Milk Blister/milk Bleb?

Updated on August 28, 2009
S.G. asks from Fort Collins, CO
8 answers

Hi mamas! Wondering if anyone has experienced anything like this?...(may be tmi for some)
I stopped nursing about 6 mos ago. I never had a huge supply to begin with, but as I was weaning I developed a milk blister. Now, I just found out I'm expecting baby number 2 and I think I have another milk blister. It is right on the nipple itself and it is very sore. I was able to squeeze and get out some of the milk, but I feel a lump in the tissue below my nipple and it is still sore. is it possible to get a milk blister after this long? Should I see a physician about it?

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D.W.

answers from Boise on

Try massaging the lump. If it doesn't go away in a day, I would definitely make an appointment with the doctor ASAP.

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S.P.

answers from Denver on

It sounds like a milk bleb - dried milk or tissue covering a nipple pore - looks like a blister and hurts like one too. Because the opening is blocked, a plug develops at some point further back in the duct; in this case in the tissue below the nipple.

The bleb needs to be opened, which you did the last time. Using warm wash cloths on the nipple can help to open. (You may prefer to see a doctor to have it lanced.) Heat, massage and pump to help the duct empty. (I've read but not seen that sometimes the milk released comes out more as a string than a liquid, so don't be alarmed.)

Left untreated, you could develop mastitis, even though you are pregnant, not nursing. Try not to be too aggressive with the squeezing; you don't want to bruise your nipple.

I was a little stumped by the timing of this, but my lactation consultant colleague suggests it's probably coming up now because of the ductal development and hormones of early pregnancy. Often if a woman develops one milk bleb, they will develop another at some point again with that or a subsequent baby.

I hope this helps.

S.

1 mom found this helpful
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S.S.

answers from Provo on

It's not a milk blister, S.. It may be a cyst or something more serious. Please go have it checked, for your own peace of mind. OH, and ours!

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A.C.

answers from Colorado Springs on

I don't know about the blistering, but I do know from asking my doc that if your hubby is a breast man, you can still experience letdown & occasional leaking a good year after quitting nursing (I was at 18 mos & had stopped nursing at 4 mos & still leaking occasionally & had lots of letdown)
Tell hubby back off, if this is the problem. Your body went from nursing to starting to get back to normal & back into pregnancy mode-that's a lot of change! If it hurts, I'd go to the doc if only to get some coping strategies & ways to clear it up for good.
Congrats on your pregnancy!

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B.H.

answers from Denver on

Yes, I've heard that you can have milk long after quitting nursing. And, it sounds like you might have a blocked milk duct. I would definitely call the doctor before it turns into mastitis (infection of the breast).

One thing you can do at home is rub from your armpit/chest down toward your nipple while taking a really hot shower to see if you can get it to release. Warm washcloth helps, too.

Hope this helps.

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A.P.

answers from Pocatello on

Sounds just like a bleb. In addition to heat, you can keep a cotton ball soaked in olive oil (or your choice of oil since no baby is nursing) to soften the tissue. If you carefully break the skin, hand express and work on that spot. A doctor can do it, too, but since you've already been through this experience, give it a go.
Good luck!

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R.A.

answers from Provo on

Sounds similar to an experience that I have and am still dealing with. Twice during my last pregnancy I found a lump in my left nipple. The first time I saw a midwife and she said it didn't look infected, so she told me to wait and watch. It ended up going away on it's own. The second time, since it went away on it's own the first time, I just waited. I was tender for awhile with the first one, and I was tender with the second, however, it didn't go away on it's own the second time. The lump kept getting bigger and bigger, and I was in so much pain. Picking up my daughter (who is almost two now) hurt when she would bonk against my body. And it eventually started hurting if I even moved my arm (this is my nipple). So I called the midwives again. Over the phone she said it sounded like a clogged milk duct and told me to do warm compresses, and try pumping and massaging it out. So I tried. I was just torturing myself. I couldn't get anything out and I was in so much pain that I called and made an appointment to go in and have it looked at.....

Well it turned out to be an abscess on my nipple that needed to be drained. They told me to go home and put hot packs on it (as hot as I could handle) to bring the puss up to the surface then to come back the next day to have it drained. I'll spare you the details of them draining it, but I was in a lot of pain.

Couple of weeks later I went back in after giving it a chance to heal and there was still a lump. So they sent me to a breast specialist and they had me go in for a breast ultrasound. The ultrasound revealed a 'collection of fluid' which is the lump I was feeling. And the breast specialist said that there is a cyst in there causing the fluid. She said that breastfeeding may work the lump out. It didn't. My baby couldn't even latch onto that side properly, all she could get in her mouth was the bottom half of my nipple and sucking on just that part made it raw. And having milk let down on that side made the lump even bigger, because the lump in the way prevented the milk from being released. So needless to say I am unable to nurse on that side. And I went back to the breast specialist so she could see how breastfeeding was affecting the lump, and she ended up using a needle to drain the fluid (which of course meant no more lump) but since there is a cyst in there causing the fluid AND I'm lactating, the lump was back the next day. :( Anyways I don't know if my horror story helps you at all, but at least if gives you more ideas of what your problem could be.

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T.W.

answers from Denver on

I would go to the doc or at least call the office and talk to one of the nurses. They will be able to direct you. Seems to me like it has been too long and something else might be going on.

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