Do I have a milk blister??

[golgi]

Hey Mamas~

A few days ago I noticed that every time I nursed my 5 month old baby girl on the right side, it hurt... and started hurting worse and worse each time. I have twins, and they each have their own side....

Well yesterday, after nursing I noticed a clear bubble on the tip of my nipple. I poked around at it a few times until it 'popped' (sorry to be gross ), and then I tried to manually express and a bunch of milk shot out.

I had something similar to this back when I had mastitis a few months ago... but I don't have any of the other symptoms of mastitis (no fevers, redness, warmth, etc.).

I haven't had any more of the blisters today, but I still have a lot of pain when nursing. Any ideas? Will it just take a few days to go away??

I just don't want it to turn into something 'big.' I appreciate any suggestions!! Thanks Mamas!!

[NaturalUrbanMama]

can you check her latch? Otherwise, yes, it could be a blister, or a plugged duct if milk shot out??

[roxy1stmommy]

Sounds like it to me. I got one after wearing Lily padz and it really hurt. I just kept nursing on the side with the blister and after a day or two the pain started to go away. Good luck, I hope it heals soon!

[pbjmama]

From your description I would say you had/have a plug and that resulted in a milk blister and now you are back to just a plug. An untreated plug can and often will result in mastitis. My immediate recs are - go with out your bra if possible, massage the breast from outside in while nursing, use heat on breast when nursing, cool when not, take ibuprofen.

I could type out all the things to do but this link has all the info and more.

http://www.kellymom.com/bf/concerns/mom/mastitis.html

Also, be careful with popping milk blisters, you can introduce infection.

[zeldajk]

I got these all the time, and they really sucked. Here's what worked for me:

1) Stop using lanolin products on your nipples, if you do.
2) Start taking some Lecithin supplements. It's a natural oil that is like "Teflon for the boobs" (in the words of my LC). It prevents clogged ducts AND clogged nipples. I believe the rec dose was 3-4 1200mg supplements a day, but just 1-2 worked for me.

I echo the PP that you should be careful popping them. You definitely don't want to introduce an infection!! What my LC advised was sterilizing a needle or safety pin with alcohol and using that to pierce it. Go from the side, not straight down. Then pump or nurse immediately, then put Neosporin on. Then just be sure to wipe off the Neosporin before the next time you nurse.

Good luck mama! HTH!

[krickison]

Sounds like a blister to me. To help with the pain try nursing your LO in a differant possition. Maybe switch the twins to the opposite Breast. Your LO will continue to suck the same way and keep iritating it. I had this when DD was just a few weeks old and learning to nurse.