3 wks post original plugged duct, still a lump

[amystarr]

Hi! I also posted this in the general forum and on kellymom but have gotten no replies so I'm trying here!

I had a really bad plugged duct 3 wks ago that caused my breast to get big and hard, red and swollen (not sure if it was mastitis but I never got a fever with it, and it went down in a few days). Then about a week ago I got plugged up in the same spot, and now there is still a lump there I'm worried about.

Now, I don't know if the lump went down between the original bout and the second bout. I think it did, but I'm not sure because I wasn't checking.

My son is almost 7 months old. I went through plugged ducts/mastitis with my 7-year-old when I breastfed him, but it's been too long for me to remember ... I always had so many problems with the right breast getting plugged up, and now it's the same story again.

So, how long is it normal to have a lump there? (We're talking a small lump that feels like a little wad of gum.) Is it a plugged duct that will go away on its own? Should I go to the doc for antibiotics? Should I worry about an abscess? I kind of don't think it could be breast cancer because I had the same problem with that breast 7 years ago and nothing developed from it ... ?

Any advice is appreciated!

[Nurseliz]

I am not the lactation consultant scheduled but I will answer anyway.

Is the area hot to the touch, red or does it have red streaks. Are you running a body fever now? Is the baby able to nurse from that side?
Answer these ???and we'll go from there.

Liz Pevytoe, RN, IBCLC
www.askthelactationconsultant.com

[amystarr]

Thanks for replying! Actually, since I posted this last night it has plugged up again and become hard and painful and where I have to keep massaging it constantly to keep the flow going. So, it seems to have become acute again. (I exercised yesterday, and he also slept a 5 hour stretch without eating so either of these may have triggered it?)

It has not been red for the last week but now has a few small red spots right over the plugged part. That might be due to my squeezing, I don't know. No fever, and yes, he nurses on that side. I hate my right breast! This has never happened on the left side.