What to do if breast suppuration

Women's breasts are particularly sensitive and delicate. Therefore, women should take timely and effective care of their breasts in life. Taking good care of the breasts is also responsible for their own health. After a woman gives birth to a baby, during the process of breastfeeding, due to lack of timely breast care, some breast problems may occur. Breast suppuration is one of the more common symptoms.

What is breast suppuration?

1. Acute simple mastitis.

In the early stage, the main symptoms are breast pain, local high skin temperature, tenderness, and the appearance of hard nodules with unclear boundaries and tenderness. This simple mastitis can be treated by a few massages to avoid the pain of intravenous injections.

2. Acute suppurative mastitis.

The local skin becomes red, swollen, hot and painful, with obvious nodules and more tenderness. At the same time, the patient may experience chills, high fever, headache, weakness, rapid pulse and other general weakness. At this time, swollen lymph nodes may appear in the armpits, which are tender and the white blood cell count in blood tests may be elevated. In severe cases, sepsis may occur. In this case, you must go to the hospital for an anti-inflammatory injection and wait until the inflammation subsides before clearing the mammary glands. This is because intravenous infusion can only reduce inflammation and cannot clear the mammary glands. In order to avoid the recurrence of mastitis, it is recommended that mothers clear the mammary glands first.

What to do if breast suppuration

1. Acute mastitis is an acute suppurative disease of the breast, generally caused by Staphylococcus aureus infection. It is more common in primiparas during the lactation period. Bacteria can invade through damaged or cracked nipples, or directly invade the milk ducts and then spread to the breast parenchyma. Generally speaking, acute mastitis has a short course and a good prognosis, but if not treated properly, the course of the disease may be prolonged and may even be complicated by systemic suppurative infection. Acute mastitis is called "mastitis" in traditional Chinese medicine.

2. At the beginning of acute mastitis, the affected breast will feel fullness and pain, especially during breastfeeding. Milk secretion is not smooth, and there may or may not be breast lumps. The systemic symptoms may not be obvious, or there may be general discomfort, poor appetite, chest tightness and irritability. Then, the local breast becomes hard and the lump gradually increases in size, which may be accompanied by obvious systemic symptoms such as high fever, chills, general weakness, dry stool, etc. Abscesses can often form within 4 to 5 days, and throbbing pain in the breast may occur, with local redness, swelling, and translucency of the skin. When pus forms, the center of the lump becomes soft and feels fluctuating when pressed.

3. If it is a deep breast abscess, the entire breast may become swollen, painful, and have a high fever, but the local skin redness, swelling, and fluctuation are not obvious, and a puncture is required for a definitive diagnosis. Sometimes there may be several abscesses, or they may form at different times. They may penetrate the skin or enter the milk duct, causing pus to overflow from the nipple. After the ulcer breaks and pus flows out, the pus will drain smoothly, the swelling and pain will be reduced, and the disease will heal. If the treatment is not good or is not timely, the abscess may break through the loose connective tissue in front of the pectoralis major fascia, forming a retromammary abscess; or milk may overflow from the wound and form milk leakage; in severe cases, sepsis may occur. Acute mastitis is often accompanied by enlarged and tender axillary lymph nodes on the affected side; the total white blood cell count and neutrophil count increase.