost 2 week to clear- and all they said to do was alternate hot and cold compresses and start all feeding on that side until it does clear

Warm shower and warm compress and I would offer that side first.