Extremely painful breast?

Hi I’m only 3 weeks PP (I’ve come on this group as I figure you’ve all had more experience than my Oct 2024 babies group 😅) My boy is 3 weeks old and today I’ve developed an EXTREMELY painful right boob. I BF and pump. My left boob is fine. The whole right boob is sooo painful; constant pain but also very very very tender to touch. Like when my baby wakes up I won’t be able to feed him on it now. It’s come on quite quickly , like 5 hours ago it was fine. In the last hour it’s got way worse too But there’s no hard lump or feeling ill (indicating mastitis?) and it’s not engorged / overfull of milk, I pumped about 1.5 hours ago and fed my baby all day. It’s not red either. I can’t call the HV team as they’re Mon - Fri Anyone had this?

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I’ve not had it, but maybe put a hot flannel on it and take some ibuprofen. Maybe even try and hand express a little bit. I know you say you’re not in engorged, but it could be that baby boy hasn’t drained you properly x

Check under your armpit. Do you feel anything tender there?

If you feel ill it could be mastitis starting, keep an eye on your temperature. May be worth a call to 111 or do the online version. If possible try to get baby to feed from it as if it’s a clog it can help sort it out x

I get this still occasionally and EBF. I find a pump and a hot shower (or bath if you have one, I don't) helps to ease it. I would keep en eye on it and make sure it doesn't get blocked and keep feeding from both sides. I've also found that some times I can sleep it off and feed in the morning and be fine

Sounds like a clogged duct? I had it once and pumping didn't relive it, could get other milk out but not there. Try to encourage baby to feed from that boob next if you can offer several times, my baby was the only thing that sorted it!

It could be the start of mastitis, it took quite a few days before I starting feeling really ill. Monitor your temperature every few hours and talk to 111 if you think you need antibiotics. I think you should still be able to access the maternity triage care. Also the protocols for dealing with mastitis have changed and now hot showers, compresses and massage are known to make things worse. The new advice is ibuprofen to reduce swelling and cold compresses. I’m not saying it is mastitis, but it’s good to know just in case. I had mastitis 3 times so probably over cautious! https://laleche.org.uk/mastitis/ I really hope it feels better soon :)

I honestly think I had this when I was early in my journey.. I even rang a bf support line and they struggled with what it was!! I got treated for thrush in the end even though no obvious signs (baby did too). Doctor thought it COULD be, so we were both treated and it did help tbh! The pain was awful, go to doctor re. Potential thrush even if you don’t think it is because the steroid cream (I think it is) may still help. Hope you feel better soon xx

I have also had mastitis and it was totally different pain but cold compress helped with that more.. I think the “thrush” was worse 🫠😂

Sounds weird , put some cabbage of that boob , I had the exact same , massage it when you can. A midwife told me about the cabbage but it really did work

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