Is it necessary to drain residual milk?

When hearing the term "excreting residual milk", many people react in disbelief. It's hard to believe that many people really believe it, right? But soon I realized something was wrong. It was clear that this had already become a market, and it was a very popular item in beauty salons, which showed that many people not only believed in it but were also willing to spend some money to do it. The so-called "draining residual milk" means draining the milk accumulated in the breast after weaning. The reason is: the undischarged milk is toxins, which will become moldy and turn into pus over time. If it is not discharged in time, the entire breast tissue will become diseased and even cause breast cancer. So, is it necessary to drain the residual milk? Actually see the detailed explanation.

If it is true as mentioned above, then in an era when there was no concept of "discharging residual milk", our ancestors were actually at a high risk of breast cancer. However, the fact is that the incidence of breast cancer in the past was much lower than it is today. Since ancient times, people have never done "excreting residual milk", nor has anyone heard of diseases caused by residual milk. Why is this term becoming widely known today when science and technology are in our era?

I was afraid that I really had breast cancer, that I would get breast disease because I didn’t “drain the remaining milk”, and that tragedy would happen to me. Beauty salons have taken advantage of everyone's mentality and easily tempted mothers who have no medical knowledge with a set of "sensational" and seemingly innocent words. In fact, a little research will reveal that this type of project is only available in some beauty salons, not in hospitals. The practice of "draining residual milk" has not yet been officially recognized, and there is no authoritative data to prove that it is scientific.

Why don't you need to drain residual milk?

After weaning, there is indeed residual milk in the breasts, because as long as you continue to breastfeed, milk will be produced continuously, and it is originally a part of our body. After weaning, some milk will still be stored in the mammary alveolar cells, and they will change with the decline of the glandular ducts. First, the water content gradually decreases, the proportion of protein and fat increases, and then as the concentrations of chlorine, sodium, etc. in breast milk continue to rise, the breast milk will gradually become thicker and even like whitening paste, which is all normal. Of course, only milky white, creamy white, and light yellow are normal. If it is red or other abnormal secretions, you must go to a professional breast doctor for examination.

Where does the milk go after weaning?

After weaning, the milk-secreting gland ducts will shrink and the alveolar cells will gradually shrink, just like the troops begin to withdraw after a battle. These cells related to milk secretion will begin to retreat to the front line, and the remaining milk will be dissolved and swallowed by tissue cells and then absorbed. As for when this milk can be completely absorbed, the individual differences are relatively large. The fastest is a few months, and the slowest is one or two years. During this period, there is no need to panic if a little thick milk overflows from time to time. As long as there is no obvious discomfort (swelling, heat, pain, etc.), no treatment is required. Some mothers squeeze out thick transparent liquid from their hands after a period of time after weaning, and they are at a loss and think they are abnormal, worrying that the accumulation of this liquid inside will cause disease. In fact, there is no need to worry, this is normal.