What should a nursing mother do if she has acute mastitis?

  Acute mastitis is the most common breast disease among breastfeeding women. Almost every breastfeeding woman will encounter breastfeeding troubles such as cracked nipples, blocked milk ducts, painful local swelling and even elevated body temperature. The first time mothers are anxious and worried about this situation, and even helpless to do anything about it. Where should I go?  These mothers are referred to general surgery clinics in major general hospitals, but their treatment plans are often unsatisfactory. First, there are no appropriate treatment options for the local symptoms of cracked nipples, blocked milk ducts, and localized swelling and pain. Secondly, if antibiotics are used, breastfeeding must be stopped, but stopping breastfeeding can intensify milk stagnation, further leading to swelling and pain.  So, these mothers toss and turn all day and come home still in pain and scared at the thought of breastfeeding.  In this context, the new industry of “lactation technician” was born. As we all know, the lactation industry in the market is “mixed”, with a wide range of fees and qualification issues.  What to do, these breastfeeding mothers, where to get the correct lactation guidance, where to find for breastfeeding breast disease quality, effective, inexpensive, convenient medical services?  Breast specialists are crying out: the sooner you get into a breast clinic, the better the prognosis!  Should I use antibiotics?  When breast swelling is not relieved, it often causes inflammation of the breast tissue, but this inflammation does not necessarily mean infection. The local swelling and painful inflammatory response is most likely caused by blockage of the milk ducts, and antibiotic treatment is not needed at this time. Too much antibiotic use too early requires suspension of breastfeeding, thus making it more difficult to pass stagnant milk. Moreover, improper use of antibiotics can increase resistant strains of bacteria, making it more difficult to treat mastitis when it occurs later.  Herbal medicine is much more flexible than antibiotics in treating this disease. There are some herbs such as “Tongcao”, “Guahua” and “Wang Bu Liu Xing Zi” that are familiar to everyone, which directly improve the local symptoms of milk congestion, lumps and hard knots. These herbs are especially suitable for patients in the early stages of mastitis, and the lumps will soon dissipate with some herbs that clear the liver and stomach. The advantages of oral Chinese medicine are that it is a natural treatment similar to dietary therapy, and breastfeeding can be continued during the period of taking the medicine.  Do I need to use the technique to drain the breast?  If you have had acute mastitis, you know that when you have mastitis, your breasts are swollen and hard, and it hurts too much to touch them, and you can’t suck them out with a breast pump, and if your breasts are too big, you can’t suck your breasts at the nipple or areola with enough force, which can cause milk to accumulate in the deep part of the breast. Once the milk is stagnant there will also be cold, slight fever and other cold-like symptoms.  Of course, the best breast pump is the baby. However, some mothers have been bitten by their babies because of the lack of tacit understanding between them, and their nipples have been bitten by the babies, and the babies are in pain when they touch them, so it is best to use a professional to help you get rid of the stagnant milk.  Therefore, it is better to choose the Chinese breast clinic that can use medicine and massage techniques to drain the breast milk, which is the first choice for breastfeeding mothers.