Lactostasis is a condition characterized by stagnation of milk in any part of the mammary gland, or rather, in its ducts. This article will tell about how the cabbage leaf can help in this state and how to apply it correctly.
Causes of Lactostasis
Stagnation of milk is very common in women who became mothers for the first time and still do not know exactly how to properly feed their baby. In some cases, a woman can apply a baby to only one breast several times in a row. This is wrong, since such feeding in most cases leads to stagnation of milk. Therefore, doctors recommend alternating the application of the baby to the chest every time to avoid this situation.
The state of lactostasis is a kind of boundary between the norm and pathology, since if you fail to cope with it in time, it can lead to mastitis. But if you start a fight with him in a timely manner, then it will turn out to be nothing more than an unpleasant memory among the many happy moments of motherhood.
Alternative methods of treating lactostasis
But how can lactostasis be defeated in a shorter time, because when breastfeeding, taking many medicines is not only not recommended, but even contraindicated? The solution can only be in the search for other, perhaps, folk remedies.
There are a great many such methods that, according to users, are sure to be beneficial. But is it worth believing to everyone and everyone, after all, trying all the recipes is simply impossible, and in the meantime, lactostasis will smoothly flow into mastitis, and well, if not purulent?
Cabbage leaf - a way out of this situation?
Now on the Internet you can find a lot of information about the benefits of cabbage leaf with lactostasis. But is it? Recently, many experts agree that cabbage leaf with lactostasis can be useful. But only if you follow all the recommendations for its use. You need to know how to properly apply cabbage leaf with lactostasis.
People have an opinion about the effect of this vegetable from the cruciferous family on lactation. Someone believes that cabbage increases the production of breast milk, but there is an opinion that reduces it. Of course, both of these opinions are erroneous. When applied locally, cabbage leaf has no effect on milk production in a nursing mother. But how then does it affect the situation with lactostasis?
Cabbage has a good decongestant effect. In addition, it was proved that it has analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects. The sheets of this vegetable contain a large number of different vitamins and minerals. Therefore, when applying a cabbage leaf, these substances begin to penetrate into the breast tissue, accelerating the regeneration processes in it, and its bactericidal effect will prevent harmful bacteria from penetrating into the diseased breast. It will help relieve redness and cope with the feeling of heat that most women with lactostasis experience. If they started to use it immediately, as the first signs of milk stagnation appeared, then it would prevent the development of mastitis.
How to apply cabbage leaf with lactostasis?
Some women who tried to solve their problem with the help of a cabbage leaf claimed that it did not bring them almost any benefit. But maybe the whole thing was only that they misused it. But how to apply a cabbage leaf with lactostasis so that it is useful? It is believed that to enhance the effect of this vegetable, it is necessary not only to apply it to a sore chest, but to create a small compress. Compress from cabbage leaf with lactostasis should be made in such a way that it possesses not only a warming, but also a slight cooling effect. To enhance the effect, you can lubricate that part of the sheet that will be applied directly to the body, honey, butter and salt.
Of course, there must be one additional component. If the woman’s condition is accompanied by severe pain, then the compress can not be made from a whole cabbage leaf. To do this, the sheet (one or more, it depends on the prevalence of lactostasis) needs to be finely chopped or ground through a meat grinder.
There, you will need to add two dessert spoons of yogurt. The resulting mass should be applied to the affected area as a compress and insulated. This can be done with a piece of cotton and ordinary cellophane film. A gauze bandage is also used for this purpose, which will fix the compress itself. To do this, it should be wrapped around the chest. After the compress has been applied, it is necessary to put on loose linen, since if it begins to tighten the chest, then lactostasis will be somewhat more difficult to cure.
No cabbage leaf with milk stagnation
Compress can also be made from one sheet without additional products, if, for example, an allergic reaction previously occurred to any components. But before applying cabbage leaf with lactostasis to the affected area, it must be doused with boiling water. This must be done so that the sheet itself is warm. Cold when applied at the initial stage can lead to narrowing of blood vessels and ducts and aggravate the situation.
How much to keep cabbage leaf with lactostasis?
If you apply one cabbage leaf to your chest, and not a compress, then there is no exact time here. Some experts say that you can hold it until it withers. Then it can be exchanged for another. Therefore, the sheets themselves are best applied during the day.
The time during which you need to hold the compress is somewhat different. It can be applied at night. Honey will not only enhance the absorbable effect of cabbage, but will also prevent the leaf from wilting almost until morning. If honey cannot be used for some reason, then you can simply attach not one, but several sheets.
Efficiency
Does cabbage leaf help with lactostasis? This question is one of the most frequently asked questions among young mothers. Of course, in a couple of hours, as many women believe, with the help of an ordinary cabbage leaf, lactostasis can not be overcome. Of course, if the compress is applied correctly, and the cabbage leaf changes not once a day, but as necessary, then a woman will be able to notice some improvement in the condition the very next day. There is a decrease in edema and redness, a decrease in pain.
The main thing when using cabbage leaf is not to confuse lactostasis with beginning mastitis, in which, unfortunately, the aforementioned remedy will not help, but will only aggravate the situation. Therefore, before doing self-medication, it is better to visit a doctor.