I was surprised to see a message stating, "In our practice we don't see moms very often with mastitis in the office, mostly they are taken care of over the phone and it resolves." This may be a dangerous practice. Any infection in a postpartum woman needs to be treated with caution including a visit to her health care professional. Mastitis can be the presenting symptom of a systemic infection or a secondary infection to endometritis. It seems that any infection in a breastfeeding woman is treated as mastitis until proven otherwise. I have worked with two women who had serious endometritis that was initially dismissed as mastitis and treated over the phone. One of the women was hospitalized and intensive care for two weeks, the other required a hysterectomy for a ruptured uterus. Both presented with "flu-like symptoms, tender red breasts and fever." One also complained of backpain and unexpected cessation of bleeding. The mom in intensive care had red breasts extending up her chest and I now wonder if she didn't have toxic shock symptoms. I recommend women see their health care provider if they have symptoms of mastitis lasting over 24 hours and before if they feel the need. Cathy Liles, IBCLC *********************************************** 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