What should a mother do if she gets mastitis while breastfeeding?

For breastfeeding mothers, mastitis is a big obstacle: going to the hospital and taking medication means that there may be drug metabolism in the milk, which means that breastfeeding may be affected… What should I do? Mom’s dialogue: Mom: Baby mom, I’m blocked. Baby mom: What does blocked milk mean? Diandian’s mom: I think it’s mild mastitis, but there’s a lump that won’t go away. Baby’s mom: How did you deal with it? Diandian Mom: Eat dandelion granules and drink loofah water. Yesterday, I went to a breast enhancement specialist but it didn\’t work. It had some effect. Does acupuncture work? I don’t want to go to the hospital anyway, because as soon as I take the medicine, the baby’s food ration will be cut off! The above conversation is very common among mothers. Mastitis is a common problem encountered by breastfeeding mothers. It often occurs acutely. Mothers will find that overnight, a lump will suddenly bulge on their breasts, which is swollen and painful. If not treated in time, it will become more serious. The entire breast skin becomes red and swollen, and the breasts swell as hard as rocks. More severe cases of mothers will show signs of fever and fatigue all over the body. The occurrence of these conditions is clinically common acute lactation mastitis. Every mother does not want such a problem to occur, because once inflammation occurs, the baby will be cut off from food rations. Looking at the little life waiting to be fed, the mother is not to mention frustrated. So, is there any way to avoid lactation mastitis? How to deal with it once you get it? Mastitis reminds you that something is wrong! 1. You forget to empty your breasts in time many times. The reason is that if the mother\’s milk engorges for a long time and is not fed to the baby or emptied in time, the milk accumulated in the breasts will become a natural place for bacteria to breed. 2. Another reason why you have problems with your diet is closely related to your mother. If the mother has recently eaten a lot of foods with high fat and protein content, the content of greasy substances in the milk will also increase. The breast milk will become thick and easy to clot, blocking the milk ducts. In this case, a toothpaste-like substance can often be squeezed out of the nipple. This shows that you should really avoid eating these foods recently! 3. Your feeding posture is not right or the position of holding the baby is wrong. The baby often bites the mother\’s nipple when sucking milk, so that the bacteria from the outside or the flora in the baby\’s mouth will follow the broken wound. , making great progress all the way, breeding offspring in breasts that had reduced breastfeeding due to pain, resulting in milk stasis. As a result, acute lactation mastitis appears in the breast. How to get around mastitis? 1. Maintain the frequency of breastfeeding. First, maintain the frequency of breastfeeding at least 8 times a day, and breastfeed each breast for at least 15 minutes each time. Note that we are talking about effective sucking here. The baby holds the nipple but refuses to suck milk. This kind of soothing sucking that does not work hard is not what we call effective sucking. 2. Gently massage or apply heat to the breasts before feeding. Gently massaging the breasts or applying heat to the breasts before feeding can help the ducts to expand due to heat. This will widen the path to the nipple, and the baby will save effort when sucking, and will be more willing to work hard to feed. . 3. Don’t be superstitious about milk-making soups. Don’t be superstitious about various folk milk-making soups. Excessive fat will affect the discharge of milk. No matter how nutritious the milk is, it’s all in vain if the baby can’t eat it. The growth and development of babies who consume too little milk will be affected.:4. There is no need to deliberately clean the nipples every time you feed. Many mothers worry that the nipples are not clean, so they pay attention to cleaning the nipples before feeding. In fact, mothers only need to gently wipe their nipples with a clean hot towel after each feeding. There is no need to wipe the breasts with alcohol to disinfect them before and after feeding. Because disinfection will dry out the skin and make it more likely to become chapped, inducing or aggravating bacterial infections. 5. Don’t deal with the small white spots on the nipple casually. If you observe that the opening of the milk duct has been blocked by small white spots, it is recommended to use hot compress or multiple feedings to clear it. It is not recommended for mothers to perform invasive operations at home. Because it is difficult for the mother to ensure sterility when doing it herself, she is prone to the risk of infection. If you are not sure, you can go to the hospital and ask a doctor for help. Do not contaminate the wound yourself to allow bacteria to take advantage of it. 6. Latch the breast correctly and be careful of nipple damage. Adjust the feeding position to help the baby latch the breast better and prevent the baby from biting the nipple when feeding. If there is damage, remember to use ordinary nipple protection cream to reduce symptoms and prevent further infection. Many mothers will ask: \”Can I use a breast shield in this situation?\” It is generally not recommended to use a breast shield easily, because the baby may not accept it and affect normal breastfeeding. If the nipple is damaged, you can express the milk to feed the baby, and the mother can temporarily stop breastfeeding for two days. Mastitis is coming? Don’t be impatient and deal with it easily 1. When mastitis occurs in the early stage, mothers often only feel that the breast swelling and pain in a certain direction are particularly obvious at this time, so we need to massage this direction more, as there may be milk stasis. 2. However, if the surface skin has obvious inflammatory reactions of redness, swelling, heat and pain, do not use hot compresses. At this time, hot compresses are like adding insult to injury, aggravating the situation and accelerating the spread of inflammation to a wider and deeper range. 3. If the inflammation develops further and the redness and swelling become obvious, we can use external application and oral antibiotics. If there is no allergy, it is best to use penicillin or cephalosporins as antibiotics. These drugs are safe to use during breastfeeding, and breastfeeding can continue. 4. If an abscess forms further, a mild abscess can be drained through some methods, but if it is a severe and large-scale abscess, it will need to be treated by puncture or surgical incision to drain the pus. Fortunately, careful mothers can often detect inflammation in its early stages, and active treatment rarely develops it to serious systemic symptoms or breast abscesses. New mothers should remember that if the breasts have hard lumps, are red, swollen, hot and painful, and the body temperature exceeds 38.5°C, and this condition persists for one day, they need to seek medical help.