Mastitis: causes, symptoms, treatment
Mastitis is an inflammatory process in the mammary glands. Most often one side is affected. The disease is caused by coccal pathogenic flora, usually a staphylococcal infection. Mastitis often develops in nursing mothers; less often, the disease bothers women in the last months of pregnancy.
There is also non-lactation mastitis. It occurs in young women, teenage girls and even newborns. Women's breasts have a complex structure; their main purpose is to feed babies. It consists of milk ducts and many blood vessels.
Causes of mastitis
When bacteria penetrate the mammary glands, inflammation develops. Pathogenic microorganisms can get inside in the following ways:
- During the period of milk production, the milky passages are actively working and, under proper conditions, microbes can penetrate into their bed.
- The presence of mechanical damage to the mammary gland, such as cracked nipples.
- The presence of purulent foci from which infection can spread to the mammary glands.
The main routes of penetration of pathogenic microorganisms into the mammary glands are:
- cracks in the nipple area;
- bloodstream;
- infectious foci.
Usually, even if the nipples are cracked, as a result of an infection getting through them, the immune system is able to overcome it. But in the period after childbirth, a woman’s body weakens, and it is very difficult to cope with the resulting inflammation on her own.
The main reason for the appearance of the disease during the lactation period is non-compliance with hygiene rules before and after putting the baby to the breast. In second place is lactostasis. It represents milk stagnation in the milk ducts. This happens from insufficient pumping or rare feeding of the baby to the breast. Milk contains many nutrients, which is why it attracts pathogenic microorganisms.
If we talk about the causes of non-lactation mastitis, they are as follows:
- injury to the mammary gland;
- chest compression;
- hormonal imbalance.
Symptoms of mastitis
Usually one of the mammary glands becomes inflamed; only in 16-17% of cases is bilateral mastitis diagnosed. As the infectious process spreads, symptoms of the disease appear and increase. The disease, like many other ailments, can be acute or chronic. A chronic condition develops due to a woman’s negligent attitude towards her health, or against the background of improper treatment.
At the beginning of the acute stage, the disease is characterized as serous inflammation. This condition manifests itself with a mild course and an unexpressed clinical picture. The chest becomes evenly denser and becomes painful when touched. It is possible to increase body temperature to 38 degrees. Serous mastitis is eliminated in a short period of time with proper therapy.
The infiltrative form develops in advanced cases or against the background of improper treatment. The pain becomes severe and the temperature rises higher. The mammary gland itself becomes swollen. At the site of inflammation, a compaction (infiltrate) with unclear boundaries forms. Redness appears in this area. Regional lymph nodes are enlarged.
As the disease progresses, a purulent formation appears in the infiltrate. This period of mastitis is called abscess form. The woman feels chills and fever, the temperature rises to 40 degrees, the lymph nodes enlarge.
An inflammatory area with clear boundaries forms on the chest. The purulent formation becomes soft to the touch, while the infiltrate is hard. Pus can spread throughout the mammary gland, sometimes multiple abscesses similar to a honeycomb are observed. If they are superficial, they open on their own.
Phlegmous mastitis is diagnosed when pus spreads throughout the entire area of the chest. Phlegmon does not have clear boundaries, so it is difficult to identify during palpation. Symptoms of intoxication increase at this time, the temperature can rise above 40 degrees. The mammary gland is significantly enlarged, the nipple is retracted, and the skin tone is bluish.
When the purulent process is started, a gangrenous form develops. The skin color of the inflamed gland is purple-bluish. The swelling is significant, where necrosis has appeared, the color turns black. Blisters form, similar to a burn. All this can lead to sepsis, which threatens the patient’s life.
Treatment of mastitis
Treatment must be approached comprehensively. The methods and timing of therapy are determined by the attending physician. If you start treatment at an early stage of the disease, that is, when there are no obvious signs of mastitis, but there is slight pain, as well as a feeling of heaviness and swelling of the breasts, then the success of recovery will be guaranteed.
Most often, treatment of the serous stage coincides with the treatment of lactostasis. It is often sufficient to free the mammary gland from excess milk by pumping or frequently putting the baby to the breast.
As symptoms increase, body temperature increases to 37.5 degrees, intoxication, pain and breast hardening appear, antibacterial therapy will be required. Antispasmodics and physiotherapy (ultrasound and UHF) are also included.
If the inflammatory process is removed and the pathogen is not detected in the tests, then breastfeeding can be continued. But it is produced using a bottle. The damaged gland does not produce milk to the baby. And expressed milk from a healthy breast is pre-pasteurized. Expressed milk cannot be stored. If the doctor deems it necessary, breastfeeding is stopped.
On average, a course of antibiotic treatment lasts up to 10 days. If therapy does not help and the abscess phase has begun, then surgical intervention is indicated. It involves puncturing the abscess, pumping out the pus and injecting an antibiotic directly into the mammary gland area. In extreme cases, a sick woman is urgently admitted to a hospital, where the abscess is opened and drained, followed by the administration of antimicrobial drugs.
Prevention of mastitis
Prevention of the disease begins in the antenatal clinic, when a woman is registered due to pregnancy, continues in the maternity ward, and then in the children's clinic.
The basis of preventive measures is the following rules:
- Carrying out personal hygiene, especially during lactation.
- Timely elimination of all cracks and irritation in the papillary part.
- Compliance with the feeding regime and timely release of excess milk from the breast.
- Fortified nutrition, enriched with healthy foods, helps strengthen a woman’s immune system.
Start treating any disease at the initial stage, and then you won’t have to deal with complications.
