How to unclog a milk duct while breastfeeding?

Maybe your bra is too tight. Or the underwire (if there is one is causing it).

You can take "phytolacca", a homeopathic remedy to help elevate symptoms and prevent future clogged ducts.

A cabbage leaf in your bra will work but don't leave it there for longer than a few hours or it will dry up your milk too much.

Clogged ducts can turn into mastitis. I haven't read other advice you may have received, but watch for a fever. You can have mastitis without some of those symptoms though. Adding powdered lecithin to your diet (sprinkle on salads and over dinner like salt) will help you to avoid clogged milk ducts in the future.
If you are feeling pain like you are nursing broken glass throughout the feeding, you likely have a bout of thrush as well. There are some homeopathic drops available for mastitis. I have an unopened bottle here that I bought at a silent auction. I do not know how well it works, but I think it is available at some stores (natural types). Good luck. It sounds like you are doing everything else right.

What works for me is when I nurse my baby, at the same time I massage the clog toward the nipple.

Hello A., I am also a nursing mother,(4th time for me). What has helped me is using hot,(not scalding),compresses and applying some serious pressure to the area that appears to be clogged. I have also utilized a breast pump to help relieve me some and I have also had the baby nurse as much as possible. If you are in pain, motrin or tylenol can help with that. Hope this helps. R.

Hi there,

I posted a similiar question a few weeks ago, and got lots of great suggestions. I found what worked best for me, was to put babies chin towards the clogged duct. I had to get in a weird postion, with my son on the floor and me kind of straddling over top of him, but after nursing like this a few times, it cleared up!

Hi A.,
i just had my last daugter 2 years ago. I have four children but i only breastfed the last one and i got a clogged duct and i tryed everything to get rid of it like you did but i got an affection in it and just basically quit.but hopefully you'll take care of yours before you get to that point.good luck....

Have you tried a *wet* warm compress? Run a hand towel under hot water for a minute, and then apply it to the breast (entire breast is fine) for 5 minutes and nurse immediatly after. Also, try the "dangle" position, where your babe lies on the bed/floor and you kind of kneel over top of her and nurse.

I had a clogged duct that lasted over a week! It never got infected, but it just wouldn't go away! I used these techniques and it finally unplugged. I get a clogged duct any time I wear an underwire bra :(. I second the lecithin advice, too. It's fairly inexpensive at a health food store - you can buy capsules or powder. Good luck!

A.,
Ahhh...I had the worst clogged ducts when I stopped actually nursing and went to pumping alone. They were painful and SO frustrating because I thought I tried everything. The only thing that actually ended up helping was a supplement called Lecithin. You may want to ask you dr first, but it really worked for me. I think the dose and info came from a website called www.kellymom.com but I may have just goggled for help. Good Luck, I know how irritating these can be!

It sounds like you are doing most of what you can. I had mastitis with my first son and was told to drink LOTS of water and tea to help with it. I was also told that drinking peppermint tea and then putting the hot tea bags on the painful spot is good, getting in the tub on your knees (fun, huh?) and putting your breast under water as hot as you can stand and massaging toward the spot will help (never tried that,but it was offered advice), if you have more trouble then you should contact your local La Leche League, they are a wealth of information.

Hi A.,

I feel your pain as I had blocked ducts and got Mastitis and a yeast infection with my daughter. She is almost 18 months and still nurses but only in the morning and evening. But, I got blocked ducts for the first few months constantly and then as recently as 4 months ago. I used the methods that you have tried (which help) and also used cabbage leaves. I don't know if you have heard that yet but it truly does help for some reason. Get a head of cabbage, pull the leaves off and clean them in water, dry them and put them back in the refridgerator to keep cold. Place one cabbage leaf per breast in your bra and let it stay there until it gets warm. Often times I would do this at night and sleep with them in my bra. If you wear an underwire, switch to a bra w/o one. You can also try running really warm/hot water in either your bathroom sink or a tupperware container. Then, place your breast in the water (get it as hot as you can stand) and massage the lump toward your nipple. This seemed to help me for a couple of the blocked ducts. If you can use hot water, gravity and massaging, they all seem to help. Good luck. If you need anymore advice, please let me know.

Oh boy, not fun! I'd highly suggest you call your doctor because you could easily get infected and you'll need antibiotics right away - he/she may be able to call in a prescription for you and then you can get it quickly if you need it. What worked for me when I thought I had a plugged duct was to just keep on nursing and pumping - if you have a pump, use it a lot! Good luck!

I have had a couple of those in the past, not fun. But when I would get one that would not go away my NP at my OBGYN office (who is also a lactation consultant) would call me in one vicoden and I would have to use my knuckles and kneed in out! I would just take a hot shower first and just keep digging those knuckles in there! I really hurts but works. I have had mastitis before and that was horrible, so I was game for anything that worked that would not lead to mastitis. Good luck, I know they are uncomfortable!

Hi A., The best thing you can do is keep emptying the breast. Try using a warm compress over the area for 5-10 minutes, keep getting the compress very warm, apply it to the area. Then massage the nipple between your thumb and forefinger, in a downward angle, until that clog releases. If this is actually what you have, is it at the nipple, or on the breast itself? Anyway, have the baby's nose point over the area, too, when you nurse, to help relieve the congestion in that area of the breast. As long as the area is being emptied well, after the clog is released, it should subside. You can use the warm compress to the breast area too, if that is the congested part. But frequent and complete emptying is the best, use Motrin, good for inflammation, as directed on the bottle. (Unless you're allergic, of course.) Let me know how it is going. J. C. Lactation Consultant. (See add on this web site)