What is Mastitis?

Giving birth to children is one of the greatest things of being a woman. However, many problems can occur to women when they feed children on their Milk after birth. Mothers often undervalue the severity of these problems, and if you are among them, you really need to change your mind. As the child heavily depends on you during the first few months after birth, any damage to you, especially your Breast, will be consequential. One of the most popular troubles they have to face is Mastitis, also known as breast infection^[1][2].

Mastitis is medically described as an infection of breast tissue happpening regularly when it comes to breastfeeding. The problem occurs when the bacteria coming from the infants’ mouth go into the milk duct through nipple cracks.

In fact, the occurence of mastitis is from one to to three months after you give birth. However, women having not given birth and women after their menopause can witness this problem as well.

Mastitis is found rare in healthy women. But you should take a note that women who have chronic illness, diabetes, an impaired immunity or AIDS can be more susceptible.

According to a recent study, about 3 percent of breastfeeding mothers contracts mastitis. Incomplete breast emptying or engorgement can be one of the root causes of mastitis and make the situation worse.

Read also: Home Remedies to Boost Immunity

What Are The Causes of Mastitis?

The presence of mastitis is due to some of the following causes:

• A poor technique of breastfeeding

While breasfeeding is a learned skill, the poor technique can result in trapped milk in the breast. It is known as among major causes of mastitis.

• A milk duct blocked

In case a breast does not completely finish feeding, the milk can get clogged leading to milk to back up, thereby causing breast infection.

• Bacteria from your baby’s mouth enetering the breast

As informatively mentioned before, bacteria go in to the breast through cracks of the nipple. Hence, the stagnant milk is not empty enough to give a breeding ground to those bacteria. It is the anti-bacterial content present in breast milk assist in protecting the babies from infectious invasion.

What are symptoms of Mastitis?

To determine whether you are infected with mastitis or not, you should re-examine your condition and see whether you have these symptoms:

• Fatigue
• Tenderness
• Body Pain
• Swollen breast.
• Chills and fever with no improvement in 48-72 hours after treatment.
• The appearance of lumps in breast.

How Is Mastitis Diagnosed?

Breast infection is usually diagnosed by doctors after an observation and physical examination of the symptoms of mastitis.

How To Treat Mastitis Naturally

If one of these symptoms is noticed, you should start the treatment of mastitis immediately. As time passes by, the condition will become worse and worse and this is very bad for the development of your child. Although medication and drugs can absolutely help you, it is better to get rid of mastitis naturally. Some side effects of antibiotics will affect negatively the breastfeeding. Besides, there are many other advantages when you apply home remedies for mastitis. They are all economical and easy to make at home. This is very important for women who hesitate to have another person examine their breasts.

Here are top 15 most effective home remedies for mastitis which are easy for you to apply at home in order to cure the infections as well as keep you in the best condition for breastfeeding and raising your children…

1. Cold Compress

Cold compress is among natural remedies for mastitis. Many people suffer from mastitis because the ineffectiveness of milk removal from breast. Applying cold compress on the breasts will help improve the flow of milk and prevent swelling.

• Put some ices in a soft and clean towel. Or you can soak a towel in cold water.
• Place the towel over the painful breast in 15-30 minutes.

Cold compress can effectively ease many problems for women temporarily. You can find out more at: Home Remedies for Bacterial Vaginosis.

2. Water

An easier way to make use of water in the treatment of mastitis is increasing the daily amount of water intake. It will ensure that you still have enough milk to feed your child to the fullest extent, while water can help reduce the growth of bacteria in your breast^[3]. As a result, you will get rid of mastitis naturally in a short time. Water is known as one of the most workable treatments for mastitis.

Read also: Home Remedies for Water Rentension

3. Heat Compress

Besides cold compress, heat compress is also one of the best home remedies for mastitis. You can use a towel soaked in hot water to apply over the painful breast for half an hour to relieve the pain caused by mastitis. Heat compress can be used to treat sore nipples as well.

4. Massage

Have you ever heard of mastitis massage treatment at home. Yes, it is another mastitis relief. A few minutes of massage will give your breasts time to rest and restore the balance. The benefits of massage include the reduction of swelling^[4][5]. You can use some natural oils during the massage to maximize the benefits.

Also, if you want to reduce breast size naturally, massage is of great help ever.

5. Honey

In top health benefits of honey which is always available in every kitchen, it has many advantages on your health. In addition to its sweetness, it has many antibacterial substances which enable the body to fight against the bacteria triggering mastitis^[6][7]. This is the reason why honey becomes a good home remedy for mastitis. You should consume 2-3 spoons of honey each time and repeat doing it several times on a daily basis.