What are the symptoms of mastitis during the confinement period?

After experiencing a life-and-death struggle, new mothers are still relatively weak after giving birth. Coupled with milk accumulation, lack of maintenance, blocked milk ducts and other reasons, the chance of suffering from mastitis during the confinement period is very high. In the early stages, there are symptoms such as breast fullness, pain, and lumps. In addition, there are also symptoms such as decreased appetite and general discomfort. If the condition progresses, there may be symptoms such as ulceration, pus discharge, and high fever.

1. Causes of postpartum mastitis

1. Milk stasis

If the milk is not emptied on time, it can easily cause milk congestion. If the child's sucking posture is incorrect, the milk naturally cannot be completely sucked out. If the baby cannot get milk, he will suck harder and harder, which may break the new mother's nipple, causing infection and allowing bacteria to invade the breast tissue. In addition, when breastfeeding, do not press the breasts with your fingers, as this will block the flow of milk.

2. Lack of maintenance

If women do not pay enough attention to the care of the skin on their nipples, the delicate and thin nipple skin can easily be broken by the baby's sucking, and bacteria can invade the body through the cracks in the nipples.

3. Congenital causes

This disease may also occur due to certain congenital reasons, such as inverted nipples, which may hinder breastfeeding.

4. Blocked milk ducts

After the epithelial cells of the mammary gland lobes or lobular ducts of the breast fall off, they may enter the milk and cause blockage of the milk ducts. Blockage of the milk ducts will aggravate the congestion of milk. Milk stasis can make breast tissue more fragile, making the breasts susceptible to bacterial attack. Therefore, new mothers should empty their milk in time.

2. Symptoms of postpartum mastitis

Early stage: In the beginning, patients with acute mastitis have swollen and painful breasts, which are worse during breastfeeding, poor milk secretion, the presence or absence of breast lumps, slightly red or no red skin, or general discomfort, poor appetite, chest tightness and irritability, etc.

Suppurative stage: The local breast becomes hard and the lump gradually increases in size. It may be accompanied by high fever, chills, general weakness, dry stool, rapid pulse, ipsilateral lymph node enlargement, and increased white blood cell count. An abscess may often form in 4-5 days. The breast may be throbbing, the local skin may be red, swollen and translucent, the center of the lump may become soft, and there may be fluctuation when pressed. If it is a deep breast abscess, the whole breast may become swollen, painful, and have a high fever, but the local skin redness, swelling and fluctuation are not obvious. Sometimes there may be several abscess cavities in one breast at the same time or one after another.

Late ulcer stage: Superficial abscesses can often penetrate the skin, forming ulcers or milk overflowing from the wound and causing milk leakage. Deeper abscesses can penetrate into the fat between the breast and pectoralis major muscle, forming a retrobreast abscess. In severe cases, sepsis may occur.