Absolutely nothing!
But this DIY cure for mastitis is to good to keep to myself. So let me share..... without pictures of course.
I woke up one morning with a clogged duct. I had heard that the best way to get rid of a clogged duct is to massage it, put warm packs on it and nurse/pump a lot.
So that is just what I did. But I didn't really have any idea how often to do those things or if there was a specific way. So I just winged it.
As the day went on it got worse. So I pulled out some essential oils and started to massage them onto the clogged duct every hour.
By the next morning I had a huge, red, hot, very sore clogged duct and I had a temp of 101. I was achy all over and just wanted to stay in bed all day. It was full blown mastitis.
Now I know what your thinking, why didn't I just go to the Dr. at that point? Because all I could think about was the journey it would take to get there. It would have gone like this;
Me: Kids, I need to go to the Dr. Go potty and get your shoes on
daughter: I don't WANT to go to the Dr. I just want to stay here and play
Me: I know you do, but I need to go, I'm sick. Please do what I ask
daughter: grumble, grumble, whine. I can't find my shoes
me: why aren't they in the mud room
daughter: I didn't want them there
*spend 10 min looking for shoes, find them and do a happy dance*
me: your shoes are on backwards
daughter: I just WANT them that way
son yelling from the car: are we leaving yet
me: soon, did you potty
son: oh yeah, I forgot to do that
*10 min later after everyone has gone to the potty and the baby has a fresh diaper*
*buckle the two girls in their car seats*
*drive for 20 min to the Dr while listening to Frozen...... again*
son from back seat: mumble mumble
me: what? Talk louder
son: WHERE. DOES. THAT. ROAD. GO
me: what road
son: back there
me: can you be more specific
son: the one by the gate
me: I didn't see it
son: where does it go
me: I don't know
son: why not
me: because I've never been down that road
son: why not
me: I just haven't *time to change the subject* lets sing along "Let it Goooooooo"
*get to the Dr. office, unload three kids, carry the infant car seat in one arm and hold hands in the other arm while we cross the parking lot and go up the elevator.*
*wait for at least an hour in the waiting room while the two older kids do everything they aren't suppose to while I continue to say, don't, stop, no you can't, leave that alone, etc.*
Are you tired just reading it? Just the thought of hauling the three kids to the Dr. office was enough to make me ache even more.
I was determined to fix it on my own so I wouldn't have to go.
That afternoon I texted my sisters and my sis-in-law. Between the four of them there are 18 kids. I figured at least one of them could give me advice.
Sure enough, my sis-in-law sent me a text with very detailed instructions:
"Get in the shower and put the shower head on the hurt spot as hot as you can stand it. Your trying to "melt" the fat that's causing the problem. Massage the sore spot, starting at the closest part of the pain to the nipple and work your way back. You're massaging and pushing towards the nipple the whole time. It's going to hurt. After about 5 minutes of hot water on the spot, get out and immediately drain the breast using the baby or a pump. Use whatever one has a stronger suction. Empty the breast completely. Drink lots and lots of water. Do the whole thing again every 2-3 hours"
I did that three times before I went to bed that night.
The Verdict: When I got up the next morning my ache and fever were gone. I still had a bit of a lump so I took 2 more really hot showers that day. By the following morning I was tender from all the hard massaging but other then that I was completely fine.
Note: She did say that this doesn't always work, it depends on how long you've had the infection and where it's located. But being able to fix it at home without a Dr. visit or medication is worth a try, in my opinion.
