A nursing mother experiences constant problems with the mammary glands. It is especially difficult for her during the cold season. Here, for example, what to do if you have a cold mammary glands? In addition to unpleasant sensations, a chest cold, if not treated promptly, can lead to mastitis. But how to treat breasts if you have to feed a baby at the same time?
Signs that the mammary glands have a cold
How can you tell if you have a chest cold? Let's list the main symptoms of this pathology. So if you feel
- tingling and burning in the mammary glands;
- you experience pressing pains that seem to be bursting the mammary glands from the inside;
- when palpating the chest you find small lumps;
- breast milk has changed its color, it has become darker, thicker, yellowish;
- your body temperature has increased,
all this suggests that you could have a cold in your mammary glands. It is especially easy to determine the difference in the color of milk if only one breast is cold. In any case, appropriate measures must be taken urgently.
I have a cold in the mammary glands - how to treat it
Firstly, it must be said right away that a nursing mother should, if possible, do without taking medications, even those that seem completely harmless to her. Taking antipyretic drugs is only allowed if you have a very severe heat- 39.0 degrees or higher. Most safe means is Paracetamol, but its use should be limited to isolated cases.
One of the main ways to treat a cold breast is to regularly put a baby on it, every hour. This will help avoid dangerous congestion and prevent the development of mastopathy. Feeding should be stopped only if breast milk from a cold breast has acquired a greenish tint. If your baby does not suckle completely from the breast, be sure to express the milk to the last drop after feeding. If necessary, you can use a special breast pump. Take a leaf of fresh white cabbage and place it on your sore breast between feedings. Cabbage helps relieve fever and reduce inflammation. Before applying the cabbage, massage it well mammary gland with both hands. The duration of the procedure is 5-7 minutes.
And don't forget to drink as much fluid as possible all the time. This helps to cope with colds and promotes milk production, which means treating colds in the mammary gland.
How to treat if you have a cold in the mammary glands
Good way treatment for cold chest is a warm compress. How to cook it. Take gauze folded 4-6 times, of such a size that it completely covers the cold mammary gland. Instead of gauze, you can also use a baby cotton diaper. Soak it thoroughly in a mixture of vodka and water, taken in equal proportions, and apply it to the sore mammary gland. Cover the top of the gauze with polyethylene or paper for compresses, and then wrap your chest with a warm woolen scarf. The procedure time is 40 minutes.
ethnoscience She also recommends making compresses based on raw beets for cold breasts. It needs to be grated on a fine grater and mixed with an equal amount of honey. Then this mass is applied to the cold mammary gland and covered with polyethylene on top. Finally, you also need to use Warm scarf. The duration of the procedure is 40-60 minutes.
After such a compress, it is good to take a warm shower. Firstly, you will wash off the remaining beets with it, and secondly, you will be able to massage the mammary gland well using elastic water jets. Which will also be very useful in in this case.
If, despite everything Taken measures, chest pain and others associated symptoms do not decrease, be sure to consult a doctor after a couple of days. If the mammary glands have caught a cold, the development of an inflammatory process - mastitis - can occur very quickly. Women during lactation, that is, nursing mothers, are in first place at risk for this disease.
Colds in the mammary glands - symptoms of mastitis
The development of mastitis occurs gradually. At first, you may only feel an unusual heaviness in the sore mammary gland. When palpating, characteristic lumps are felt in it, and when feeding the baby you feel pain. If you do not pay attention to these symptoms that may appear later a short time When your chest gets cold, after a few days the skin of the sore mammary gland begins to turn red and becomes hot to the touch. If you look at the mammary gland, you will notice swollen veins. After a few more days, the inflammation may spread to the second mammary gland, even if at first it was absolutely healthy.
If you suspect the development of mastitis, you should definitely contact a mammologist to clarify the diagnosis and prescribe the necessary treatment. In addition, it is necessary to exclude the presence of other dangerous diseases mammary glands.
If a nursing mother has a cold in her mammary glands, she should contact a specialist immediately. Postpartum mastitis is common and occurs in approximately 3-6% of women. Development infectious disease during lactation it can provoke inflammation of the glandular ducts. As a result, lactostasis occurs, i.e. obstructed passage of milk through the ducts of the mammary gland, caused by their inflammation.
A woman who is breastfeeding (BF) first feels discomfort and tingling at the site of inflammation. However, many attribute the occurrence of such symptoms to “unusuality” to lactation. To confirm or refute your suspicions, you should consult a mammologist.
Inflammatory processes in the interstitium and parenchyma of the gland develop very quickly and can lead to tissue abscess and even sepsis.
Etiology and pathogenesis
A woman who has a chest cold during lactation actually faces infection of the mammary glands with Staphylococcus aureus. Pathogenic bacteria are highly virulent and therefore not sensitive to many antibacterial drugs. Pathogens penetrate predominantly through the lymphogenous route, through microcracks in the nipples.
Less often bacterial infection develops in the body secondarily, i.e. in case of generalization of postpartum infections that were localized in the reproductive system. If a nursing mother catches a cold in her mammary glands while breastfeeding, stagnation of milk in the ducts—lactostasis—can accelerate the inflammatory processes. According to studies, flow occlusion is observed in more than 80% of primiparous women.
In many ways, the risk of developing a bacterial infection depends on the reactivity of the body. A weakened immune defense most often provokes the development of lactation mastitis.
It is for this reason that experts in the postpartum period recommend resorting to vitamin therapy, which helps increase the body's resistance to pathogens.
Reasons for the development of lactostasis and mastitis
I caught a cold in my mammary gland while breastfeeding, what is the reason for this? As it has already turned out, the causative agents of bacterial infections are staphylococci. The following factors can trigger their development:
- lack of personal hygiene;
- extragenital pathologies;
- difficult childbirth;
- cracked nipples;
- underdevelopment of the milk ducts;
- Irregular attachment of the baby to the breast;
- wound infections;
- decreased immunoreactivity of the body;
- incorrect grip of the nipple by the child during feeding;
- psycho-emotional fatigue;
- abnormal development of the breasts (nipples);
- improper expression of milk;
- complicated period of postpartum rehabilitation.
If you have a chest cold during breastfeeding, you should immediately consult a doctor. The development of inflammation in the ducts is fraught with damage to neighboring tissues, which is due to the structural features of the female breast. 
The abundance of adipose tissue and lobulation of organs practically does not prevent the spread of infection, which is fraught with serious complications.
Symptoms of the development of mastitis and lactostasis
If a mother catches a cold while breastfeeding, the first signs of illness will not take long to appear.
Within a few hours after infection, the woman feels a strong heaviness in the chest area, after which a tingling sensation occurs.
Discomfort may continue for several days without the symptomatic picture being replenished with additional signs. But in 90% of cases, already on the second day after staphylococci enter the body, the following symptoms of a cold breast occur:
- increasing pain in the mammary glands;
- elevated temperature (no more than 39 degrees);
- breast enlargement;
- subtle hyperemia of the skin;
- palpable tissue infiltration upon palpation.
In the absence of treatment, the disease moves to a new stage of development - infiltrative. Within 3-4 days, a purulent process begins in the inflamed tissues, the development of which is indicated by the following symptoms:
- hyperthermia;
- lack of appetite;
- muscle weakness;
- sleep disturbance;
- pallor;
- increased sweating.
A woman who has caught a cold during breastfeeding feels an increase in infiltrate volume upon palpation. With further development of the infection, tissue softening and fluctuation occur.
Classification of lactation mastitis 
Depending on the location, nature of the inflammation and its prevalence, there are several classifications of the disease. But according to medical research, more than 95% of diseases are caused by lactation mastitis. This is due to weakened immunity during the period of feeding the child and the presence of microtraumas on the nipples.
Classification of mastitis:
- by pathogenesis:
lactation – occurs due to a decrease in the body’s reactivity and the formation of microcracks on the chest;
non-lactation - inflammation is observed in a non-breastfeeding mother who has caught a cold in the mammary gland due to hypothermia, mechanical damage to the nipple, etc. - by type of inflammatory process:
purulent (infiltrative-abscessing, gangrenous, phlegmonous);
non-purulent (infiltrative, serous). - by abscess prevalence:
limited (no more than 0.5-1 quadrant of the mammary gland);
diffuse (more than 2-3 quadrants of the mammary gland);
total (over the entire mammary gland).
If a nursing mother has a chest cold, treatment should be started immediately. The short incubation period for the development of Staphylococcus aureus creates all the prerequisites for the rapid transition of serous mastitis to abscess mastitis. The disease is characterized by the formation of a pyogenic capsule inside the glandular tissues.
With the development of gangrenous and phlegmonous diseases, there is no clear boundary between the tissues affected by inflammation and healthy tissues. For this reason, women who have colds in their breasts while breastfeeding often experience extensive tissue necrosis.
Clinical picture
Typical lactation mastitis is characterized by an acute onset of the disease, the development of which is signaled by chest pain and hyperthermia. In case of inadequate treatment, the disease passes into the infiltrative stage. This is evidenced by the appearance of an infiltrate, which is very painful, during palpation.
If there is no response to the problem, mastitis passes into the purulent stage of development. In this case, the temperature can rise to 40 degrees.
In addition, pronounced symptoms of intoxication of the body occur: lethargy, body aches, drowsiness, lack of appetite, etc. Over time, tissue softening occurs in the area of infiltrative purulent formations.
If a nursing mother has a cold in her breasts, it is advisable to undergo examination by a mammologist. Incorrect therapy very often leads to worsening health conditions and the transition of serous mastitis to gangrenous disease. In this case, there is a strong melting of the glandular tissues and deformation of the breast.
Diagnostics
What to do if your breasts get cold while breastfeeding? First of all, you should undergo an examination by a doctor to make a more accurate diagnosis and determine the form of mastitis. Underestimation of symptoms can lead to prolonged and ineffective conservative treatment of the disease. If antibacterial therapy is ineffective, there is a risk of developing an erased form of the disease.
To more accurately determine the foci of inflammation and the nature of the manifestation of postpartum mastitis, the doctor conducts an examination using the following methods:
- mammography - allows you to determine the number of infiltration nodes in the glandular tissue;
- Ultrasound of the mammary glands - helps to determine the location of foci of inflammation;
- biopsy – helps to accurately determine the causative agent of infection through sampling small quantity inflamed tissues for histological analysis.
Principles of treatment of uncomplicated disease
When postpartum mastitis begins, special attention is paid to measures that help eliminate lactostasis in the inflamed gland:
Folk remedies
What to do if a nursing mother has a cold in her breasts? Experts recommend resorting to antibiotic therapy only in extreme cases. The active components of the product remain in the blood long time and therefore can enter the child’s body with mother’s milk. Subsequently, this provokes the development of dysbiosis and weakening of the child’s immune defense.
To relieve the symptoms of lactostasis, you can use the following alternative medicines:
- cabbage compress. Raw cabbage leaves help eliminate hyperthermia and the inflammatory process. They are applied to the breast and changed immediately after the child’s breastfeeding;
- beet ointment. To prepare an anti-inflammatory ointment, mix 1 tbsp. l. honey with 5 tbsp. l. grated beets. The resulting pulp is spread on gauze, after which it is applied to the chest for 35-40 minutes.
Antibacterial therapy
If a woman gets a cold in her mammary gland while breastfeeding, treatment should begin immediately and only under the supervision of a specialist.
A direct indication for the use of antibacterial therapy is the presence of suppuration in glandular tissues.
To destroy Staphylococcus aureus during the development of postpartum mastitis, the doctor may prescribe the following types of antibiotics:
If you experience chest pain, hyperthermia and lactostasis, you should contact a mammologist. Self-treatment can be fraught with complications, including necrosis of glandular tissue. To eliminate mild forms of lactation mastitis, they adhere to a set of general health measures, and in advanced cases they resort to antibacterial therapy and even surgical intervention.
You can often hear breastfeeding women warned about the dangers of breast hypothermia - they say, “if you catch a cold in your chest, it’s not far from mastitis.” Is it really possible to catch a cold in the chest if you are hypothermic?
Let's try to understand the issue, which, unfortunately, is relevant for many young mothers.
Hypothermia can actually cause some harm women's health during breastfeeding child, but the point here is not a “cold”, but a state of lactostasis - stagnation of milk in the ducts of the mammary glands.
Each mammary gland consists of approximately 15-25 acini, connected by ducts to the nipple: if at least one of the ducts is compressed for any reason, the acini is not freed from the milk it produces. A milk plug forms in the duct, and if it is not eliminated, a banal, but by no means safe, stagnation of milk can turn into uninfected mastitis - inflammation of the mammary gland. Prolonged exposure to low temperatures often causes the milk ducts to spasm, causing them to become blocked.
Other factors can cause lactostasis:
- tight bra;
- predisposition to stagnation of milk (narrowness of the ducts);
- insufficient or irregular breast emptying;
- severe injuries or bruises in the chest area;
- excessive milk production by the glands;
- dehydration of the body (milk becomes thicker and forms plugs faster);
- lack of sleep and stress;
- strong physical activity.
The main measure to prevent lactostasis is to provide a nursing woman with a normal temperature regime in combination with control of the emptying of the mammary glands and proper care after them. Choose comfortable underwear, avoid cracks in your nipples, and monitor the amount of fluid you consume.
When feeding, avoid holding the mammary gland with two fingers (“scissors”) so as not to mechanically compress the ducts. Common reason stagnation of milk - incorrect attachment of the baby to the breast: the baby must take the correct position when feeding, pressing his stomach to the mother’s stomach and completely capturing the nipple with his mouth. It is better to feed the baby when he is in a good and cheerful mood: restless and lethargic babies are in no hurry to satisfy their hunger.
In this case, the mammary gland is poorly emptied, as with rare, irregular feeding. However, sometimes it is simply impossible to keep track of absolutely everything. What to do if a woman has a cold in her chest and it already hurts? To begin with, understand that we are talking specifically about lactostasis, and not about any other condition or disease. To determine what you're dealing with, familiarize yourself with the key signs of a chest cold and remember them.
The main signs of lactostasis
The characteristic symptoms of this condition are painful sensations in the mammary gland combined with pronounced discomfort during its emptying. Sometimes it hurts a lot, and redness may appear on it (mainly in areas of the skin located above the affected milk ducts).
An increase in body temperature is not always observed, just as it is not always possible to feel small lumps in the breasts (although many women detect them almost immediately after the onset of painful sensations). To clarify the diagnosis, you should immediately consult a doctor, especially if the painful condition is accompanied by chills, weakness, temperature fluctuations and severe pain. Perhaps we are no longer talking about simple stagnation of milk, but about the onset of mastitis, which in 86% of cases begins with lactostasis.
Breastfeeding with lactostasis
A woman who has a “cold” breast has a hard time breastfeeding, but she cannot stop breastfeeding, even despite the pain and discomfort. The more often and more actively a child feeds, the higher the likelihood of rapid and complete resorption of milk plugs. Usually, with lactostasis, one gland hurts: you should not avoid feeding from this breast, even if, due to significant stagnation of milk, it is difficult for the baby to take it.
In such cases, first simply express a small portion of milk. As a result of this simple manipulation, the tension in the peripapillary area subsides, and the child is able to grasp the nipple with his mouth without much difficulty. A simple massage also alleviates the condition if done regularly: the breast should be massaged in a circular motion, directing the hand from the periphery of the gland to its center. The impact on the gland during massage should not be too aggressive.
If it becomes clear that the child cannot cope with the incoming amount of milk on his own, and even after feeding, lumps in the breast persist and cause discomfort, resort to pumping. Unfortunately, it is difficult to call this procedure pleasant, but it must be done.
Expressing yourself during lactostasis can be extremely painful, so it is better to entrust it to a specialist - for example, an experienced midwife.
As an option, hardware pumping is used, which is almost as effective as manual pumping, but during the procedure you will still have to work with your hands, massaging the affected breast.
In some cases, the doctor may prescribe an ultrasonic massage or intramuscular injections of oxytocin, after which the ducts of the mammary glands contract and the outflow of milk significantly improves.
What should a woman do if she "got a chest cold" far from civilization, and you won’t be able to quickly get an appointment with a doctor?
It is unsafe to self-medicate during milk stagnation, although certain generations-tested recipes for warming compresses with camphor or Vaseline oil, Vishnevsky ointment, diluted with medical alcohol. An insulating layer (for example, thick cellophane) is placed on top of the compress, which does not allow the liquid to evaporate and the temperature underneath to decrease. Keeping compresses on the chest for too long (more than 7-8 hours) is not recommended.
Lactostasis, mastitis, weaning and engorgement.Mastitis.
Mastitis usually begins in the first month after childbirth.
The main pathogen is Staphylococcus aureus, which causes inflammation. It gets inside mainly through cracks, which determines the timing of its appearance - mothers with improper attachment do not yet know how and cannot deal with it. Mastitis is usually preceded by lactostasis, and with purulent mastitis - always.
According to the types of inflammatory processes, mastitis is divided into serous, infiltrative, infiltrative-purulent, abscessing, gangrenous, and phlegmonous.
Basic:
Serous mastitis: temperature up to 38C, breast pain, emptying the breast does not make it easier, swelling, redness.
Infiltration: the same thing, but a clear area of compaction can be felt, milk is expressed poorly.
Purulent: the temperature rises to 40C, general weakness, insomnia, pale skin, sharp pain when pressing on the inflamed area, severe swelling appear.
Uninfected mastitis occurs after lactostasis with poor emptying of the breast; you need to take the same measures as for lactostasis.
For serous and infiltrative mastitis, treatment with antibiotics is indicated; breast emptying is mandatory. If antibiotics are compatible with breastfeeding, then stopping feeding is highly undesirable. Purulent mastitis is usually operated on; breastfeeding can be resumed after surgery. Drugs that suppress lactation are extremely undesirable at any stage, although many doctors strongly recommend them. Undesirable for many reasons: severe interference with metabolism, a large number of side effects, often incompatibility with hepatitis B.
Lactostasis.
Lactostasis is stagnation of milk in the breast. First, pain appears, as with hematomas, slight swelling of the breasts, areas with lactostasis can be easily felt, the temperature can rise to 38C.
Causes of lactostasis:
1. poor and irregular breast emptying:
- incorrect application;
- feeding according to the schedule;
- no night feedings.
2. Chest injuries.
3. Squeezing the ducts with an incorrectly selected bra.
4. Hyperlactation.
5. Narrowness of the ducts.
6. Mastopathy.
7. Previous damage to the ducts (surgeries, mammoplasty, implants).
8. Sleep on your stomach.
9. Stress, stress and depression.
10. Temperature changes - contrast shower, for example.
11. Lack of fluid in the mother’s diet.
There cannot be mastitis for the first 1-2 days; it does not develop instantly. And when correct behavior Non-infectious mastitis will not start with breasts.
What is the difference between lactostasis and mastitis?
With lactostasis, emptying the breast instantly alleviates the condition - the temperature drops, the heaviness in the chest disappears. With mastitis, bowel movements do not bring relief and the temperature does not decrease. When palpated, lactostasis is lumpy, and the infiltrate is a smooth plate with clear edges.
Methods for treating lactostasis.
1. The main and most important way is to place the child on the sore breast with the chin to the seal. All other methods are auxiliary.
2. Before feeding, you can warm the breasts so that the ducts expand. Not with hot water or compresses, but with warm water, 37-38C. Before feeding, you can take a warm shower and breastfeed, hanging over the bathtub, lightly stroking your breasts. Warm showers widen the ducts and help milk come out of the breast more easily. You can apply a diaper moistened with warm water to your chest.
3. After feeding, you can apply a cold compress - cottage cheese from the refrigerator, chopped cabbage, ointments that the doctor will prescribe. The main thing is that the compresses are cold, and in no case warm, so as not to provoke the flow of milk. And not icy, but cold; it is also not advisable to apply ice.
4. It is better to drink liquid at room temperature between feedings, not hot, so as not to cause hot flashes.
5. You should only pump if you know how to do it. Pain when pumping is a signal that you are pumping incorrectly. Expressing should be done with light stroking movements from the base of the breast to the nipple.
6. If possible, then you should go for an ultrasound massage in a residential complex or maternity hospital. Perhaps they will prescribe other physical procedures for you there.
7. During feeding, you can stroke the sore lobule in the direction from the base to the nipple.
All these measures should be continued until complete recovery.
If lactostasis is repeated cyclically and appears in one place or nearby, then this may indicate that the previous lactostasis has not completely passed, or that some duct is narrower. If it happens again, you should go for physical therapy and place your child’s chin on the problem lobe for prevention.
Since lactostasis usually appears in one breast, it is preferable to give it to that breast and strain the other breast until relief occurs.
What not to do:
1. There is no need to make any compresses containing alcohol or camphor. This is a common recommendation, but alcohol suppresses the production of oxytocin, and milk is released from the breast worse, alcohol penetrates into the milk and heats, which provokes inflammation. Camphor suppresses lactation.
2. You should not drink drugs that suppress lactation and sage. This will not help the situation, but the effect may be irreversible.
3. You shouldn’t ask your husband to help - a child sucks differently than an adult, it’s like he’s lapping up milk, and a husband won’t do that. In addition, the risk of infection is very high - husbands' mouths are usually unsterile.
4. You will probably be advised to call a nurse or midwife to pump, but I don’t recommend doing this - most visiting specialists pump dry and through pain, often injuring the ducts, which can lead to a recurrence of lactostasis.
5. You should not limit drinking - lactation decreases only when dehydration is more than 10%, but discomfort due to thirst will be added to chest pain.
Prevention of lactostasis.
1. Do not wear any clothing that constricts or presses down your chest. It is better to avoid bras with underwires until breastfeeding is completed; sports tops are fine, but make sure they do not press anywhere.
2. Don't sleep on your chest.
3. Avoid chest injury. Even a small hand can cause large lactostasis.
4. Constantly, at least a couple of times a day, feel the breast, and as soon as a lump appears, place the child’s chin on it.
5. Avoid sudden changes in temperature; in winter, even your husband can hang laundry on the balcony, or dress warmly. Sharp contractions of the ducts also cause lactostasis.
6. Feed on demand, and if you feed according to a schedule, do not pump dry and carefully examine your breasts.
Lactostasis and engorgement during weaning.
With abrupt weaning and the inability to attach the baby, a situation arises in which standard advice is not suitable.
If there is an overabundance and the breast is not emptied, milk is reabsorbed, and its quantity itself decreases, but the milk still arrives, and the problem needs to be solved.
What to do:
1. Reduce the quantity, that is, it is necessary and only this way - to express until a state of relief occurs. If your breasts are not full, do not pump. And reduce the frequency. If you feel that everything is fine, then do not touch your breasts.
2. Drink sage and mint, they inhibit lactation.
3. Carefully inspect the breast for lumps and apply immediately preventive measures, if there are seals.
What not to do:
1. Do not bandage. This barbaric method will remove milk, but very often with the help of mastitis. When bandaging, mastitis of the upper lobe usually appears, which is difficult to both strain and diagnose. Without bandaging, the milk drainage process will take the same amount of time.
2. Do not take drugs to suppress prolactin - Parlodel, Bromocriptine, Dostinex. All of them are not intended to suppress physiological lactation and cause multiple side effects right up to death. Moreover, when physiological lactation is suppressed, their number increases.
3. Alcohol and camphor compresses in this case will also interfere with the outflow of milk, as with lactostasis and provoke inflammation.
Additional Information.
No-spa is an antispasmodic, it is often recommended by midwives in cases of lactostasis, but using it during breastfeeding is undesirable and useless for this purpose.
Paracetamol is an antipyretic and anti-inflammatory drug, the drug of first choice for nursing mothers.
Analgin and aspirin are incompatible with breastfeeding, and they are most often recommended by doctors and emergency paramedics.
Sage suppresses lactation, but the effect does not come immediately, because if you decide to drink it to reduce the amount of milk, but not for suppression of lactation, the result could be complete care milk.
Is it possible to get a chest cold?
The main purpose of the female breast is to produce milk for feeding. It is during this period that most often women experience a disease such as a chest cold. Any walk in the cold season can provoke its occurrence, no matter whether it is a visit to the clinic, a trip to the store for shopping - there is always a danger of developing a chest cold when the ambient temperature drops. The whole point is that while female breast full of milk and the mammary glands swell, the breasts become hypersensitive to external influences. This explains the fact that nursing mothers are strongly advised to dress appropriately for the weather, prevent hypothermia, and be attentive to their own health.
In general, a chest cold is a very serious disease, quite dangerous both for the child and for the mother herself, which is why you should not delay resolving this issue. First of all, you should call a doctor at home so that a professional diagnosis is made and a course of treatment is prescribed. To make a correct diagnosis, a blood and milk test should be performed to determine the presence of bacteria in it. Sometimes ultrasound is used for diagnostic purposes.
Nursing mother has a chest cold
When you have a cold in your chest, the mammary gland develops painful sensations, this happens against the background of general malaise and increased temperature. This phenomenon is very unpleasant, since the pain does not go away during feeding, which can cause either the cessation of breastfeeding or a forced pause in this process.
In fact, you should never stop breastfeeding your baby, since when the breasts have a cold, it is very important to empty them regularly. Even if it delivers discomfort, you should put the baby to the breast as often as possible, while paying attention to how well he grasps it. If a lump appears in the breast, it is necessary to gently massage the place of its occurrence while the child is sucking it. After some time, you can see how it gradually decreases.
After feeding your baby, you should carefully express all the milk that remains in the breast. It is advisable to use a breast pump for this purpose. Sometimes women entrust this function to their husband, but this should not be done, since the breast may become infected with various microbes, due to the lack of sterility in the man’s oral cavity and the difference between his sucking and the sucking of a child. If you have a cold in your chest, applying cabbage leaves to it helps a lot. You need to pour boiling water over a cabbage leaf and apply it to your chest at the site of stagnation. If you are not allergic to honey, you can use it effectively. To do this, you need to mix one tablespoon of honey with flour, taken in quantities sufficient for the subsequent formation of cakes from the resulting mass. Cakes can be applied to the chest to eliminate the effects of hypothermia.
If there is an increase in temperature, you should not use alcohol compresses for treatment. If an increase in temperature is accompanied by weakness and chills, it makes sense to consult a doctor. In case of cold breasts, it makes sense to reduce the amount of fluid consumed to 750 ml per day.
Symptoms of a cold chest
If a nursing mother has a fever for no apparent reason, but there are no other well-known signs colds, such as a runny nose and cough, there is a reason to carefully examine and palpate your chest. Most likely, she has a cold, although medical experts consider the very concept of a “chest cold” to be incorrect, due to the fact that it is not like that. If there is pain in the chest, then we can talk about mastitis or lactostasis. The occurrence of such diseases indicates reduced immunity of the nursing mother.
If there is tingling in the chest along with fever and pain, a change in color may occur. breast milk to greenish-yellow. Since this is possible, you can compare the color of milk from a diseased and healthy breast. If you are experiencing pain in both breasts, then you should soak a cotton pad with milk.
Mastitis is an inflammatory disease caused by a bacterial infection. Its typical symptoms include:
- tingling in the chest area;
- pain when feeding;
- the appearance of red spots on the chest;
- increase in size of the mammary glands.
A direct decrease in the immune background causes a “chest cold,” because in its healthy state the body copes with pathogens at the stage of their inception. Mastitis can turn into a purulent form if its symptoms are ignored for a long time. If this happens, surgical intervention will be required, since conventional therapeutic methods this problem does not go away.
The occurrence of lactostasis is due to stagnation of milk in the breast, which can occur in the event of insufficient expression. In order to avoid it, you should put the baby to the breast as often as possible (preferably every hour) or express milk yourself. Regular chest massage is also necessary in order to thoroughly knead the pain area. Dry pumping cannot be done categorically, as it only aggravates the course of the disease.
If proper attention is not given to the treatment of lactostasis, after some time it transforms into mastitis. The process of transition from one form of breast disease to another is accompanied by an increase in temperature and other symptoms.
I have a chest cold, what should I do?
If you have a chest cold, it is advisable to do the following:
- Apply the baby directly to the cold breast every hour. It is from the cold breast that you should start feeding, and then use the other breast. It is advisable to do this so that the baby sucks on the breast where milk comes from more difficult, while he still has a lot of strength. In order for milk to flow more easily, when feeding, you should choose a position of hanging over the baby;
- in order to level out the inflammation of a cold chest, it is necessary to apply a crushed cabbage leaf to it;
- You should not express milk too often, since this can only worsen the situation, due to the fact that expressing cannot always be done correctly;
- It is recommended to use natural lingonberry juice. In general, the more you drink, the better;
- If there is a strong increase in body temperature at night, it is recommended to take two paracetamol tablets and strong raspberry tea. Paracetamol is acceptable during breastfeeding, although it is not advisable. Among the entire large list of medications, paracetamol is the most harmless;
- A compress made from vodka diluted with water in approximately equal percentages is very effective. It should be applied to the place where the lump is located in the chest and pain is felt when palpated. You need to apply cotton wool moistened with a compress to your chest. Then a plastic bag is placed on top of the cotton wool, as well as a towel or rag to retain heat. It is advisable to use compresses of this type at night, but if there is such an opportunity, you can also use it in daytime. It should be performed very carefully in order to eliminate the possibility of getting a burn. The recommended time for its use is no more than an hour;
- for warming up, a warm shower helps a lot, after which you immediately need to dress warmly;
- It is advisable to warm up the chest, for which you can turn to your husband for help. Massage should be done carefully and carefully.
If after all the above measures the body temperature does not decrease, then there is a common cold. You should behave very carefully so that the child does not get sick. Before the doctor comes, it is better to express milk or ask your husband to help with this. Pain may increase if pumping is done incorrectly. It is important to express milk by any means until there is a lump, so that the lump comes out with the milk. In this case, every minute is precious, because as the temperature rises, the milk burns out and becomes unsuitable for feeding the baby. If the body temperature does not exceed 38 degrees, breastfeeding It is not recommended to stop.
How to treat a sore chest?
There are known effective folk remedies for treating chest colds, one of which is the use of raw beets. To prepare the product you need one grated raw beet and one tablespoon of honey. An ointment is prepared and applied to the sore spot in the form of a compress. Application is best done in the bathroom, since beet juice is very fluid, as a result of which the compress has to be pressed with a towel on top of a plastic bag.
A cabbage compress is effective in treating chest colds; raw cabbage leaves should be applied to the chest area so that they cover the entire space from the armpit to the notch between the breasts. Cabbage leaves should be changed as the baby is fed.
