What to do if breast pores are clogged

During the lactation period, because the mammary glands secrete milk for a long time, some dirt and dust will be blocked in the local pores. Over time, the breast pores will be blocked, which will have a great impact on women's breasts, such as causing mastitis, breast pain, breast lumps, and purulent infections. In normal times, treatment is needed as soon as possible to avoid dragging down the mammary glands.

Blockage of the breast ducts is also called mastitis.

Acute mastitis is an acute suppurative infection of the breast caused by pathogenic bacteria invading the breast and growing and multiplying therein. This condition is more common in first-time mothers and often occurs 3 to 4 weeks after delivery.

Most cases of acute mastitis occur in primiparas during lactation. The initial symptoms are nipple cracking and pain. The pain worsens during breastfeeding, causing the mother to be afraid or refuse to breastfeed, resulting in milk stasis, breast tenderness and discomfort. Local redness, swelling, pain or painful lumps may occur. In severe cases of infection, the inflammatory mass increases in size and may fluctuate, and the axillary lymph nodes may become enlarged, with local pain and tenderness. Systemic manifestations include chills, high fever, and increased white blood cell count. The manifestations of abscesses in different parts of the body are also different. Superficial abscesses can break through on their own, while deep abscesses often have no sense of fluctuation. The abscess can penetrate deep into the loose connective tissue behind the breast, forming a retromammary abscess. Abscesses that are not drained can enter different breast lobules, penetrate the connective tissue spaces between the lobes, and form dumbbell-shaped abscesses or multiple abscesses. If the large mammary ducts are affected, purulent milk or milk fistula may occur.

The bacteria that cause acute mastitis are mainly Staphylococcus aureus. One of their invasion routes is through the damaged skin of the nipple. When the baby sucks the nipple of a primipara, it often causes varying degrees of cracking, erosion or small ulcers, creating a convenient door for bacterial invasion. The bacteria can spread through this and along the lymphatic vessels to the mammary parenchyma, forming an infection focus. The second route is when the baby sleeps with the nipple in his mouth or when the baby suffers from stomatitis, the bacteria can directly pass through the opening of the mammary duct, ascend to the mammary lobules, and then spread to the mammary interstitium.

Milk stasis is an important pathogenic factor of this disease. Inverted or deformed nipples, congenitally blocked ducts, and insufficient breastfeeding experience of the mother, which prevents the milk from being fully drained and results in milk congestion, all create conditions for the reproduction of bacteria. In addition, the decline in immunity after childbirth also creates conditions for infection. Moisture and increased temperature of the nipple make it more likely to cause bacterial infection. People with poor immunity are prone to spread of infection, forming abscesses and even sepsis, while those with good immunity can remain in the mild inflammation or cellulitis stage and can be absorbed on their own.

Active treatment of acute mastitis in the early stages can prevent the spread of inflammation. In the early stages of inflammation, cold compresses should be applied first, which can lower local temperature, block the conduction of peripheral nerve impulses, and have an analgesic effect; it can also change vascular permeability, thereby preventing edema, exudation and reducing cell metabolism. When using ice packs for cold compresses, in order to avoid frostbite on the skin, you should stop after 3 to 4 hours, wait until the skin warms up, and then apply cold compresses again until the body temperature returns to normal and the tenderness of the breast lump has basically disappeared. Again, when milk accumulation is found, you should try to empty the accumulated milk. You can use a breast pump or massage your breasts with your hands, but do not squeeze or rotate your breasts too hard. The accumulated milk should be gradually pushed out along the direction of the milk duct. When massaging, you can gently lift the nipples with your hands several times. Apply local hot compress before massage for better effect.