Mastitis: prevent and treat it naturally

Mastitis is an inflammation of the breast tissue that It affects one in four women during the lactation period. If you are breastfeeding and you suffer from mastitis, recognizing the symptoms and healing it in time can prevent you from weaning the baby earlier than expected.

symptoms of mastitis

You just had your baby and you want to breastfeed as long as possible. You know that breastfeeding gives the child a better immune function and that it will help him to have fewer infections and allergies. But after a few weeks you suddenly feel “pricks” in a chest, a localized and intense pain that is sometimes accompanied by fever or malaise.

These are the main symptoms of mastitis. You may think that noticing all this is normal, that it is due to the rise in milk, an excessive production or even that the cause is the baby’s own suction, as if it were biting you… but if the pain does not stop and the breast turns red You are probably suffering from mastitis.

Why should mastitis be treated?

If not treated properly, mastitis it can make breastfeeding an uncomfortable and painful experience.

On the other hand, the inflammation of the mammary tissue causes a stagnation of the milk that will lead to a flavor change caused by increased sodium concentration. The baby will refuse to breastfeed and, between the pain and the greater difficulty in latching on to the breast, lactation will be compromised.

A study published in 2016 by the Spanish Association of Pediatrics revealed that mastitis is one of the main causes of avoidable abandonment of breastfeeding.

In addition, if the mastitis becomes chronic, it is possible that it ends up forming a abscess requiring surgery to be removed.

Causes and treatment of mastitis

When it comes to seeing the causes and treatment, it is convenient to learn to distinguish between two types of mastitis:

acute mastitis

Acute mastitis is inflammation of one or more lobes of the mammary gland, accompanied or not by infection. It is characterized by:

It is usually unilateralthat is, it affects only one breast, although there may be bilateral involvement. It usually occurs within eight weeks of deliveryespecially between the second and third.

The most common causes that lead to this type of infection are usually the following:

Infrequent feedings. Inadequate latching on of the child that leads to ineffective milk extraction. Pressure on the chest from bras or too tight clothing. Inadequate hygiene of pumping sets. Decreased maternal defenses. It has also been observed that Separation between mother and newborn in the first 24 hours of life is a predisposing factor.

Years ago, mastitis was treated with generic antibiotics; but today it is usually done culture with antibiogramthat is, the resistance of the bacteria to different antibiotics is previously looked at in order to find the most appropriate antibiotic in each case.

However, in many cases, mastitis can be solved with the taking probiotics. Some clinical trials, such as the one published in the journal Breastfeeding Medicine in 2017, have shown the effectiveness of the strain Lactobacillus fermentum to prevent the development of mastitis during lactation.

Chronic or recurrent mastitis

A 10% of women who suffer from mastitis have recurrences. Generally this is due to inadequate treatment of acute mastitisalthough other causes may coexist:

Anatomical alterations. Incorrect lactation technique. Resistant bacteria. Association of various pathogens. Use of contaminated nipple shields or breast pumps. Abscesses. More general processes of the mother such as immunodeficiencies, anemia, fatigue, stress and emotional ups and downs.

Care and natural remedies

Some habits and natural remedies can be of great help to overcome mastitis without having to resort to taking antibiotics. After applying any of the products listed below, remember clean the breast well before breastfeeding to your baby

Express milk by hand or with a breast pump until the milk starts to flow.Try breastfeed in different positions and massages the breasts during feedings to achieve maximum emptying. specific probiotics for lactationespecially the strain Lactobacillus fermentum.apply yourself cold cabbage leaves -leave them for half an hour in the fridge- on the affected chest, twice a day. compresses with apple cider vinegar they are also effective for their antibacterial properties; They calm inflammation and reduce infection. Pour half a cup of vinegar into half a cup of lukewarm water, soak a thin towel, and let it act for 10 minutes on the inflamed chest. Cut a sheet of aloe vera and apply the fresh gel that it contains inside. Let it dry and remove it with lukewarm water. Its analgesic and antibacterial power helps reduce pain and stops bacterial growth. Soak a cotton swab in mother tincture of calendula and performs gentle massages on the breast. The analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties of this plant will help you soothe the feeling of stiffness, pain, and itching. Another option is to apply coconut oil on the inflamed chest and let it act for 10 to 15 minutes. In addition to having an emollient effect (softens, hydrates and refreshes the skin), coconut is a good natural antiseptic.

If, despite taking all these precautions and trying different natural remedies, you still have problems, we recommend that you consult a lactation specialist.

An imbalance of the breast microbiota

The mammary gland of the lactating woman contains a own physiological microbiotadominated by staphylococci, streptococci and lactic acid bacteria.

In recent years, much has been studied about the intestinal microbiota and its relationship with the immune system, but little is known about the processes that lead to infection. Microbial dysbiosis in the breasts of lactating womenwith a spectacular increase in the concentration of the causative agent and the disappearance of the rest of the bacteria.

According to a study published in the journal Spanish Pediatric Act in 2009, the main etiological agents of infectious mastitis during lactation belong to the genera staphylococcus and streptococcuswith an increasing role of coagulase-negative staphylococci.

The mastitis-causing strains of staphylococci share several properties: ability to form biofilms, resistance to common antibiotics and evasion mechanisms of the immune system response. Some fungus species they can also cause mastitis; however, despite the unwarranted belief that the Candida albicans It is an important causal agent, its incidence is very low.

The bacteria are arranged in the form of biological films (biofilms) in the epithelium of the acini and milk ducts. If the bacterial concentration exceeds the biological limits, the lumen of the ducts is reduced, so that the pressure exerted by milk on the inflamed epithelium It is considerably larger and causes intense pain.

But… why can’t the immune system defeat the overgrowth of these infectious bacteria?

Why the immune system fails to rebalance it

It seems that some strains, like the Staphylococcus aureusare capable of producing superantigens (SAg)a mechanism that allows avoiding the response of the immune system.

SAg are exotoxins that have a high mitogenic capacity on T lymphocytes, that is, a high capacity to stimulate their cell division. Compared with the response induced by a normal antigen –in which only between 0.001 and 0.0001% of T lymphocytes are activated–, SAgs are able to non-specifically activate up to 20-25% of these lymphocytes. T.

This fact causes an immune response as massive as it is ineffective. In turn, this activation produces the release of cytokines (proinflammatory molecules)which translates into the typical symptoms of an infection: swelling, pain, fever, chills, malaise, etc.