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Step 1
Notice if you have a temperature with flu like symptoms which could include sweating and chills, redness on the breast with possible swelling or hardening of the breast. During this time it is safe for your child to continue to breast feed or for you to pump but most likely very painful.
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Step 2
Go to the doctor, you may need an ultrasound of the breast to identify mass in breast. If they believe it's an abscess and not just mastitis they will put you on antibiotics and tell you to take hot showers and rub the area to help area. After one or two weeks if the mass is still there and has not decreased, but your symptoms have gone away they could surgically put in a drain called a penrose to get rid of the bacteria that is causing the infection. The penrose is a smooth sometimes flat tube that draws the fluid to the exterior. It can best be described like a finger of a latex glove. The hardness in the breast is due to tissue surrounding the infection to help from spreading.
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Step 3
During the surgery they cut your breast in the area of the abscess about 1 inch and put in a tube called a penrose. The tube size depends on how large the infection it could be as large as your width of your finger or small as the width of a pencil. They put in one stitch to hold it in place. After surgery you could use a feminine maxi pad in your bra to collect the draining fluid. During this time you can still pump or breast feed, the milk is still good because the milk ducts come from many areas of the breast not just infected area. Your child will not get sick because the reason the abscess starts is due to breast feeding and the child's mouth so they are not susceptible to getting sick.
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Step 4
The penrose (drain) will fall out on it's own in about two weeks but you might have to cut the one stich. The cut on your breast will continue to drain but will decrease as it heals from the inside out. If the flu like symptoms reappear or you have a temp go back to the doctor ASAP!!!!
Comments
slowwalker said
on 3/31/2009 Thanks so much for the very informative and helpful article!
Countrymom said
on 3/27/2009 Great article Cindy! 5*'s and a recommend!