I can relate a case which may prove helpful, and I welcome additional comments about this method. I visited a mother with recurrent plugged ducts and history of abscess. She had recently had a massage from someone who used lymphatic drainage. She felt it was very helpful (she was a second time mother and experienced in the normal course of breastfeeding). She used my visit to check on latch and positioning. Obviously, you cannot send a mother with very sore tender red breasts but this "in between" situation could be a good time to do it. Recently a mother I worked with had a plugged duct and along with following my advice (not always a given; sometimes no one I see does what I say, for several visits in a row) she went to her own acupuncturist. She felt much better. I believe there are posts in the archives about the use of acupuncture. Since chiropractic helps some children with ear infections, would it help some mothers with chronic mastitis? By the way, when I recommend these non-mainstream ideas I have a standard preface: "if you're comfortable doing these therapies yourself...". Chronic mastitis is really a trial for mothers. I think we need more answers than we have. By the way, I didn't realize that peppermint tea "calms" milk supply. Can it cause severe dips in supply? Hoping to keep this thread going, Kate Sharp LC in NYC *********************************************** 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