Mastitis in lactating mothers usually occurs as a result of stagnation of milk in the mammary gland (lactostasis). In varying degrees, lactostasis can occur in almost all women during the first weeks after birth. The main task in this case - does not allow transition lactostasis mastitis.

How to start mastitis in nursing mothers

First, as a rule, it begins lactostasis. This happens most often when the wrong feeding baby Feeding your baby - optimal breastfeeding .

If you feed the baby "on demand", in most cases, such problems do not arise. For a child is feeding well as useful: it is always full and calm (the child calms down from the mother's breast).

Lactostasis manifests as a sharp pain and engorgement of the breast. This results in compression of the milk ducts, and nipple retraction, and the milk is produced in much smaller quantities. A child can not grasp the mouth inverted nipple, and if you still have seized, it will be a little milk. After feeding or pumping milk (for example, by hand or using a breast pump) being women has improved significantly.

If no action is taken, it can go into lactostasis mastitis. The immediate cause of mastitis is an infection (staphylococcus, streptococcus, E. coli), which can get into the breast through cracks and abrasions on her nipples. The first sign of mastitis is a sharp rise in temperature. Express milk gets hurt and then pumping it becomes easier not. At this stage of the disease to breastfeed is still possible.

Acute suppurative mastitis

If at the initial stage of the disease do not take urgent measures, the inflammatory process will become purulent. Thus the site of inflammation (inflammatory infiltrate) begins to melt and tissue necrosis with pus formation. Gradually formed or cavity filled with pus and demarcated from healthy tissue capsule (abscess formation), and the process is not distinguished from the surrounding tissue and pus impregnates them. Starting phase of abscess formation observed temperature rise. On the surface of breast cancer can be detected over the ulcer symptom fluctuations: at the surface of the breast shaking fingers of one hand with the other hand you can feel the shake of the liquid inside the abscess.

Acute suppurative mastitis can occur very hard, with high fever, intoxication (headache, malaise, weakness). But in some cases (especially when lowered immunity), the disease can hardly occur, and an abscess is formed at a normal temperature. A woman with this feeling just general weakness and malaise.

It should be very careful to wash their hands and treating breast before feeding the baby to prevent pathogenic microorganisms from entering the body of the child.

How to detect the presence of mastitis in nursing mothers

Of course, you need to see a doctor. Treatment of mastitis has been a surgeon, he will be able to distinguish the signs from the signs of mastitis lactostasis appoint conservative treatment or the right to do the surgery. But before that, he is sure to take on the analysis of (inoculation of culture media to identify the causative agent and its sensitivity to antibiotics) milk, as well as appoint a common blood test. When lactostasis changes in the general analysis of blood will not, and at a mastitis Mastitis - what to do with the inflammation of the breast?   there will be visible signs of inflammation batt: ESR acceleration and increase in the number of white blood cells, particularly grainy.

Treatment of mastitis in nursing mothers

When lactostasis surgeon will appoint a permanent pumping milk. To facilitate this process, prescribe physiotherapy and antispasmodic drugs (papaverine, no-silos) - this contributes to the expansion of the ducts of the breast and a better discharge of milk.

In the initial stage of acute mastitis, when the not yet formed an abscess, appoint an active conservative treatment: antibiotics (better if they immediately appoint, taking into account the sensitivity of the causative agent of the disease to them), physiotherapy (different procedures contribute to warming the resorption of infiltration and reduce lactostasis). In some cases, in severe mastitis prescribe drugs that suppress the secretion of pituitary hormone prolactin, which stimulates the production of milk.

If there are signs of purulent process, all the physiotherapy immediately cancel and assign the operation. During the operation, the abscess is opened by means of a broad and deep cut wound thoroughly cleaned of pus and necrotic masses, washed with antiseptic solution and then treated as a normal open purulent wound.

Galina Romanenko

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