The trouble with many breast-feeding mothers is mastitis. The causes of this disease are streptococci, staphylococci and other pathogens that cause inflammatory processes. An acute disease of mastitis can occur when these pathogens penetrate the breast through the milk ducts or cracks in the nipples during lactation. By the way, this ailment can develop not only in nursing mothers. In medicine, there are cases when this ailment affected women during pregnancy.
The process of mastitis
When pathogens penetrate through the wound surface of the cracks into the lymphatic vessels located in the thickness of the nipple tissue, they spread further throughout the mammary gland. It should be noted that infection can enter the chest not only this way. Chronic infectious pathologies existing in the body of a young mother can also cause the development of mastitis. These include inflammation of the tonsils (tonsillitis), soft tissues of the tooth (pulpitis), paranasal sinuses (sinusitis).
Mastitis or lactostasis?
You can never exclude the possibility that mastitis will appear in a nursing mother. Treating him can be quite difficult. But numerous alternative methods of treatment, based on many years of experience in use, contribute to the speedy relief of patients.
Mastitis is often confused with a disease similar in symptoms, such as lactostasis. These are two different diseases. Lactostasis is observed in the form of a blockage of the milk ducts, which is preceded by an incorrect or insufficient process of emptying the breast. Moreover, in the event of a similar situation, mastitis of a non-infectious nature may develop. In this case, the general well-being of a woman instantly worsens to such a state that emergency medical attention may be required.
How to treat mastitis with folk remedies: warnings
Today, traditional medicine is quite popular. In many cases, funds prepared at home give a positive result in the fight against many ailments.
But often there is a risk of a worsening of the patient's condition with the rash application of dubious recipes. For this reason, prior to initiating self-medication, a preliminary consultation of the doctor is required in order to avoid unforeseen negative consequences. It may turn out that only official medicine is needed.
As for the disease itself, such as mastitis, treatment with folk remedies in some cases really speeds up the healing process. Also, with the help of them you can prevent the ailment. However, it should be remembered that it is also not worthwhile to exclude the possibility of harm, using this method of treating mastitis.
Prohibited mastitis therapy
Under no circumstances should breast warming be used in this disease. So you can only aggravate mastitis. Treatment with folk remedies in the form of compresses or lotions of hot temperature will create favorable conditions for the accelerated reproduction of pathogenic bacteria. This will cause the disease to progress. The method of warming is sometimes advised by experienced mothers and grandmothers, not realizing that he can improve the condition only with lactostasis. Applying hot herbal decoctions and other mixtures will help relieve the symptoms of mastitis outside the chest. This can be taken as a positive effect of treatment, but the procedure will affect the focus of infection in the manner described above.
At the slightest suspicion of mastitis, warming up of the mammary glands should be categorically refused.
Effective folk remedies for mastitis
The following folk remedies for mastitis are used to improve the condition of a patient who is breast-feeding a woman’s milk.
Rice lotions
To significantly alleviate the condition of the patient, rice starch should be applied to the chest diluted with water (until the consistency of thick sour cream) . The improvement becomes clearly noticeable a couple of hours after the procedure.
Fresh vegetables
In order to reduce compaction in the chest with mastitis, it is recommended to apply leaves of fresh coltsfoot or cabbage to it. You can also use grated carrots. You can fix the funds with a bandage or a bra (if at the same time there is no discomfort and pain). These products are able to stop inflammatory processes.
Healing mixtures
How else can you get rid of such an ailment as mastitis? Treatment with folk remedies involves the use of a variety of mixtures prepared from herbs, oils and other products. Here are the recipes for the most popular ones:
- It is necessary to carefully mix one onion of daffodil in crushed form with rice porridge cooked in water or rye flour. The tool is required to spread on the surface of the mastitis-affected breast.
- To alleviate the general condition of a nursing mother with mastitis and stop the inflammatory process, it is recommended to apply a cake made from rye flour, fresh milk and butter to the sore breast. It is necessary to apply the product at night. To achieve the desired result, repeat the procedure several times.
- You should combine raw beets, crushed with a fine grater or blender, with honey in a ratio of 3: 1. Apply the resulting product to the mastitis-affected breast. To completely get rid of the disease requires at least 20 such procedures.
Herbal infusions and decoctions
What other ways can you treat mastitis in a nursing mother? Treatment is also recommended with the help of preparations made from herbs. Some of the recipes are listed below.
- You need to grind 10 g of licorice root and 50 g of mandarin peels with a blender or meat grinder and mix. Then they need to be combined with boiling water in an amount of 400 ml (about 2 cups) and left to infuse until cool. It is recommended to use strained infusion twice a day, 200 ml each. Thus, it is possible to prevent the propagation of staphylococci from the inside.
- You should combine Japanese sophora, medicinal sweet clover and eucalyptus (in the same amount). The resulting collection (3 tablespoons) should be poured with boiling water (approximately 200 ml) and cook for 5 minutes. It is necessary to strain the resulting broth and add to it butter in an amount of 100 grams. The prepared ointment is recommended to be applied to a sore chest.
Vodka
To prevent the occurrence of a purulent inflammatory process in the tissues of the mammary glands, traditional medicine recommends first of all wiping the chest with vodka (can be replaced with medical alcohol). Then you need to decant all the milk. After that, a vodka compress is required on the entire surface of the chest .
Other folk remedies
In addition to the methods described above, there are other alternative methods of treating mastitis. Pieces of Kombucha can be applied to the sore spots of the chest and, having fixed them with a bandage, can be kept in this condition for several hours. It is also recommended to use a mixture of Japanese sophora and vodka. These components should be combined in a ratio of 1: 2 and insisted for three days. It is necessary to strain the resulting product, and then wipe the mastitis-affected breast several times a day.
When using all popular methods, it is especially useful to use a complex of vitamins to get a greater effect. A substitute for it may be tea made from sage, mint, rose hips or viburnum. All components must be combined in equal proportions, pour boiling water (200 ml of water on a collection spoon) and insist for two hours. Strained infusion is recommended to be taken orally with lemon juice twice every day.
Compresses for mastitis: rules for use
Compresses are the main way of traditional medicine to get rid of this ailment. They are able to rid a woman of pulling pain and a feeling of "bursting" of the chest. The main principle of the use of compresses in this case is the exclusion from the list of used components of hazardous substances that can be used both unknowingly and consciously.
As mentioned above, it is strictly forbidden to warm the chest with mastitis. That is, compresses for mastitis should be applied warm or cool, but not hot. You should be aware that in the mammary glands there is an inflammatory process, and warming will only aggravate the situation.
Compress made from starch and oil
It is necessary to combine potato starch with vegetable oil (sunflower oil) and mix thoroughly until a mass of homogeneous consistency resembling thick sour cream is obtained. Apply the resulting product in the form of a compress should be slightly warmed up on hardened areas of the chest.
Compress of honey and cottage cheese
What other foods can stop mastitis? Treatment with folk remedies can be carried out with the help of cottage cheese and honey. Compress with these components should be applied to the chest all night. It is required to apply a layer of honey on a gauze or sterile tissue napkin, followed by cottage cheese. To prevent leakage of the product, a piece of waxed or compressed paper can be placed under the material . The compress should be applied to the sore chest (with a layer of cottage cheese to the skin). For reliability, it should be fixed with a bandage. After removing the compress, rinse the breast with water at room temperature.
Onion compress
This compress is recommended for use in the daytime. First you need to bake onions. It is recommended to do this with an oven and a dry clean frying pan with a lid. Onions do not need to be peeled before baking. Then it is required to cut the head across and, having cooled, apply the inside to the areas of the breast affected by mastitis. For some time it is necessary to fix the compress with a bandage.
Compress made from plantain seeds
To prepare a medicinal product, it is necessary to carefully crush the seeds of plantain and combine them with water at room temperature. The resulting gruel is recommended to be applied to a sore breast with mastitis. It’s much more effective if it is prepared on the basis of potato or rice starch, which must first be diluted with water until a thick sour cream is obtained.
Herbal ointment for the treatment of mastitis
To prepare the ointment, it is necessary to combine Japanese sophora, spherical eucalyptus, medicinal sweet clover (in equal shares). The resulting collection in the amount of three tablespoons (tablespoons) should be mixed with boiling water (200 ml is enough) and cook for 5 minutes. Then the product needs to be cooled and filtered. To the resulting broth, add butter in an amount of 100 grams. The prepared ointment for mastitis is applied with tissue napkins to the chest (both on affected areas and on healthy ones).
Breast massage to get rid of seals
Using a special massage for mastitis, you can soften already formed nodes in the chest. Also, these actions will contribute to the evacuation of milk from clogged glands. Massage with mastitis is necessary, making movements in the direction from the peripheral zone to the nipple.
Before starting the massage, it is recommended to relax the formed nodes a little. They need to be smoothed out with spiral movements made clockwise. This preliminary effect on the stagnation areas in the breast tissue is required to be carried out for 40 seconds.
Then follows the main massage. If during its implementation the pain intensifies and becomes unbearable, then the procedure is recommended to be carried out in medium temperature water, under a shower.
Prevention of mastitis
Such an unpleasant ailment as mastitis of the mammary gland can be completely avoided if you follow some simple rules, namely:
- After feeding the baby, milk must be carefully expressed.
- Before giving the baby the second breast, you need to completely empty the first. This is a prerequisite to prevent the development of mastitis.
- If the baby has enough milk from one breast, the next feeding should be carried out by another.
- The process should be monitored. The baby should not just suckle the breast, but receive milk from it.