Julie tells of a mother with these symptoms: "Today, the plug seems = somewhat better but the breast is very red and hot and the nipple kills = during the feeding and after baby nurses. Breast more painful after = nursing." And she mentioned that the mother was afebrile. Julie I'd be inclined to look for a white spot (bleb, I think some people call it) on the nipple. You may actually have to get a magnifying glass to look at the nipple, but what you have described sounds remarkably like one. If it is, soaking it in a little oil to soften it, then gently trying to unblock it off while gently expressing may be the only treatment you need. Then putting the baby onto the breast to finish the clearing of that blocked duct. The most recent case I had like this did look like quite a bad mastitis with the red flare going right up to mother's axilla. There was very little to see on the nipple, until I looked really closely. But the big thing was NO fever. Her doctor too had prescribed her antibiotics, but within 24 hours we had it completely cleared and she never filled the script. Definitely worth a look. Denise ************************************************* Denise Fisher MMP, BN, IBCLC BreastEd Online Lactation Studies http://www.health-e-learning.com ************************************************* *********************************************** To temporarily stop your subscription: set lactnet nomail To start it again: set lactnet mail (or digest) To unsubscribe: unsubscribe lactnet All commands go to [log in to unmask] The LACTNET mailing list is powered by L-Soft's renowned LISTSERV(R) list management software together with L-Soft's LSMTP(TM) mailer for lightning fast mail delivery. For more information, go to: http://www.lsoft.com/LISTSERV-powered.html