Lactostasis is the obstruction of the milk duct or the stagnation of milk in the breast in a woman during lactation. There is lactostasis due to too narrow mammary ducts (usually in primiparous women) or due to increased milk production and insufficient emptying of the breast, resulting in milk being clogged in the milk ducts, which causes pain in the chest, etc.
Symptoms of lactostasis
Usually, lactostasis is accompanied by pain in the area of the breast, and when you feel your fingers, it is easy to detect seals in some places of the breast. As a result of such blockages of the milk ducts, milk from the breast can go unevenly, and in due course can completely cease to stand out. Even with the decanting or emptying of the chest, which occluded, the pain can not stop. If the first signs of lactostasis are found, it is necessary to start its treatment immediately, because the launched lactostasis can develop into uninfected mastitis.
Causes of lactostasis
The causes of lactostasis can be very different, for example:
- refusal of the mother from breastfeeding;
- rare or irregular breastfeeding;
- incorrect attachment of the baby to the breast;
- accidental squashing of the breast during feeding;
- bruises or trauma to the chest;
- stress, increased stress or overwork;
- severe hypothermia.
Also the occurrence of lactostasis can be facilitated by sleeping on the stomach and wearing a too tight bra. With lactostasis, there may be fever and headaches, but these symptoms may not be, which makes this disease even more dangerous because of the difficulty of establishing the diagnosis on their own, especially to women who gave birth for the first time.
How to dissolve lactostasis on your own?
To begin with, you need to start regularly applying the baby to your chest, and preferably on demand, adding, if necessary, several strains per day, and you will soon feel a great deal of relief. But it should be remembered that if you express immediately after feeding - the inflow of milk will only increase. Pumping should be done instead of feeding, preferably with both hands (if there is no breast pump), and after applying a warm compress to the chest.
After the compress has cooled, it will need to be removed and slightly massaged in the chest, especially those areas where seals and blockages are found. Express the areas where milk congestion has occurred. After expressing it is necessary to put the baby to the breast, so that he sucked the rest of the milk. Immediately the pain can not go away, so the complex must be repeated and after a few days everything will pass.
Treatment of lactostasis
There are various ways to treat lactostasis, but everyone can choose how to treat lactostasis. In order to determine the choice and decide what to do with lactostasis, let's consider the possible ways.
- Folk remedies. For the treatment of lactostasis, folk remedies are often used, the most popular of which are cabbage and honey. To prepare the compress, you need to select a few cabbage leaves about the size of the chest, then they pierce the holes with a fork so that cabbage juice can be emitted, then the leaves are smeared with a small layer of honey and applied to the chest. You can remove the compress only when the sheets wither. It should be noted that this method is more effective in breastfeeding. To treat lactostasis, compresses on alcohol should not be used.
- Ultrasound. Treatment of lactostasis with ultrasound is quite effective, ultrasound quickly and painlessly breaks the lumps in the chest. However, it must be remembered that ultrasound treatment can affect the amount of milk, with frequent use of ultrasound, the inflow of milk can decrease. In the case of long-term treatment of lactostasis, you can try to replace ultrasound with magnetotherapy or electrophoresis.
- Massage. Massage with lactostasis must be done gently and gently, after warming up the chest with a compress or taking a warm shower. With light circular motions, treat all the chest compressions, then move to the movements from the periphery to the center of the nipple to develop all the ducts, including the narrow ones, in which the blockage occurs. Relax each portion of the chest with a helical stroking clockwise from the periphery to the center of the site. Between stroking, perform a light vibration with three
fingers for a few seconds, then continue stroking. At the end of the procedure, do a total stroking of the breast, and if necessary, go to the next breast. - Medications. Effective homeopathic remedies against lactostasis are ointment traumeel, arnica, lepidum. These tools are simple enough to use and very effective.
Remember that after lactostasis there is mastitis, a more complex disease of the milk duct, so do not neglect your health, because it can also affect your child's health.