A Mother's Discovery

a mother's experience nurturing her little ones, treasuring every single family moments with her loved ones and sharing her thoughts on day-to-day life experience, breastfeeding and natural parenting ...

Tuesday, September 14, 2010

i'm having milk bleb : (

picture googled from mother-2-mother.com


alhamdulillah, to date at 18 months, Imtiaz is still breastfeeding, without any supplementation of formula milk..even though during the day,he is no more interested to drink my expressed breast milk (EBM) via bottle, cup, etc, he drinks only plain water, juices or occasionally UHT flavoured milk...but when i'm around, i am his readily available milk producer for him...

once a while, i noticed i will have to deal with nipple pain or blocked duct myself, even Imtiaz is considered as big enough to cause such problem to me...during the hari raya break, i had another episode of nipple pain, being the usual area, the right nipple...i thought it was due to improper latching or due to pulling by my aggressive little dinosaur...the pain was sharp, at every feeding, even after i corrected the position...

this morning, upon waking up, i noticed a tiny, white spot on the nipple...i'm having a milk bleb or milk blister...

A milk blister, or blocked nipple pore, is also called a bleb or nipple blister, or simply "milk under the skin." It occurs when a tiny bit of skin overgrows a milk duct opening and milk backs up behind it. A milk blister usually shows up as a painful white, clear or yellow dot on the nipple or areola, and the pain tends to be focused at that spot and just behind it. If you compress the breast so that milk is forced down the ducts, the blister will typically bulge outward. Milk blisters can be persistent and very painful during feeding, and may remain for several days or weeks and then spontaneously heal when the skin peels away from the affected area.. (from kellymom.com)

so, what i did just now, i applied moist heat to the area (i immersed my nipple in a bowl of warm water), then i apply some olive oil on a cotton ball and gently rub the area to soften the blocked pore...then i massage my nipple in the warm water and the milk started to ooze out of the bleb...alhamdulillah, milk is able to eject through that pore...and now i feel a bit better, with less pain...

the recommended treatment will be, applying the moist heat prior to feeding, then nurse the baby often or pump with hospital-grade pump, and followed by antibiotic cream if needed...alternatively if all the methods above do not work, ask your healthcare provider to use a sterile needle to open the bleb...pain relief can be used to relieve discomfort...

remember, to seek immediate treatment if any of the following occurs: fever, inflammation, swelling, any kind of discharge, abscess, etc...



8 comments:

intanmastura said...

salam dr ezzura. sorry i'm not good in english. i've a baby almost 8 month. sejak dari baby Muhammad al firras rayyan ada Enzima n now alhamdulilah dah ok.dulu Rayyan minum susu Enfalac LF. sekarang mas nak tukar susu to Step 2. nak minta suggestion from Dr.Boleh Dr advise Mas? reply tpo my email: mastura@naza.com.my or intan_land84@yahoo.com.my

Anonymous said...

I was so happy to find and read this! I also thought it was from improper latching etc.I'm suffering from this at the moment! Its so paiful! Have you learned a faster way to make it heal? I just forced milk through it, before I nursed and it seems to be a little less sore after a couple of min of nursing on that side.

Thanks ;)
Rachel

Dr Ezura said...

hi rachel, thanks for dropping by...from my experience and limited knowledge, these milk blebs take some time to heal...you can use moist warm compression before nursing to open the pores and minimize pain with easier milk flow out of the nipple...you can also apply some lanolin based nipple ointment to help soothe the nipple because friction cause it to be painful...mine healed after 3-4 wks..never give up in breastfeeding..if it is too painful, you might want to seek medical atention or your lactation consultant for opinion..hope that helps..

Anonymous said...

Thanks Dr Ezura! I was using the lanolin cream because I thought it was originally from improper latching, but stoppped once I found out it wasnt... I'll start using it again! Thanks again

Milky Way said...

Hi Dr ezura..i didnt know you have a blog! I was googling for milk blister n found yours. I THINK i'm having this problem, not so sure myself as mine is not as big as the photo. Mine happened after a long nursing on one breast n i notice ada gelembong on the nipple..like 3! its white color...after few hours the gelembong jadi leper n turn to yellowish color like bernanah! ...wanted to make appointments with MLO Drs but tomorrow is CNY Holidays! Will try the heat therpahy first...hopefully all is ok

ayukhairy said...

salam dr ezzura. saya ingin minta izin dr untuk share kisah dr atasi prob milk blister ni ye...tq in advance ^_^

Unknown said...

salam, dr ezzura,, saya pohon minta share yea dr nye story ni... ^_^ sharing is caring rite.. tqvm doc...

~ medow ~ said...

Thanks a lot for this info, just found the bleb this afternoon.. will definitely try the warm compress + massage ;)