Symptoms of mastitis suppuration, women must read

Suppurative mastitis is a common symptom of women during lactation. However, because many women are not very familiar with the symptoms of suppurative mastitis, it is sometimes inevitable to delay treatment. So what are the specific symptoms of suppurative mastitis?

Milk stasis period

This stage is the early stage of the disease. Systemic symptoms such as chills and fever begin to appear. The breast is swollen and painful, with an unclearly defined lump, accompanied by obvious tenderness, and the surface skin is slightly red or unchanged in color. Breast lumps are mainly caused by milk stasis and poor lymphatic and venous return. If treated actively, they can usually disappear.

Cellulitis stage

As the inflammation continues to develop, the symptoms become more severe, often with chills and high fever. Breast pain becomes more severe and often pulsating. The surface skin is red, swollen and hot, accompanied by venous dilation. Enlarged and tender lymph nodes can be felt in the armpits. The peripheral blood leukocyte count increased significantly. If it is a hemolytic streptococcal infection, the infiltration is more extensive. Severe infection can cause sepsis.

Abscess formation stage

The inflammation gradually becomes localized and forms an abscess. Abscesses can be unilocular or multiple, with fibrous septa separating the abscess cavities. Several abscesses may even form at different times, prolonging the course of the disease. The location of the abscess also varies in depth. Superficial abscesses are obviously fluctuating and can burst toward the body surface or rupture the milk ducts to discharge pus from the nipple.

Deep abscesses are less likely to show fluctuation in the early stages. If they are not incised and drained early, they will slowly burst toward the body surface, causing extensive tissue necrosis. They may also break through into the loose connective tissue space behind the breast, forming a retromammary abscess between the breast and the pectoral muscle. In a small number of patients with breast abscesses, after spontaneous rupture or incision and drainage, pus fistula or milk fistula may form, which may not heal for a long time.