Let's talk clogged ducts! Milk ducts that is... (If your babe has a clogged tear ducts, squirt some breastmilk in the eye and give a gentle massage to the area!)
Plugged ducts can be quite painful and leave your breast feeling tender and hard. If your breast is warm to the touch or you are running a fever, your clogged ducts may have progressed to mastitis.
I got my first clogged duct a few days after my son was born and I was so unprepared! I was frantically sending my husband to the store to find the natural remedies I was desperate for. Thankfully I live in an area with many health food stores, so I was able to get my hands on what I needed. Don't be like me. Having these things on hand is a good idea, especially if these items can't be found in stores near you!
In my 16 months of breastfeeding, I have had clogged ducts many times, but thankfully no mastitis! I largely accredit that to these remedies kicking the clogged duct before it can manifest into mastitis. When you have a clogged duct, you definitely want to keep breastfeeding! Your babe can help get it out and prevent it from getting worse. Dangle feeding can help. It is often recommend to have your baby's nose facing the clogged duct, as well, which can make for some interesting positioning.
This stuff is magic! I love herbal remedies as my first line of defense. As soon as I feel a clogged duct, I start using this tincture and usually after a few doses the clogged duct goes away.
If a few doses of Happy Ducts doesn't do the trick, I start using sunflower lecithin as well. Sunflower lecithin helps to make milk thinner to get it flowing through the ducts again!
3. Haakaa with Epsom Salt
For stubborn clogged ducts, you can put a tablespoon or so of epsom salt in your Haakaa (every breastfeeding mom has one of these right?) with some warm water and put it on your breast and let it do its magic. If you are able to use a heating pad on your breast during this time, that can help immensely. Some women like to do this in the shower, to let warm water run on their breast.
4. Homeopathic Remedies
There are a few homeopathic remedies that can be useful for relieving clogged milk ducts! Homeopathic remedies are very specific to the symptoms that you are experiencing, here is a few you can look into: Belladonna, Phytolacca, Hepar Sulph. Here is a great book to learn more about homeopathic medicine: The Complete Homeopathy Handbook.
DISCLAIMER: This is not medical advice.