Clogged milk duct

OK so I have been exclusively pumping now for 8 months. I have had a milk blister off and on for about the last 2 months. Well this time the blister has popped and now the skin is coming off from the blister and underneath of it, it looks like there like a slit like I have been cut or something. Its not painful to pump but when I do pump now out of that side I'm getting alot of bloody milk. My question is how do you handle this to make it heal faster so I don't keep getting blood in the milk. The dr. says its ok to give the bloody milk but I just can't do it. I always dump it. I am starting to give them one bottle of formula now as of 2 weeks ago, but I think I'm going to up that to 2 bottles. Since this has been going on I have been getting less milk out of that side. I hope all of this makes sense.

TIA

 

You might want to see your OB ASAP about the possibility of an infection. It's unlikely that a skin wound would still be bleeding after a day or two, and blocked nipple pores are often - not always - related to infections further up in the breast. The reduction in supply is another symptom of an infection. Have you had any clogged ducts or pain on that side?

 

I did have a clog and I was doing the warm compresses and using that Lanish stuff. It was painfull while I had the blister and after it popped for the first 2 days then I was fine.

 

I had a milk blister that caused me all sorts of grief.....My LC had me stop using Lanolin as she thinks it makes things worse and started using APNO 3-4x daily. But I agree it shouldn't be bloody for days afterwards...mine lasted maybe 3 days?? I also rested that side a little bit....only pumped 2-3x day for a couple days then when it was better worked real hard on getting my supply up again....

 

Hi there,

sorry to hear about your blister!!! I agree with the doctor that while it may not look that appealing too you bloody milk is absolultey FINE to give to the babies!
As for your blister -

Have you had mastitis lately or are you showing any signs? Sometimes a bleb can cause mastis by blocking the flow of milk from the duct and other times the bleb forms as a result of mastitis which caused the milk to thicken in a blocked duct.

How about Thrush? Are you showing any signs of that? (Intense breast pain, itch or burning nipples, traces of white fungus, cracked nipples, shooting pains)

If the blister is painful you can apply wet heat or soak it in warm water. You can also wear a cotton ball soaked in olive oil in your bra to soften the skin and then attempt to peel away the thickened layer of skin. You can also try to express any remaining material after its opened to keep the duct open.

When yours opened was it dry or did you have milk begin flowing?
Once its open although most say not to use soap, you could try a thin layer of antibiotic ointment such as Bactroban or Polysporin after pumping/feedings and alternate that with lanolin. That will prevent the formation of more thickened skin.

 

This happened to me too. I used neosporin (Bactraban actually) and washed it off before pumping to heal the nipples. I'm sorry you have to deal with this. Yuck!

 

Thanks everyone, I guess I'm going to have to try Bactraban and see if that does the trick. I have never had mastisis or any other kind of infection. I'm just hoping this doesn't turn into one.