Often, women who breastfeed their babies in the postpartum period may experience symptoms of lactostasis and even mastitis. Causes of mastitis may be cracks in the nipples and lactostasis (stagnant milk in the chest). Microorganisms (most often staphylococci and streptococci) penetrate through cracks and multiply in breast milk, the outflow of which is disturbed, causing inflammation.
The attendant factors of mastitis are non-observance of the rules of personal hygiene, hormonal disorders in women, lowering of immunity. The main symptoms of lactation mastitis are stagnation of milk in the mammary gland, its compaction, redness and soreness, increase in body temperature.
Stages of mastitis
Distinguish acute serous, infiltrative and purulent mastitis, the symptoms in each stage increase compared to the previous one.
- The first symptoms of mastitis in the serous stage are symptoms like lactostasis (densification, swelling of the gland), and general symptoms of intoxication with an increase in body temperature.
- If the mastitis of the breast passes into the infiltrative stage, the symptoms of general intoxication grow, the mammary gland becomes firm and painful, the skin in the area of ​​inflammation turns red, serous discharge from the mammary gland with irregular blood-purulent impurities in a small amount.
- Symptoms of purulent mastitis in women (or breast abscess) are an increase in body temperature to 39 degrees, insomnia, headaches, general weakness, chills. The consolidation becomes very painful, sometimes it not only leads to an increase in the breast, but also deforms it, the skin turns red and acquires a cyanotic hue, the veins of the mammary gland expands, the nipple retracts, and the regional lymph nodes increase. Purulent discharge appears from the mammary gland, often in large numbers, and there may not be excretions in the mammary abscess.
In addition to the main stages, there are surface and deep mastitis, the symptoms of the surface process are often accompanied by a reaction from the skin of the gland, and the deep is diagnosed by the presence of seals and general symptoms of intoxication.
Chronic mastitis - symptoms
Chronic mastitis is characterized by periodic exacerbation of inflammation - densification and stagnation of milk with mild general symptoms. As a rule, chronic mastitis is a consequence of not completely cured acute process, inflammation occurs in the same part of the gland as a result of local hypothermia, milk stagnation, decreased immunity, and during remission in the gland can remain a painless mobile seal.