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Mastitis
Make it clearer
Mastitis means inflammation of the breast, and the acute form is the one that comes on suddenly. It happens mostly to women who are breastfeeding, though it also occurs outside lactation.
In the lactational form, two things come together. One is milk stasis, milk that sits still because it is not being drained well from the breast: standing water in a pipe. The other is bacteria getting in through damaged skin.
It usually happens in the first six weeks after delivery, and what it feels like is fairly recognizable: the area swells, hurts and turns red, and there can be fever and chills, meaning whole-body symptoms and not just breast symptoms.
It is worth knowing that the story is not always a cracked nipple. Many women with mastitis have no visible damage there at all, which is why an imbalance in the breast microbiome, that is, the bacteria that normally live in it, is now also being studied.
In brief
Acute mastitis is inflammation of the breast, most often during breastfeeding, though it also occurs outside lactation.
The lactational form starts with milk stasis, milk that is not removed from the breast, plus bacteria entering through damaged skin.
Milk sitting still in a duct that no longer empties.
It usually appears in the first six weeks after delivery, with swelling, pain, redness, fever and chills.
Many women with mastitis have no visible nipple damage; an imbalance of the breast microbiome is also under study.
Sources (1)
- National Center for Biotechnology Information, StatPearls PublishingAcute Mastitis, StatPearlsPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
Updated