One mother I worked with had recurrent plugged ducts, which,
periodically, would progress immediately to full-blown mastitis.  What
seemed to finally work for her was a routine of systematically taking a
long, hot shower every morning and gently massaging her breasts, making
sure to work around the whole breast. and pay particular attention to
anything that seem the least bit lumpy.  It really seemed to do the
trick, perhaps by helping the circulation and keeping everything
flowing.

Now perhaps her problem was actually cleared by the last course of
antibiotics -- we'll never know.  But her low-tech approach certainly
couldn't hurt, and it's a bit of self-care that would be good for
morale.  In the original post on this issue, the mother in that case had
seven children, and certainly deserves a bona fide reason to treat
herself to a nice long shower. (Maybe with 15 minutes to read the
newspaper, but it's hard to come up with a medical rationale for that.)
It might have to wait until her husband got home in the evening though.

Margaret Wills

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