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Clogged Milk Duct

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What is a Clogged Milk Duct 

A clogged milk duct occurs when a milk duct becomes blocked or obstructed preventing milk flow through your breasts to your nipple. Your breasts contain a network of milk ducts (mammary ducts) and these tube-like ducts carry milk from your breast tissue to your nipples. Milk can back up in the duct if there’s anything compressing the ducts such as inflammation in the soft tissues and surrounding blood vessels. 

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This can happen for a variety of reasons:

  • Skipping feedings or pumping sessions or going too long between feedings.

  • Changing your baby’s feeding schedule (like during weaning or starting solid foods).

  • Your baby has a bad latch and isn’t draining your breast. 

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It can lead to tender, sore lump or knot in the breast, and the skin over the lump may be red. If left untreated, a clogged milk duct can lead to an infection known as mastitis. 

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Symptoms 

One of the biggest signs of a blocked milk duct is a hard lump on your breast. It’ll be painful or sore when you touch it. 

Other symptoms of a clogged milk duct are:

  • Pain during letdown

  • Pain or swelling near the lump (not your whole breast).

  • The lump moves or gets smaller after pumping or feeding.

  • Discomfort that subsides after pumping or feeding.

 

Treatment

It is important that if you are experiencing a clogged duct that you work closely with an IBCLC to find the root cause as to why you are experiencing a clogged duct. They can often help guide you in how to treat these at home so they do not progress to mastitis. 

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Here at Performance Health we offer Therapeutic Ultrasound as treatment to a clogged duct or mastitis. The Ultrasound uses sound waves to penetrate deeper than massage in order to break up the clog, decrease inflammation in the area and allow free flow of milk through the ducts. 

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