I appreciate all the thoughts I received regarding my post of May 1.  If I
ever see this again I will be sure to suggest an ultrasound to speed up the
diagnosis.  My other thought is in regards to the "cold" that may have been
when the abcess started, since the painless lump under the nipple was first
noted one week after that.  The "cold" was just noted during a phone call
as the reason this mom didn't come to the support group.  She never
complained of any breast symptoms at that point, and I think the
amoxicillin was given for symptoms of sinus pain.  I'm betting now that the
amoxicillin masked some of the breast symptoms, without really taking care
of the offending organisms.  Since we have seen some really awful breast
infections but never seen them progress to abcess, that painless lump never
sent any of our thoughts in that direction.  But if we see one in the
future it surely will!

Becky Krumwiede, RN, IBCLC, Appleton, Wisconsin
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