Mastitis (a disease also called "breast") most often develops in women during the lactation period. However, it happens that nulliparous women suffer from mastitis, and in rare cases even men. This disease is characterized by an inflammatory process in the mammary gland. If you do not immediately take measures for treatment, you can reach the surgical intervention.
In 90% of cases, mastitis is diagnosed in nursing mothers. Statistics indicate that the disease occurs in 16% of young mothers and in 74% of first-borns. In order not to fall into this number, you need to know about the methods of preventing mastitis. Let's take a closer look at what this disease is and what needs to be done to avoid it.
Causes of mastitis
Lactational mastitis is more common. Every woman should know about the etiology, treatment, prevention of this disease. The most common cause of inflammation of the breast is an infection. In 90% of cases, the causative agent is Staphylococcus aureus, alsocause mastitis streptococcus, Escherichia coli. The causative agent easily penetrates into the mammary gland through cracks in the nipples, as well as through the foci that are present in chronic tonsillitis or pyelonephritis. With a he althy immune system, the body can easily deal with minor infections. However, with a decrease in immunity, there are no forces to fight pathogens. Childbirth for the body is a strong stress, all forces are aimed at recovery. It is no wonder that very often after childbirth women develop mastitis, when even the slightest penetration of the pathogen causes inflammation. Prevention and treatment of mastitis is very important to carry out in a timely manner so that there are no complications.
Infection that has penetrated from the outside spreads through the mammary gland, through the lymphatic ducts. There is a possibility of pathogens with lymph and blood coming from distant infectious foci, for example, those that are localized in the organs of the genitourinary system.
Favorable conditions are very often created for the development of a disease in the mammary gland, in particular, this happens when milk stagnation occurs - lactostasis. Stagnant milk in the breast ducts is a great breeding ground for bacteria because it contains so many nutrients.
When does lactostasis occur? If the child does not suck out all the milk from the breast, and the mother does not express it, it stagnates, as a result, a favorable environment for the development of pathogenic microflora ripens for 3-4 days, and mastitis begins. There is a high probability of disease in women with irregularly shaped nipples, as well as in those who do not observe hygiene andignores mastitis prevention.
The ailment we are considering is often accompanied by obesity, diabetes, infectious diseases, and a difficult recovery period after childbirth.
Lactational mastitis
Lactational mastitis, which occurs in nursing mothers, has several stages, and one can pass into another. To avoid this, it is necessary to carry out the prevention and treatment of mastitis in time.
The first stage is serous. The woman's body temperature rises sharply, the breasts increase significantly and swell. When touched, pain occurs. If you do not start timely treatment, the disease will turn into an acute form. Then the temperature reaches 39 degrees, there is a strong chill, there are signs of intoxication (headache, malaise). The chest is heavy, the color of the integument becomes red, the woman is tormented by constant pain. Expressing milk causes severe discomfort, while the procedure does not bring relief.
If you do not stop the development of the disease, serous mastitis develops into infiltrative. At this stage, the patient is feverish, the chest swells even more, the pain does not stop, even if you do not touch the chest. The condition of the body is very difficult. The woman suffers from insomnia, lack of appetite, headaches intensify, general weakness is even more pronounced. A blood test reveals an elevated white blood cell count. Pain in the armpits (in the lymph nodes) also joins. This is what awaits those who are not serious about the prevention of lactational mastitis. With infiltrativestage, it is necessary to stop feeding the baby, as pus can accumulate in the milk.
The third stage of mastitis is purulent. The temperature can reach 40-41 degrees. Sweating appears, appetite is completely absent. The chest swells even more and hurts. Pumping becomes very painful, while milk comes out in minimal portions with an admixture of pus.
Worse than this condition can only be abscessed mastitis. Aureole abscess and furunculosis begin, purulent cavities form on the chest.
Also, mastitis can develop into a phlegmonous stage, when breast tissues literally melt, neighboring tissues are affected. Septic shock often occurs at this stage.
To avoid such manifestations, it is necessary to take the necessary measures in time. Diagnosis and prevention of mastitis play an important role in maintaining women's he alth.
Non-lactational mastitis
This type of disease is quite rare - only in 5% of cases. The cause of non-lactational mastitis can be trauma, compression of the mammary glands, any hormonal disruptions that have occurred in the body. The disease, in turn, is divided into fibrocystic, plasma cell, acute non-lactation. Prevention of mastitis in these cases will differ from the measures taken during lactation.
Plasma cell mastitis is rarely diagnosed. More often it can be observed in women who have given birth a lot. The symptoms are similar to breast cancer, but there is no suppuration.
Fibrocellular mastitis occurs in women from 30 to60 years. The main cause of the disease is a malfunction of the endocrine system. Pain is felt in both breasts, and inflammation is rare.
Acute non-lactating mastitis can be caused by damage to the fatty tissue of the breast. Sometimes the disease develops in women who have dramatically changed climatic conditions.
Urgent measures for detecting mastitis
Often inflammatory processes in the breast occur due to milk stagnation, so the first step in the prevention and treatment of mastitis is to pump to the last drop. With lactostasis, breastfeeding should not be stopped, it helps the outflow from the mammary glands, and also reduces the amount of stagnation. If there is no infection, after pumping, the stagnation resolves. The woman feels relief, the initial symptoms of mastitis disappear.
If an infection occurs, the disease should be treated only under the supervision of a doctor, the usual prevention of mastitis will not be enough. Only a surgeon is able to distinguish mastitis from lactostasis and determine the purulent form. Most often, a woman is prescribed antibiotics, a course of physiotherapy, while breastfeeding has to be interrupted. If a purulent form of mastitis is detected, physiotherapeutic procedures should be canceled. Surgery is urgently required. The abscess is opened, cleaned and washed. In the future, it is treated as an open purulent wound. To prevent such troubles, it is much easier to find out what mastitis prevention measures exist and follow all the recommendations.
Medicated treatment
Mastitis is a rather serious disease, but despite this, with timely intervention, treatment is very successful and fast. Prevention of mastitis will help to avoid the disease, but if you still notice the first signs of the disease, contact your doctor immediately - he will decide on the methods of treatment.
Diagnosis includes sowing milk for sterility testing and complete blood count. Treatment begins without waiting for the results of the tests (they will help in further activities). Until complete recovery, it is better to refuse breastfeeding for a while, because pathogens of infection, as well as components of a therapeutic drug, can enter the child's body with milk.
The basis in the treatment of any mastitis is antibiotic therapy. The doctor must choose exactly the drug that has the most negative effect on the pathogen. The concentration of the active substance in the tissues should be high, then the treatment will be most effective. The drugs can be administered intravenously, intramuscularly, the use of tablets is acceptable. Depending on the stage and form of the disease, the course of treatment can last from 5 to 14 days. All this time, milk must be expressed every three hours. Drugs that reduce lactation will help. Treatment of mastitis and prevention of the disease bring positive results very quickly. If symptoms disappear before completing the full course, do not stop taking the medicine, otherwise a relapse is possible. When therapy is notbrought relief, and mastitis is moving into a more complex stage, surgery may be required.
Prevention of postpartum mastitis
Avoiding the insidious mastitis is not such a difficult task. First of all, every woman during pregnancy and breastfeeding should follow the basic rules of hygiene. Also preventive measures include:
- regular pumping during lactation (it is important not to let milk stagnate in the ducts);
- immediate treatment of any lesions that appear on the chest, with special attention to the nipples;
- urgent referral to a doctor for any suspicion of mastitis;
- he althy sleep and a balanced diet;
- avoidance of stressful situations, unrest, which negatively affect the body's defense reactions, immunity.
Prevention of mastitis in the postpartum period is the basis of the he alth of a nursing mother.
At the first symptoms, traditional medicine will help to alleviate the condition, but do not delay going to the doctor. Depending on the stage of the disease, the fight against mastitis will take no more than 1-2 weeks.
Hygiene
The main measures for the prevention of postpartum lactational mastitis are mainly reduced to the prevention of the formation of various cracks in the nipples, the timely treatment of microtraumas. It is very important to express milk to the end in time and follow the rules of personal hygiene. Daily essentialwash your chest properly, for this you need to use warm water with soap. It is recommended to wipe the areola and nipples with a solution of soda (1 teaspoon per glass of boiled water).
To prevent microorganisms from entering the baby's body, the first drops of milk must be expressed.
Also, the prevention of postpartum mastitis involves the use of various protective agents. Be sure to lubricate the nipples with them after each feeding - this will help prevent the development of wounds and cracks. Before feeding with baby soap and water, the protective agent must be carefully removed. You can use folk remedies that help to quickly heal cracked nipples.
Proper feeding and pumping
In the prevention of mastitis, great emphasis is placed on the correct process of breastfeeding. In order for the feeding process to continue for as long as the child needs, while not causing discomfort, change the position of the crumbs. At the same time, it is necessary to ensure that the pressure on the areola and nipple is distributed evenly, all areas are involved. Attach the baby correctly to the chest. In the event that after feeding the baby does not release the breast, presses, you can slightly pinch his nose - he will push out the nipple.
Then, following the requirements for the prevention of mastitis after childbirth, be sure to express the remaining milk to the last drop. If the glands are hardened, it is recommended to use a breast pump.
How to express milk by hand
Hands must be washed with baby soap. On top of the areola, place a largefinger, from below - ring and index, retreating about 3 cm from the nipple. With confident but gentle movements, you need to squeeze the chest with your fingers, pressing it inward a little, then point your fingers forward to the nipple. At this point, milk should appear. Repeat these movements until complete relief in the mammary gland. No need to feel sorry for yourself, confidently press on your chest. For the first time, pain is possible. If the process is done correctly, the milk squirts out in streams rather than droplets. Follow the technique of movements, fingers should not pinch the nipple - this will injure him. If the skin is very moist, wipe it with a dry diaper or napkin. Even in the maternity hospital, the doctor should tell every young mother about the pumping technique. If you still have any questions, feel free to ask your gynecologist.
Pumping with a breast pump
Modern breast pumps are great helpers for young mothers. With their help, you can easily and simply express excess milk from the breast. There are many models on the market, choosing the right one for you will not be difficult. Preparation for the procedure will be the same as for manual pumping. The device must be sterile. Instructions for use are always included with each breast pump.
What will be the basic rules for pumping technique? The funnel of the device must always be positioned so that the nipple is in the middle. The skin must be dry to ensure that a vacuum is created with a snug fit. Further actions depend on the model of the device: you need to press the piston handle, squeeze the pear or pump (inmanual breast pumps) or turn on the button (in the appliance). When operating manual models, constant mechanical work is required - rhythmic pressing of a pump, pen or pear. Electrical appliances pump out milk themselves, but here it is necessary to control the process and adjust the device for yourself. The flow of milk should be active, uniform.
At the end of pumping, the trickle gradually turns into droplets. The chest should become light and empty. The pumping process itself should not cause discomfort. This is possible only in the first minutes when using a mechanical pear, pump. After the pumping procedure, be sure to immediately sterilize the breast pump.
Leave the breasts open for a while, let the rest of the milk air dry. Change underwear daily, use hygienic nursing pads that are inserted into the bra. If a tightness is felt in the chest, gently massage the chest, “disperse” it.
Take care of your chest
In order not to become a victim of postpartum mastitis, prevention must be carried out, and all rules must be strictly observed. Be sure to keep your chest warm. With mastitis and lactostasis, even a slight hypothermia contributes to the development of various complications. It is not recommended to pull or bandage the chest. With obstructed blood circulation, stagnation only increases. Modern doctors say that it is not necessary to feed a child by the hour, it is better to do it on demand. So the risks of lactostasis and mastitisare significantly reduced. When feeding by the hour, milk stagnates in the ducts. Free feeding improves the quality of life for both mother and child. Mom is he althy, and the baby is always calm and full. By adhering to the recommendations for the prevention of mastitis in women, you can avoid an insidious disease and enjoy motherhood and the opportunity to feed a he althy baby.
Folk recipes for the treatment of mastitis
If, nevertheless, mastitis or lactostasis began to manifest itself, folk remedies will help alleviate the symptoms of the disease. However, this does not exempt you from going to the doctor, grandmother's remedies alone are not enough here, it is necessary to destroy the pathogen.
What remedies and folk recipes did our ancestors use for these pathologies: We list the most popular methods:
- Relieve the condition of the patient with lactostasis and mastite honey cakes. They are prepared from equal proportions of honey and flour. They help dissolve lumps.
- Reduce fever, relieve fresh cabbage leaf, burdock or coltsfoot. The leaves must first be doused with boiling water. You can apply honey or sour cream. After that, fix the compress on the chest with a tight bandage; it is not recommended to use a film. The inflamed area must breathe.
- It is recommended to apply kombucha to the sore spot, and cover with paper on top. The compress should be done at bedtime for a week.
- Helps with mastitis baked onion with honey, it is also applied as a compress. Canuse figs: before use, they are steamed in milk.
- For rubbing the chest, prepare a tincture of Japanese sophora: in a ratio of ½, pour the beans of the plant with vodka. You need to insist three days in a dark place. Strain the tincture, it is ready for use.
- Rice starch gruel will ease the condition. Stirring vigorously, dilute the starch in water to the consistency of sour cream. The agent is applied to gauze and applied to the affected area for three hours. You can also use a slurry made from potato starch and vegetable oil.
- Grate an apple, add soft butter. Apply the mixture on the chest, cover with gauze.
- An ordinary gauze napkin, folded in several layers, soak with Kalanchoe juice and apply to the affected area.
- An ointment made from dry celandine and melted butter helps. Mix a teaspoon of chopped herb with two tablespoons of oil.
- For a compress, you can use the pulp of a pumpkin. It boils in milk. When the mixture thickens, make a compress out of it, sprinkle sugar on top and cover with a napkin.
"Grandma's recipes" will only help alleviate the condition, but will not solve the problems, you need to remember this. At the slightest suspicion of mastitis, you should consult a doctor and start medication!
