Chris wrote:

" I am working with a mom who has been c/o breast pain, past yeast 
infections, recurrent plugged duct and mastitis. Her child is now 14 months old. Her 
first plug came when he was one month old. She said she never could  keep it 
clear."

What has she tried in the past for the plugged ducts?  Massage? Nursing baby 
lying down with baby coming over her shoulder, so jaw specifically compresses 
those upper ducts?  (this has worked well for a few moms, and with a toddler, 
perhaps, she can have the child stand behind her and lean over onto 
breast...the child may find this hysterically funny as they like to nurse in odd 
positions, especially if a game is made of it).   Some of the treatments I've 
suggested to moms with varying degrees of success (depends on how long plug has been 
there) are castor oil rubbed into area and heat applied for maybe 10-20 min, 
3-4x/day, soaking breast in bowl of warm chammomile tea and gentle massage 
starting behind the plug and down to nipple, vibrator lightly applied for few 
minutes followed by nursing or pumping (Denise Fisher posted awhile ago about 
this, search in Archives under blocked ducts and vibrators, and homeopathic 
phytolocca can work well, especially if begun right at the start of mom feeling a 
blocked duct.  The other thing I've found is often there is a nipple bleb 
involved which may be what's causing the blockage in the first place.  I've had moms 
not experience pain with the bleb and not even notice it which happened 
recently, and for this mom, once she treated the bleb as instructed, the persistent 
plugs began to decrease.  

There certainly may be other factors for this mom, but I'm just addressing 
the blocked ducts which often take time to resolve and need continuing 
treatment.  Oversupply can cause blocked ducts initially, too.  Lecithin and ibuprofen 
are also what I suggest because the ducts are inflammed and the lecithin is a 
long term solution sometimes.  If mom is amenable, boosting her immune system 
herbally and with dietary additions, perhaps changes could be explored, too.

Barbara Latterner, BSN, RN, IBCLC



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