Home remedies for mastitis. How to treat purulent mastitis at home. Anatomy and physiology of the mammary glands

Mastitis is a disease that develops in the mammary gland. Mostly women are subject to it in the postpartum period, when the production of mother's milk has begun, and the newborn baby cannot suck it completely yet. Milk stagnation begins and, as a result, an inflammatory process develops. This is a primitive explanation of the mechanism of mastitis. If you take a deeper look at the problem, it should be noted that mastitis is caused by microorganisms - streptococci, staphylococci and others. Getting into the breast through cracks, which are very often formed on the nipples of a nursing woman, pathogens affect the breast tissue and mastitis begins to develop.

Types of mastitis

Acute postpartum mastitis . Everything is clear with him, we talked about this at the very beginning of the article.

Plasma cell mastitis . This form of mastitis is quite rare. Plasma cell mastitis develops after the completion of the lactation period in older women who have repeatedly given birth. It is very easy to confuse it with breast cancer, since these diseases share visual signs.

. It occurs due to the presence of residual maternal sex hormones in newborns. It often occurs in both girls and boys. In most cases, the symptoms disappear after a few days. If not, a simple surgery solves the problem.

Symptoms of mastitis

Pain in the breast, enlargement and hardening of the breast. Soreness when touched, redness. Often the body temperature rises and chills appear. You can see pus and blood in the milk. In this case, feeding should be stopped.

Sometimes mastitis is mistaken for lactostasis, in which there is a blockage of the milk ducts. Its difference from mastitis is that with lactostasis, the seal can be felt in one segment of the breast, and with mastitis, the entire breast hardens. Lactostasis, if you regularly express milk, will pass, mastitis will not.

Compresses

• The easiest way to help yourself at the first manifestations of mastitis is to attach a cabbage leaf beaten to the chest until the juice appears, secure with a cotton bra.
• Mix a part of honey with two parts of flour and knead to a dough. Roll into a cake and apply to your chest all night. Such a compress will have an anti-inflammatory and resolving effect.
• Dissolves seal compress of camphor oil. Soak a cotton cloth in oil and apply to the mammary gland for several hours.
• A compress from a mixture of honey, milk and gruel of baked onions, mixed in equal proportions, has an anti-inflammatory effect.
• If you have kombucha, separate one plate from it and apply it to your chest, securing it with waterproof material.
• During the day, with an interval of two hours, apply compresses with a decoction of sweet clover to the chest. Decoction recipe: for a quarter of an hour, insist half a glass of dry grass in a glass of boiling water.
• Boil pumpkin pulp in a small amount of milk, mash it into a puree and apply pumpkin compresses on the chest. If you pour a little sugar before applying to the pumpkin, you get a pus-pulling compress.
• Crush the leaves of Kalanchoe to gruel, add the same amount of honey and vegetable oil by volume. Leave for a week in a dark cabinet. Stir and wait for the oil to rise to the top. Moisten a wide bandage folded three times with oil infusion and apply to the sore chest. Change the compress every two days.
• The next recipe is from folk healers of Azerbaijan. Compresses with a hypertonic solution purchased at a pharmacy or prepared with a glass of water in which a spoonful of salt should be dissolved. Prepare a piece of fabric that fits your breast size, cut a hole for the nipple. Heat the solution and soak the prepared cloth in it. Wrap around her chest and put on a warming bandage. Leave to cool, then soak again in the heated solution and apply again. They promise a very quick recovery.
• A simple recipe if the disease happened in the summer. You need to pick the leaves of the coltsfoot, wash them and apply to the sore spot.
• If you have an Indian onion growing at home, its leaves can also be applied to the chest. Almost immediately you will feel warm and less pain.

• Cut pumpkin pulp into small pieces and heat them in a frying pan. Immediately apply to the chest for a quarter of an hour, then use the next piece.
• Bake the onion and crush it. Add honey or linseed oil exactly half of the volume of onion gruel and apply as a compress for 3 hours. Change it three times a day and you will feel relief very soon.
• If cracks appear on the nipples, a linseed poultice will help. Crush the seed into flour, pour a little milk into it and bring to a boil. Add a teaspoon of sugar, stir until dissolved. Cool slightly and coat the breast with the resulting slurry. Such compresses should be done in the morning and in the evening.
• In the evening, knead the dough from rye flour, milk and melted butter. In the morning, roll into a cake and put on the chest, leave until the evening.
• Finely chop the parsley, you should get five tablespoons. Add a spoonful of flaxseed meal and pour in half a glass of milk. Put on fire and cook until thickened. Cool slightly, add a spoonful of sugar, stir. Apply the compress to your chest all night.
• Helps with mastitis grated carrots, which should be used as a compress.
• Make compresses from legume flour with the addition of soapy water and stir until a mushy state. Such compresses dissolve seals well.
• A compress of rice starch diluted with a small amount of water very quickly dissolves seals in the chest. It is applied to the bandage and applied to the places of seals.
• Lotions of tangerine peel and licorice root. Boil fifty grams of peel and ten grams of roots in half a liter of water, cool slightly, moisten cloth in the decoction and apply on the chest. Helps with purulent mastitis.
• Recovery is promised in two days if compresses from the water infusion of sweet clover are changed every two hours. Take half a glass of grass, pour in half a liter of water and leave for a quarter of an hour. Dip a cloth in the infusion and wrap around your chest. From above - the warming bandage.
• Infusion of lime blossom can also be used for lotions. Brew five tablespoons of flowers with half a liter of boiling water and let it brew for half an hour.
• Grate the beets on a fine grater. Mix three tablespoons of beets with a spoonful of honey. Before going to bed, apply the mixture on the chest, apply a bandage and leave until the morning. The course of treatment is 20 compresses. By the way, one mixture can be used twice if you put it in the refrigerator for a day.

Ointments

• An ointment prepared from rice starch, to which vegetable oil is added and stirred to a state of sour cream, apply to the sore spot daily.
• Healing ointment can be made from potato starch with sunflower oil. It also promotes the resorption of hardening in the breast.
• Dig up a narcissus bulb, wash it and chop it finely. Mix with boiled rice or rye flour. Lubricate the chest three times a day and leave until completely dry.
• Make powder from cumin seeds and dry mint, taken equally. Add rye flour and knead with a little water into a soft dough. Before use, slightly warm and spread on the chest several times a day.
• Cracks in the nipples are well healed by an apple grated with the addition of butter.
• Celandine ointment will definitely help you. To prepare it, carefully grind the leaves of celandine. Pour one spoon into two spoons of melted butter, rub everything well and smear the sore spots.
• Treat cracked nipples with celandine juice. Lubricate the nipples with fresh juice four times a day.

Rabbit skin treatment

We do not know how you will react to this, but it is argued that even severe mastitis is guaranteed to be cured. Take the worked out rabbit skin, cut it in half. Spread one half from the side of the mezra with natural sour cream and attach it to the chest, securing it with a bandage or bra. After a while, the sour cream will dry out, you will feel it, smear your soulmate and also apply it on your chest.

How Vanga treated mastitis

• Mastitis at the beginning of the disease will be cured by a wax patch. Melt sixty grams of olive oil, thirty grams of wax and one hundred and twenty grams of spermaceti until the ingredients are combined. Cool, apply on a canvas cloth and attach to the chest. Leave for a day, then change the compress.
• The recipe will require a lot of burdock, from which squeeze two glasses of juice. Combine it with a glass of vodka, store in the refrigerator. Take one scoop three times daily with water.
• Squeeze half a glass of juice from beets, add half a glass of grated carrots, a spoonful of powdered golden root, four tablespoons of sea buckthorn or sunflower oil to it. For two weeks, make compresses from the resulting mixture, changing them every four hours.
• Pick a few potato flowers, chop them finely and pour a glass of boiling water over one spoonful. You should drink a quarter cup three times a day before meals.
• If stagnation of milk in the chest has begun, a bandage of boiled beets with the addition of bread crumb and sesame oil is guaranteed to help you.
• An effective bandage is made from bread soaked in water, with the addition of olive oil, wine and honey.
• Sesame with honey and ghee with the addition of flour - also perfectly treats mastitis.
• It must be borne in mind that all bandages on the chest must be repeated at least twice a day, and preferably three.

• A swelling of the nipple can be treated by applying a psyllium leaf to it.
• At the beginning of the disease, rice soaked in wine will help if you apply it to the sore chest.
• If the disease is running, prepare a wax ointment. For her, melt the wax, add rose oil, camphor and tree resin. To enhance the effect, pour in a small amount of bile. Apply ointment to hardened areas.
• Take country milk and softened butter. Knead the dough on rye flour and make a cake out of it. In the evening tie to the chest and leave until the morning. Do these compresses for a week.
• A bandage of crushed peach tree leaves and rue leaves dissolves the knots well. Apply green gruel to the mammary gland and secure with a bandage.

Video - Treatment of mastitis with folk remedies

Mastitis is an inflammatory process in the tissues of the mammary gland. It is manifested by strong arching pains in the chest, swelling, induration, redness of the skin of the gland, a sharp rise in body temperature, chills. Mastitis is diagnosed during a visual examination by a mammologist; additionally, it is possible to conduct an ultrasound of the mammary gland. The disease can lead to the formation of an abscess, phlegmon, necrosis in the mammary gland, the development of sepsis and even death. In case of microbial contamination of milk, breastfeeding will have to be stopped. In the long term, a deformation of the mammary gland may occur, the risk of developing mastopathy and breast cancer increases.

General information

Inflammation of the breast tissue. Mastitis occurs as a result of infection of the mammary gland by bacteria. It is manifested by swelling of the gland, an increase in size, soreness and increased sensitivity, reddening of the skin and fever.

The incidence of mastitis among nursing mothers ranges from 1% to 16% depending on the region. On average, this figure is 5% of lactating women, and measures to reduce the incidence over the past years have so far been ineffective. The vast majority (85%) of women with mastitis are nulliparous (or breastfeeding for the first time). This is due to a higher incidence of milk stasis due to inept pumping. Women over thirty, who are not breastfeeding for the first time, develop mastitis, as a rule, as a result of reduced protective properties of the body due to one or another concomitant chronic disease. In such cases, the symptoms of mastitis are accompanied by clinical manifestations of the underlying disease.

Causes of mastitis

Most often, mastitis is caused by a staphylococcal infection. But with a source of bacterial flora in the woman's body (infection of the respiratory system, oral cavity, urinary tract, genital organs), mastitis can be caused by her. Sometimes the mammary gland becomes infected with Escherichia coli. Bacteria enter the mammary gland with the blood stream and through the milk ducts.

Most often, mastitis develops as a result of prolonged pathological lactostasis (stagnation of milk in the gland). With a long-term absence of outflow of milk from any area of ​​\u200b\u200bthe mammary gland, a favorable environment is formed there for the reproduction of bacteria, a developing infection provokes an inflammatory reaction, fever, suppuration.

Mastitis classification

Mastitis is distinguished by the nature of the existing inflammatory process: serous, infiltrative, purulent, abscessing, gangrenous and phlegmonous mastitis. Serous, infiltrative and purulent mastitis are successive stages of the inflammatory process in the gland tissue from the formation of a swollen area of ​​serous inflammation to the formation of an infiltrate and the development of a purulent process.

With abscessing mastitis, the purulent focus is localized and limited, phlegmonous mastitis is characterized by the spread of purulent inflammation throughout the gland tissue. With a prolonged course or weakened body defenses, the inflamed tissues of the gland become necrotic (gangrenous mastitis). There are clinical types of mastitis: the most common is acute postpartum mastitis, plasma cell mastitis and neonatal mastitis.

Symptoms of mastitis

Acute postpartum mastitis is most often an inflammatory complication of lactostasis in nursing mothers. Sometimes it develops without precedence of pronounced signs of milk stagnation. It is manifested by the appearance of a painful seal in the mammary gland, redness and an increase in skin temperature in the area of ​​​​the seal, fever and general symptoms of intoxication. With progression, the pain intensifies, the chest increases, becomes hot to the touch. Feeding and pumping are sharply painful, blood and pus can be found in milk. Suppurative mastitis often progresses with the development of a breast abscess.

Plasma cell mastitis is a rare disease that develops in older women who have given birth repeatedly after cessation of lactation. It is characterized by infiltration of tissues under the nipple by plasma cells and hyperplasia of the epithelium of the excretory ducts. Such mastitis does not suppurate and has some external features in common with breast cancer.

Mastitis in newborns is a fairly common condition in children of both sexes, manifested by swelling of the mammary glands, discharge when pressed on them (as a rule, is the result of the residual action of the mother's sex hormones). With the development of acute purulent inflammation and the formation of an abscess, surgical debridement of the purulent focus is performed, but most often the symptoms subside after three to four days.

Diagnosis of mastitis

The focus of inflammation in the mammary gland is determined by palpation. There is also an increase (sometimes moderate pain on palpation) of the axillary lymph nodes from the side of the affected chest. Suppuration is characterized by the definition of a symptom of fluctuation.

If mastitis is detected at the stage of serous inflammation or infiltrate, conservative treatment of mastitis is carried out. Antibiotic therapy is prescribed with the use of potent broad-spectrum agents. In this case, serous mastitis, as a rule, disappears after 2-3 days, it may take up to 7 days for the infiltrate to resolve. If inflammation is accompanied by severe general intoxication, detoxification measures are carried out (infusion of electrolyte solutions, glucose). With severe excessive lactation, drugs are prescribed to suppress it.

Purulent forms of mastitis, as a rule, require surgical intervention. The developed abscess of the mammary gland is an indication for emergency surgical sanitation: opening of mastitis and drainage of the purulent focus.

Progressive mastitis, regardless of its stage, is a contraindication to further feeding (including healthy breasts), since breast milk is usually infected and contains toxic tissue breakdown products. For a child, pathologically altered breast milk can cause the development of dysbacteriosis and disorders of the functional state of the digestive system. Since mastitis therapy includes antibiotics, feeding during this period is also not safe for the baby. Antibiotics can markedly impair the normal development and growth of organs and tissues. During the treatment of mastitis, milk can be expressed, pasteurized, and only then given to the child.

Indications for the suppression of lactation: the absence of dynamics in serous and infiltrative mastitis for three days of antibiotic therapy, the development of a purulent form, the concentration of the inflammatory focus directly under the nipple, the mother's history of purulent mastitis, concomitant pathologies of organs and systems that significantly worsen the general well-being of the mother.

Prevention of mastitis

Measures for the prevention of mastitis coincide with measures for the prevention of lactostasis, since this condition is a precursor to mastitis in the vast majority of cases.

To prevent milk stagnation, a complete thorough emptying of the mammary glands is necessary: ​​regular feeding and subsequent pumping of milk residues. If the child is full of milk from one breast, the next feeding is first applied to the gland intact last time.

Don't let your baby just suck on the breast for comfort, without sucking out the milk. Cracks in the nipples contribute to the development of inflammation of the mammary gland, therefore, it is necessary to prepare the nipples for feeding, carefully observe hygiene rules (clean hands, chest), correctly attach the baby to the breast (the child must capture the nipple entirely with the mouth, along with the areola).

One of the preventive measures for the development of mastitis can be called the timely detection and sanitation of foci of infection in the body, but it is worth remembering that general antibiotic therapy during lactation is contraindicated.

Mastitis is an inflammation of the mammary glands in women, which is caused by an infection. This pathological process tends to spread to the surrounding tissues, and if left untreated, it can lead to a complication in the form of sepsis. What are the causes and symptoms of such a disease, and is it possible to treat mastitis with folk remedies at home?

Types of disease

In most cases, inflammation of the mammary glands develops after childbirth and is associated with increased milk production. This type of disease is called lactation. It complicates the postpartum period, and occurs in 7% of new mothers. Most often it is unilateral, that is, it affects only one breast, but there is a tendency to develop a bilateral process.

There is non-lactational mastitis, when inflammation is not associated with feeding and milk production. In this case, the process does not have such a pronounced clinical picture, complications in the form of the spread of the process are quite rare, but it often becomes chronic. Cases of the development of the disease in newborn girls are described. The cause of the pathology is the intake of an excess amount of hormones from the mother's body.

Causes

The causes of inflammation of the glands may be different, but they determine the type of disease. In addition to lactation and non-lactation, it can be acute and chronic, serous and purulent.

Postpartum (lactational) mastitis

The lactation type is most often caused by Staphylococcus aureus. Infection occurs through contact with carriers of pathogenic flora (maternity hospital workers, roommates).

In order for staphylococcus aureus to cause disease on the skin of the mammary glands, there are predisposing factors:

• mastopathy;
• scars after surgical interventions;
• congenital structural features of the glands;
• difficult pregnancy;
• pathology in childbirth;
• chronic diseases;
• sleep disturbance and neurological problems in the postpartum period.

Primiparas are at risk, since milk production in this case is most often imperfect.. The fact that a young mother does not have the skill to properly feed a child and does not know how to express herself also plays a role.

Non-lactation form

The appearance of such a disease occurs with a decrease in the immune forces of the body. The reasons are as follows:

• hypothermia;
• severe infectious process;
• chronic concomitant diseases;
• constant psycho-emotional and physical overload;
• microtrauma of the mammary glands.

The main cause, as in lactational mastitis, is an infection (Staphylococcus aureus).

How the disease manifests itself

Symptoms that accompany inflammation of the mammary glands depend on the stage of the disease. Both lactation and non-lactation forms begin with a serous form, which is difficult to distinguish from milk stasis. In both cases, there is heaviness in the chest, a feeling of tension, and on palpation, you can feel a slight induration.

However, lactostasis does not affect the general condition, with it there is no increase in temperature and milk freely exits through the nipple. This phenomenon is temporary and lasts no more than 1-2 days.

If the seal increases, the temperature rises to 37 degrees, and the general condition worsens, then you should think that serous mastitis is taking place. In this case, a separate segment of the mammary glands is impregnated with serous fluid with the release of leukocytes from the microvasculature.

Sometimes the disease ends at this stage, but most often it passes into the infiltrative stage. In the affected area, an infiltrate begins to form, which, upon palpation, has no definite boundaries. There is pain, the mammary glands increase, but the skin over the damage does not change. The temperature is often in the range of 38 degrees.

There are also destructive forms that pose the greatest danger. With the development of a purulent process, the condition begins to deteriorate sharply, as intoxication of the body occurs. The temperature rises to 40 degrees, women lose their appetite, sleep worsens, and a headache develops. The skin on this segment turns red, and the axillary lymph nodes are enlarged. The situation will be complicated by the occurrence of an abscess, phlegmon and even gangrene.

Pathology therapy

During a simple form of inflammation of the mammary glands, it is recommended to be treated with conservative methods:

Non-lactational mastitis often resolves on its own or is treated with medication.

Alternative medicine

When inflammation of the mammary glands occurs in women, it should be treated only after consulting a doctor. Folk recipes play a significant role in the complex treatment for this pathology, since most drugs are not recommended for use during lactation. Helps to get rid of the disease cabbage leaf, camphor or castor oil, honey cake, which are applied to the site of the lesion.

cabbage treatment

This plant has long been used to get rid of inflammatory processes in the chest. The easiest way is to take a cabbage leaf, squeeze the juice out of it and wipe the affected area. However, it must be fresh.

It is even easier to take a cabbage leaf, beat it off with a wooden mallet and attach it to your chest at night, fixing it with a natural fabric bra. In a few days, both purulent and non-lactation mastitis will pass.

There are more complex recipes:

1. Recipe 1. Take a sheet and grind to a mushy state, then add a little curdled milk and keep the compress constantly, changing it to fresh.
2. Recipe 2. Before applying the sheet, it will be effective to lubricate the affected area with beet juice., Which can also be taken orally.
3. Recipe 3. Another remedy for relieving inflammation is possible for older women. To do this, you need to hold a little butter in a warm place to soften, add a little salt there and spread the cabbage leaf with the mixture. Keep the composition throughout the night.

Application of oils

Treatment with various oils is practiced:

1. Camphor - reduces inflammation, has analgesic and antiseptic properties. You can treat acute mastitis if you add the product to a baby cream, and then spread it on the affected area. In addition, camphor oil is recommended to be applied to the cabbage leaf and applied to the chest. A more complex compress is also effective, which includes camphor (one small spoon), honey and butter (one large spoon each).
2. Some healers recommend using castor oil. It is necessary to spread the chest and apply a film on top. The very next day, the acute process will subside.

Other recipes

There are other traditional medicine recipes that can help at home when detecting inflammation of the mammary glands in women:

Mastitis in the old days they called it a breast. This pathology is an infectious and inflammatory process in the tissues of the mammary gland, which, as a rule, has a tendency to spread, which can lead to purulent destruction of the body of the gland and surrounding tissues, as well as generalization of infection with the development of sepsis (blood poisoning).

Distinguish between lactational (that is, associated with the production of milk glands) and non-lactational mastitis.
According to statistics, 90-95% of cases of mastitis occur in the postpartum period. At the same time, 80-85% develops in the first month after childbirth.

Mastitis is the most common purulent-inflammatory complication of the postpartum period. The incidence of lactational mastitis is about 3 to 7% (according to some sources, up to 20%) of all births and has not shown a downward trend over the past few decades.

Most often, mastitis develops in lactating women after the birth of their first child. Usually, the infectious-inflammatory process affects one gland, more often the right one. The predominance of damage to the right breast is due to the fact that it is more convenient for right-handers to express the left breast, so that stagnation of milk often develops in the right.

Recently, there has been a trend towards an increase in the number of cases of bilateral mastitis. Today, a bilateral process develops in 10% of cases of mastitis.

About 7-9% of lactational mastitis are cases of inflammation of the mammary gland in women who refuse to breastfeed; in pregnant women, this disease is relatively rare (up to 1%).

Cases of the development of lactational mastitis in newborn girls are described, at a time when an increased level of hormones from the mother's blood causes physiological swelling of the mammary glands.

About 5% of mastitis in women is not associated with pregnancy and childbirth. As a rule, non-lactational mastitis develops in women aged 15 to 60 years. In such cases, the disease proceeds less rapidly, complications in the form of a generalization of the process are extremely rare, but there is a tendency to transition to a chronically relapsing form.

Causes of mastitis

Any suppurative process caused by Staphylococcus aureus can be complicated by generalization with the development of septic endocarditis, sepsis, or infectious-toxic shock.

Recently, cases of mastitis caused by the association of microorganisms have become more frequent. The most common combination of Staphylococcus aureus with gram-negative Escherichia coli (a microorganism common in the environment that normally inhabits the human intestine).
lactation mastitis
When it comes to classic postpartum lactational mastitis, the source of infection is most often hidden carriers from medical personnel, relatives or roommates (according to some reports, about 20-40% of people are carriers of Staphylococcus aureus). Infection occurs through contaminated care items, linen, etc.

In addition, a newborn infected with staphylococcus aureus can become a source of infection in mastitis, for example, with pyoderma (pustular skin lesions) or in the case of umbilical sepsis.

However, it should be noted that getting Staphylococcus aureus on the skin of the mammary gland does not always lead to the development of mastitis. For the occurrence of an infectious-inflammatory process, it is necessary to have favorable conditions - local anatomical and systemic functional ones.

So, local anatomical predisposing factors include:

• gross cicatricial changes in the gland, remaining after suffering severe forms of mastitis, operations for benign neoplasms, etc.;
• congenital anatomical defects (retracted flat or lobed nipple, etc.).

• pregnancy pathology (late pregnancy, premature birth, threatened miscarriage, severe late toxicosis);
• pathology of childbirth (trauma of the birth canal, first birth with a large fetus, manual separation of the placenta, severe blood loss during childbirth);
• postpartum fever;
• exacerbation of concomitant diseases;
• insomnia and other psychological disorders after childbirth.

The causative agent of non-lactational mastitis, as well as mastitis associated with pregnancy and feeding, in most cases is Staphylococcus aureus.

To understand the features of the mechanism of development of lactational and non-lactational mastitis, it is necessary to have a general idea of ​​the anatomy and physiology of the mammary glands.

Anatomy and physiology of the mammary glands

In the mammary gland, a glandular body is isolated, surrounded by well-developed subcutaneous fatty tissue. It is the development of the fat capsule that determines the shape and size of the breast.

At the most protruding place of the breast, there is no fat layer - here the nipple is located, which, as a rule, is cone-shaped, less often cylindrical or pear-shaped.

The pigmented areola forms the base of the nipple. In medicine, it is customary to divide the mammary gland into four areas - quadrants, limited by conditional mutually perpendicular lines.

This division is widely used in surgery to indicate the localization of the pathological process in the mammary gland.

The glandular body consists of 15-20 radially arranged lobes, separated from each other by fibrous connective tissue and loose adipose tissue. The bulk of the actual glandular tissue that produces milk is located in the posterior sections of the gland, while ducts predominate in the central regions.

From the anterior surface of the body of the gland through the superficial fascia, which limits the fatty capsule of the gland, dense connective tissue strands are directed to the deep layers of the skin and to the collarbone, which are a continuation of the interlobar connective tissue stroma - the so-called Cooper's ligaments.

The main structural unit of the mammary gland is the acinus, consisting of the smallest formations of vesicles - alveoli, which open into the alveolar passages. The inner epithelial lining of the acinus produces milk during lactation.

The acini are united into lobules, from which the lactiferous ducts depart, merging radially towards the nipple, so that the individual lobules are combined into one lobe with a common collecting duct. The collecting ducts open at the top of the nipple, forming an extension - the lactiferous sinus.

Lactational mastitis is less favorable than any other purulent surgical infection, this is due to the following features of the anatomical and functional structure of the gland during lactation:

• lobed structure;
• a large number of natural cavities (alveoli and sinuses);
• developed network of milk and lymphatic ducts;
• abundance of loose adipose tissue.

So, without adequate treatment, the purulent process quickly captures the entire gland and often takes a protracted chronically relapsing course. In severe cases, purulent fusion of large areas of the gland and the development of septic complications (infectious-toxic shock, blood poisoning, septic endocarditis, etc.) are possible.

The mechanism of development of the infectious-inflammatory process

Acute lactational mastitis

With regular and complete pumping of milk, bacteria that inevitably get on the surface of the mammary gland are washed out and are not able to cause inflammation.

In cases where adequate pumping does not occur, a large number of microorganisms accumulate in the ducts, which cause lactic acid fermentation and milk clotting, as well as damage to the epithelium of the excretory ducts.

Curdled milk, together with particles of desquamated epithelium, clog the milk passages, resulting in lactostasis. Quite quickly, the amount of microflora, intensively multiplying in a confined space, reaches a critical level, and infectious inflammation develops. At this stage, secondary stagnation of lymph and venous blood occurs, which further aggravates the condition.

The inflammatory process is accompanied by severe pain, which in turn makes it difficult to express milk and aggravates the state of lactostasis, so that a vicious circle is formed: lactostasis increases inflammation, inflammation increases lactostasis.

In 15% of women, purulent mastitis develops against the background of cracked nipples. Such damage occurs due to a discrepancy between a sufficiently strong negative pressure in the child's oral cavity and a weak elasticity of the nipple tissue. A significant role in the formation of cracks can be played by purely hygienic factors, such as, for example, prolonged contact of the nipple with wet bra tissue. In such cases, irritation and wetting of the skin often develops.

The occurrence of cracks often forces a woman to refuse to feed the baby and carefully pumping, which causes lactostasis and the development of purulent mastitis.

To avoid damage to the nipple during feeding, it is very important to put the baby to the breast at the same time. In such cases, the correct biorhythm of milk production is established, so that the mammary glands are, as it were, prepared for feeding in advance: there is an increase in milk production, the milk ducts expand, the lobules of the gland contract - all this contributes to the easy release of milk during feeding.

With irregular feeding, the functional activity of the glands increases already in the process of feeding, as a result, individual lobules of the gland will not be completely emptied and lactostasis will occur in certain areas. In addition, with an “unfinished” breast, the child has to expend more effort during sucking, which contributes to the formation of nipple cracks.

Non-lactation mastitis

At non-lactational mastitis infection, as a rule, penetrates the gland through damaged skin due to accidental injury, thermal injury (hot water bottle, tissue burn in an accident), or mastitis develops as a complication of local pustular skin lesions. In such cases, the infection spreads through the subcutaneous adipose tissue and the fatty capsule of the gland, and the glandular tissue itself is damaged a second time.

(Non-lactational mastitis, which arose as a complication of a breast furuncle).

Symptoms and signs of mastitis

Serous stage (form) of mastitis

Expression with lactostasis is painful, but milk flows freely. The general condition of the woman is not disturbed and the body temperature remains within the normal range.

As a rule, lactostasis is a temporary phenomenon, so if within 1-2 days the compaction does not decrease in volume and persistent low-grade fever appears (an increase in body temperature to 37-38 degrees Celsius), then serous mastitis should be suspected.

In some cases, serous mastitis develops rapidly: quite unexpectedly, the temperature rises to 38-39 degrees Celsius, there are complaints of general weakness and pain in the affected part of the gland. Expression of milk is sharply painful and does not bring relief.

At this stage, the tissue of the affected part of the gland is saturated with serous fluid (hence the name of the form of inflammation), into which leukocytes (cells that fight foreign agents) enter a little later from the bloodstream.

At the stage of serous inflammation, spontaneous recovery is still possible, when the pain in the gland gradually subsides, and the seal completely resolves. However, much more often the process passes into the next - infiltrative phase.

Given the severity of the disease, doctors advise any significant breast engorgement, accompanied by an increase in body temperature, to be considered the initial stage of mastitis.

Infiltrative stage (form) of mastitis

Elevated temperature in the serous and infiltrative stages of mastitis is associated with the flow through the damaged milk ducts into the blood of women's milk from the foci of lactostasis. Therefore, with effective treatment of lactostasis and desensitizing therapy, the temperature can be reduced to 37-37.5 degrees Celsius.

In the absence of adequate treatment, the infiltrative stage of mastitis passes into a destructive phase in 4-5 days. In this case, serous inflammation is replaced by purulent, so that the tissue of the gland resembles a sponge or honeycomb soaked in pus.

Destructive forms of mastitis or purulent mastitis

Body temperature rises significantly (38-40 degrees Celsius and above), weakness appears, headache, sleep worsens, appetite decreases.

The affected chest is enlarged, tense. In this case, the skin over the affected area turns red, the skin veins expand, often increase and become painful regional (axillary) lymph nodes.

Abscess mastitis characterized by the formation in the affected gland of cavities filled with pus (abscesses). In such cases, softening is felt in the infiltrate area, in 99% of patients a fluctuation symptom is positive (feeling of overflowing liquid when the affected area is felt).

(Localization of abscesses with abscess mastitis:
1. - subalveolar (near the nipple);
2. - intramammary (inside the gland);
3. - subcutaneous;
4. - retromammary (behind the gland)

Infiltrative-abscess mastitis, as a rule, proceeds more severely than abscessing. This form is characterized by the presence of a dense infiltrate, consisting of many small abscesses of various shapes and sizes. Since the abscesses within the infiltrate do not reach large sizes, the painful induration in the affected gland may appear homogeneous (the fluctuation symptom is positive in only 5% of patients).

In approximately half of the patients, the infiltrate occupies at least two quadrants of the gland and is located intramammary.

Phlegmonous mastitis characterized by a total increase and severe swelling of the mammary gland. At the same time, the skin of the affected breast is tense, intensely red, in places with a cyanotic tint (bluish-red), the nipple is often retracted.

Palpation of the gland is sharply painful, most patients have a fluctuation symptom. In 60% of cases, at least 3 quadrants of the gland are involved in the process.

As a rule, disturbances in laboratory blood parameters are more pronounced: in addition to an increase in the number of leukocytes, there is a significant decrease in hemoglobin levels. The indicators of the general analysis of urine are significantly violated.

Gangrenous mastitis develops, as a rule, due to the involvement of blood vessels in the process and the formation of blood clots in them. In such cases, as a result of a gross violation of the blood supply, necrosis of significant areas of the mammary gland occurs.

Clinically, gangrenous mastitis is manifested by an increase in the gland and the appearance on its surface of areas of tissue necrosis and blisters filled with hemorrhagic fluid (ichorus). All quadrants of the mammary gland are involved in the inflammatory process, the skin of the breast acquires a bluish-purple appearance.

The general condition of patients in such cases is severe, confusion is often observed, pulse quickens, blood pressure drops. Many laboratory indicators of blood and urine tests are violated.

Diagnosis of mastitis

As a rule, the diagnosis of mastitis does not cause any particular difficulties. The diagnosis is determined on the basis of the patient's characteristic complaints and examination data of the affected breast.
From laboratory studies, as a rule, they carry out:

• bacteriological examination of milk from both glands (qualitative and quantitative determination of microbial bodies in 1 ml of milk);
• cytological examination of milk (calculation of the number of red blood cells in milk as markers of the inflammatory process);
• determination of milk pH, reductase activity, etc.

In controversial cases, which often occur in the case of a chronic course of the process, an X-ray examination of the breast (mammography) is prescribed.

In addition, in chronic mastitis, it is imperative to carry out a differential diagnosis with breast cancer; for this, a biopsy (sampling of suspicious material) and a histological examination are performed.

Mastitis treatment

The diagnosis of a destructive process can be unequivocally made in the presence of softening foci in the mammary gland and/or a positive fluctuation symptom. These signs are usually combined with a violation of the general condition of the patient.

However, erased forms of destructive processes in the mammary gland are often found, and, for example, with infiltrative-abscessed mastitis, it is difficult to identify the presence of softening foci.

Diagnosis is complicated by the fact that banal lactostasis often occurs with a violation of the general condition of the patient and severe soreness of the affected breast. Meanwhile, as practice shows, the question of the need for surgical treatment should be resolved as soon as possible.

In disputable cases, to determine medical tactics, first of all, thorough decantation of milk from the affected breast is carried out, and then after 3-4 hours - a second examination and palpation of the infiltrate.

In cases where it was only about lactostasis, after decanting the pain subsides, the temperature decreases and the general condition of the patient improves. In the affected area, fine-grained painless lobules begin to be palpated.

If lactostasis was combined with mastitis, then even 4 hours after pumping, a dense painful infiltrate continues to be palpated, the body temperature remains high, and the condition does not improve.

Conservative treatment of mastitis is acceptable in cases where:

• the general condition of the patient is relatively satisfactory;
• the duration of the disease does not exceed three days;
• body temperature below 37.5 degrees Celsius;
• there are no local symptoms of purulent inflammation;
• soreness in the area of ​​the infiltrate is moderate, the palpable infiltrate occupies no more than one quadrant of the gland;
• parameters of the general blood test are normal.

Operation for mastitis

• when choosing a surgical access (incision site), the need to preserve the function and aesthetic appearance of the mammary gland is taken into account;
• radical surgical treatment (thorough cleansing of the opened abscess, excision and removal of non-viable tissues);
• postoperative drainage, including with the use of a drainage-washing system (long-term drip washing of the wound in the postoperative period).

With extensive destructive processes in the lower quadrants of the gland, as well as with a retromammary abscess, the incision is made under the breast.

With subalveolar abscesses located under the nipple, the incision is made parallel to the edge of the nipple.
Radical surgical treatment includes not only the removal of pus from the cavity of the focus, but also the excision of the formed abscess capsule and non-viable tissues. In the case of infiltrative-abscessing mastitis, the entire inflammatory infiltrate is removed within the boundaries of healthy tissues.

Phlegmonous and gangrenous forms of mastitis suggest the maximum volume of surgery, so that in the future, plastic surgery of the affected mammary gland may be necessary.

The establishment of a drainage-flushing system in the postoperative period is carried out in case of damage to more than one quadrant of the gland and / or a severe general condition of the patient.

As a rule, drip washing of the wound in the postoperative period is carried out for 5-12 days, until the general condition of the patient improves and components such as pus, fibrin, and necrotic particles disappear from the washing water.

In the postoperative period, drug therapy is carried out, aimed at removing toxins from the body and correcting the general disorders caused by the purulent process in the body.

Antibiotics are prescribed without fail (most often intravenously or intramuscularly). In this case, as a rule, drugs from the group of cephalosporins of the first generation (cefazolin, cephalexin) are used, when Staphylococcus is combined with Escherichia coli - II generation (cefoxitin), and in case of secondary infection - III-IV generation (ceftriaxone, cefpir). In extremely severe cases, tiens are prescribed.

In destructive forms of mastitis, as a rule, doctors advise to stop lactation, since feeding a child from an operated breast is impossible, and pumping in the presence of a wound causes pain and is not always effective.
Lactation is stopped medically, that is, drugs are prescribed that stop milk secretion - bromocriptine, etc. Routine methods for stopping lactation (breast bandaging, etc.) are contraindicated.

Treatment of mastitis without surgery

In such cases, women are prescribed conservative therapy.

First of all, you should ensure the rest of the affected gland. To do this, patients are advised to limit motor activity and wear a bra or bandage that would support, but not squeeze, the sore breast.

Since the trigger for the occurrence of mastitis and the most important link in the further development of pathology is lactostasis, a number of measures are taken to effectively empty the mammary gland.

1. A woman should express milk every 3 hours (8 times a day) - first from a healthy gland, then from a sick one.
2. To improve the discharge of milk, 2.0 ml of the antispasmodic drotaverine (No-shpa) is administered intramuscularly 20 minutes before pumping from the diseased gland (3 times a day for 3 days at regular intervals), 5 minutes before pumping - 0.5 ml of oxytocin, which improves milk yield.
3. Since milk expression is difficult due to pain in the affected gland, retromammary novocaine blockades are performed daily, while the anesthetic novocaine is administered in combination with broad-spectrum antibiotics in half the daily dose.

Since many of the unpleasant symptoms of the initial stages of mastitis are associated with the penetration of milk into the blood, the so-called desensitizing therapy with antihistamines is carried out. At the same time, preference is given to new generation drugs (loratadine, cetirizine), since drugs of previous generations (suprastin, tavegil) can cause drowsiness in a child.

Vitamin therapy (group B vitamins and vitamin C) is prescribed to increase the body's resistance.
With positive dynamics in a day, ultrasound and UHF therapy are prescribed, which contributes to the speedy resorption of the inflammatory infiltrate and the restoration of the mammary gland.

Alternative methods of treatment of mastitis

In cases where conservative therapy is indicated, traditional medicine is often used in the complex of medical measures.

So, for example, in the initial stages of mastitis, especially in combination with nipple cracks, it is possible to include procedures for washing the affected breast with an infusion of a mixture of chamomile flowers and yarrow grass (in a ratio of 1: 4).
To do this, 2 tablespoons of raw materials are poured into 0.5 liters of boiling water and infused for 20 minutes. This infusion has a disinfectant, anti-inflammatory and mild analgesic effect.

It should be remembered that in the initial stages of mastitis, in no case should warm compresses, baths, etc. be used. Warming up can provoke a suppurative process.

Prevention of mastitis

Such prevention includes the following activities:

1. Early attachment of the baby to the breast (in the first half hour after birth).
2. Development of a physiological rhythm (it is desirable to feed the baby at the same time).
3. If there is a tendency to stagnation of milk, it may be advisable to carry out a circular shower 20 minutes before feeding.
4. Compliance with the technology of correct expression of milk (the most effective manual method, while special attention should be paid to the outer quadrants of the gland, where milk stagnation is most often observed).

In addition, wearing a cotton bra helps prevent the occurrence of nipple cracks. In this case, it is necessary that the tissue in contact with the nipples is dry and clean.

Predisposing factors for the occurrence of mastitis include nervous and physical overstrain, so a nursing woman should monitor her psychological health, get enough sleep and eat well.
Prevention of mastitis not associated with breastfeeding consists in observing the rules of personal hygiene and timely adequate treatment of skin lesions of the breast.

Can I breastfeed with mastitis?

There are the following indications for interruption of lactation:

• severe destructive forms of the disease (phlegmonous or gangrenous mastitis, the presence of septic complications);
• the appointment of antibacterial agents in the treatment of pathology (when taking which it is recommended to refrain from breastfeeding)
• the presence of any reasons why a woman will not be able to return to breastfeeding in the future;
• the desire of the patient.

With serous and infiltrative forms of mastitis, doctors usually advise trying to maintain lactation. In such cases, a woman should express milk every three hours, first from a healthy, and then from a diseased breast.

Milk expressed from a healthy breast is pasteurized and then fed to a child from a bottle; it is impossible to store such milk for a long time either before pasteurization or after it. Milk from a diseased breast, where there is a purulent-septic focus, is not recommended for a baby. The reason is that with this form of mastitis, antibiotics are prescribed, when breastfeeding is prohibited or not recommended (the risks are assessed by the attending physician), and the infection contained in such a mastitis can cause severe digestive disorders in the infant and the need for treatment of the child.

Natural feeding can be restored after the complete disappearance of all symptoms of inflammation. To ensure the safety of restoring natural feeding for a child, a bacteriological analysis of milk is preliminarily performed.

What antibiotics are most commonly used for mastitis?

Today it is customary to select antibiotics, focusing on the sensitivity data of microflora to them. Material for analysis is obtained by puncture of the abscess or during surgery.

However, at the initial stages, it is difficult to take material; moreover, such an analysis takes time. Therefore, antibiotics are often prescribed prior to such a study.

At the same time, they are guided by the fact that mastitis in the majority of cases is caused by Staphylococcus aureus or the association of this microorganism with Escherichia coli.

These bacteria are sensitive to antibiotics from the groups of penicillins and cephalosporins. Lactational mastitis is a typical hospital infection, therefore it is most often caused by strains of staphylococci that are resistant to many antibiotics and secrete penicillinase.

To achieve the effect of antibiotic therapy, antibiotics resistant to penicillinase, such as oxacillin, dicloxacillin, etc., are prescribed for mastitis.

With regard to antibiotics from the group of cephalosporins, with mastitis, preference is given to drugs of the first and second generations (cefazolin, cephalexin, cefoxitin), which are most effective against Staphylococcus aureus, including against penicillin-resistant strains.

Do I need to do compresses for mastitis?

Among folk methods, you can use a cabbage leaf with honey, grated potatoes, baked onions, burdock leaves. Such compresses can be applied both at night and between feedings.

After removing the compress, the chest should be rinsed with warm water.

However, it should be noted that the opinion of the doctors themselves regarding compresses for mastitis was divided. Many surgeons point out that warm compresses should be avoided because they can aggravate the disease.

Therefore, when the first symptoms of mastitis appear, you should consult a doctor to clarify the stage of the process and decide on the tactics of treating the disease.

What ointments can be used for mastitis?

Compresses with Vishnevsky ointment are used in many maternity hospitals. At the same time, a significant part of surgeons considers the therapeutic effect of ointments for mastitis to be extremely low and indicates the possibility of an adverse effect of the procedure: a more rapid development of the process due to stimulation of bacterial reproduction by elevated temperature.

Mastitis is a serious disease that can lead to serious consequences. It is untimely and inadequate treatment that leads to the fact that 6-23% of women with mastitis have relapses of the disease, 5% of patients develop severe septic complications, and 1% of women die.

Inadequate therapy (insufficiently effective relief of lactostasis, irrational prescription of antibiotics, etc.) in the early stages of the disease often contributes to the transition of serous inflammation to a purulent form, when the operation and the unpleasant moments associated with it (scars on the breast, violation of the lactation process) are already inevitable . Therefore, it is necessary to avoid self-medication and seek help from a specialist.

Which doctor treats mastitis?

Often, women confuse the infectious and inflammatory process in the mammary gland with lactostasis, which can also be accompanied by severe pain and fever.

Lactostasis and initial forms of mastitis are treated on an outpatient basis, while purulent mastitis requires hospitalization and surgery.

With mastitis, which is not associated with childbirth and feeding the child (non-lactational mastitis), they turn to the surgeon.

Mastitis is a disease of the mammary gland resulting from the progression of the inflammatory process. Most often, pathology occurs in nursing mothers, since during this period the mammary gland is most susceptible to infection. The disease also develops in women over 45 years of age.

Mastitis is dangerous because there is a risk of the inflammatory process turning into a cancerous form. Different methods of breast treatment are used depending on the stage of the disease. The advantage, of course, is given to medical methods, but in some cases additional exposure to folk remedies is acceptable.

The specifics of the treatment of mastitis at home

In medicine, two types of mastitis are distinguished: postpartum (lactational) and non-lactational. The cause of the pathology is the penetration into the mammary glands of pathogenic bacteria (most often staphylococcus aureus). The infection enters through the wounds formed on the nipples.

Symptoms of the disease are noted almost immediately after the infection begins to progress. With inflammation in a woman:

Depending on the stage of the disease, symptoms may have additional signs. However, the main symptoms only increase their intensity.

If mastitis is not treated, then the gangrenous form (gangrene) may gradually develop, which leads to tissue decomposition. In this case, there is a high risk of infection in the blood and the spread of the pathological process in the body. The more advanced the disease, the more difficult it is to cure.

Treatment of mastitis at home is acceptable, but it is worth considering the risks of developing complications, so you should definitely visit a doctor. Self-diagnosis and self-treatment for inflammation of the mammary gland is not acceptable.

Traditional medicine helps to reduce the effect of the inflammatory process and the symptoms of the disease, but is not able to completely stop the development of the disease. For this reason, it is recommended to carry out treatment at home under the constant supervision of a doctor and in the absence of any contraindications to home therapy.

Contraindications include:

The most effective treatment of mastitis with folk remedies in the early stages of the disease. Subsequently, traditional medicine helps to significantly reduce the intensity of symptoms.

Folk remedies are becoming more and more popular in the fight against various diseases due to the fact that they have a natural composition. But it is worth remembering that with the significant benefits of home treatment in some cases, including with progressive mastitis, it is necessary to use mandatory medications that can cope with the infection, and not just “muffle” its manifestation.

Many of our readers actively use the well-known method based on natural ingredients, discovered by Elena Malysheva, for the treatment of mastopathy and breast formations. We definitely recommend checking it out.

Popular folk remedies for the treatment of the disease

To eliminate the symptoms of the disease and reduce the activity of the pathological process at home, you can use different methods. The most effective way is exposure to salt, herbs and oils.

Salt

The peculiarity of the use of salt is that its internal use should be reduced, and it is better to exclude it in order to reduce the additional provocation of swelling of the tissues. But for external use, salt is ideal.

It is desirable to use sea salt, but in its absence, replacement with table salt is acceptable. Compresses are made with salt:

Apply a compress, avoiding the areola and the nipple itself. For convenience, you can make cuts on the fabric. A handkerchief is applied over the napkin. It is possible to treat inflammation of the mammary gland with this method only in the absence of wounds and cracks in the skin.

Sage

With mastitis, it is not advisable to continue breastfeeding, since the influx of milk causes an exacerbation of the disease, and the infection can be transmitted to the child.

Sage is a plant that can reduce lactation and inflammation. It is recommended to use this herb for infiltrative or purulent form of breast disease.

An infusion is made from sage, which must be taken orally. To prepare the infusion, you need a teaspoon of chopped herbs and a glass of boiling water. Sage is poured with water and kept for one hour, then filtered and drunk. The duration of treatment is one week. Drink the infusion three times a day, one glass.

Chamomile

Chamomile is known for its healing properties, especially its antibacterial properties. Therefore, even medical experts advise using this plant in case of infection.

A compress decoction is made from chamomile, which reduces pain and relieves swelling. Preparing a decoction is very simple: 0.2 liters of boiling water pour 3 tbsp. spoons of plant flowers. The agent is infused for half an hour, after which the cotton cloth is moistened with liquid and applied to the mammary gland. Make compresses daily for a week. Within one hour it is necessary to moisten the cane three or four times.

Cabbage

One of the most popular folk remedies for mastitis is cabbage. Cabbage is used in a variety of ways. One of the simplest methods is to apply cabbage leaves to the chest.

They also make a compress from cabbage juice. In order to get juice, you need to grate fresh (young) cabbage. Let her lie down for twenty minutes, then squeeze. The resulting juice is rubbed into the mammary glands.

Cabbage juice relieves inflammation, reduces lactation and helps to soften the seals formed in the chest. It is recommended to use compresses or rubbing for several days. In the first stages of mastitis, this method helps to overcome the disease in a week.

Camphor oil

Many women use camphor oil for mastitis. It has an analgesic and antiseptic effect. There are different methods of using camphor oil, for greater effect it is combined with other folk remedies:

Camphor oil has a strong warming effect, and also has contraindications (hypolactation, epilepsy), so its use is possible only after the consent of the attending physician.

Honey

Honey has been used to treat mastitis for many decades. This natural remedy has a huge number of useful properties and its effect has a positive effect in the treatment of the inflammatory process of the mammary gland.

In order to eliminate the pathology of the mammary gland, honey is used as follows:

When treating mastitis at home, the use of pure alcohol, Vishnevsky ointment and hot decoctions of herbs should be excluded. Excessively warming agents can provoke the reproduction of the infection, which will lead to the rapid progression of the disease.

Do you still think that it is impossible to CURE MASTOPATHY forever?

From 60% of women suffer from mastopathy. The worst thing is that most women are sure that mastopathy is the norm and do not rush to the doctor ... but the risk of developing BREAST CANCER in its place is very high ... If you notice:

• aching or drawing pains in the chest before menstruation ...
• sensations of swelling and swelling of the mammary glands. It's like your breasts are getting bigger...
• tension, seals and nodules. Feel the lymph nodes under the arm...
• nipple discharge...
• change in the shape of the breast, the skin on the nipples retracted and cracks appeared ...
• weight change...

All these symptoms may indicate the development of MASTOPATHY. But perhaps it is more correct to treat not the consequence, but the CAUSE? That is why we recommend reading the new method of Elena Malysheva, who has found an effective remedy for the treatment of MASTOPATHY and breast restoration in general.