how long does a plugged duct last and whats your best trick to get rid of it?

[strmis]

 with DD1 they never went more than a few hours. currently, w/ dd2 i felt it last night and am into the afternoon with it.  its not excruciating, but its definitely there. resting as much as i can today (DD1 is at grandmas so just me and babe =)

so... how long can they last? and your best trick to get rid of the darned things!

[ASusan]

I used homeopathics. I can't remember which 2 remedies, specifically, but they WORKED. I did everything I could to stop the plugged ducts from becoming an infection, as I wanted to avoid antibiotics more than anything. I did all the positioning tricks, massaging in the shower, everything physical that I could. I also took garlic - LOTS of it. But, it was the homeopathics that I kept coming back to, every time I got plugged ducts. (Occurred a lot for me. I eventually started taking lechithin as a daily supplement to keep things flowing well.)

[kitchensqueen]

I'm dealing with this right now - mine actually developed into a case of mastitis! It's been almost 48 hours since it was at it's worst, and it's finally started to clear up for me. I think the two things that were most effective in my case were frequent pumping (my baby doesn't take well to the breast) and a saline soak four times a day. Just mix up two tablespoons of epsom salt in a cup of the hottest water you can stand. The easiest way to apply the soak is to put the water into a shot glass, lean over it slightly while you apply it, then hold it over the nipple and you can stand upright. Someone here told me about being a good remedy in this article on kellymom.com. Oh, and keep on with the rest! Bed rest if you can manage it all - I've had my MIL here for the last two days to help with the baby and the house, and it's really helped me get better. So try to stay off your feet and just relax! 

[CheriK]

I'm unfortunately prone to plugged ducts and mastitis, and have more than a few tricks that help me.  Definitely, nurse as much as possible, rest, and drink plenty of fluids.  A plugged duct ideally should mean you act like you have the flu - you're in bed in your pjs with your nursling.  Reality doesn't always allow that, but if I do take that approach right away I can usually clear things up quickly.

Nursing with your LO's chin towards the plug helps increase the suck and is more likely to move milk from that area.  It can help to lay your LO on the bed on bed on her back, and nurse with your breast hanging down, you on hands/knees, her chin toward the plug.  Sort of funny looking and tends not to work with an older nursling who is probably going to laugh and get silly instead of focusing on nursing.  Massage has always been critical for me as well; pressure around the sore area as firm as I can stand, moving down toward my nipple.  Breast compression while massaging helps as well to get that milk moving.  If your nursing isn't willing to nurse more than usual, you might try pumping; even though a pump isn't as effective as a baby at moving milk, sometimes it helps to increase the frequency of milk movement.  I've always found it helpful to soak in a hot bath for 20 minutes, then pump while I'm in the tub, taking lots of breaks to massage and try to hand express milk from the plugged area.  Cold compresses between nursing sessions for discomfort, warm compresses just before nursing.  Ibuprofen for inflammation is typically safe while breastfeeding.

Other things to try: cabbage leaves (often recommended for engorgement, help with any sort of inflammation), antiinflammatory herbs such as marshmallow root for your bath water, if you take herbals then a good echinacea or other immune stimulant such as garlic.  One trick that my midwive told me about is a potato compress - grate a raw potato (skin and all), apply to the plugged area, cover with a hot-as-you-can-tolerate wet cloth (microwaving a wet cloth diaper works well), keep it on for 20 minutes or so then nurse or hand express to try and move milk. 

If you think it's turning into mastitis, I have had great success w/ Wish Garden's "happy ducts" (used to be called mastitis remedy; I guess the cute name sells better). 

[strmis]

thanks mamas, great advice!

mine finally resolved, but then i think i ate something bad and had a stomach ache or a while... eesh!

i'm going to have to save this thread!

[Kedrosami]

I am annoyingly prone to plugged ducts. My midwife gave me a very effective remedy when I got mastitis a few weeks ago. It worked so fast and so well! Then last week I felt a plugged duct coming on and nipped it in the bud with the same remedy. It worked--I am sold.

Of course you need to do the usual rest-empty the breast-drink water-etc. in addition to this:

Goldenseal, echinacea and bee propolis, all in capsule form:

When you first notice any symptoms, take 6 pills of each, then 4 pills of each every 4 hours till symptoms are gone, then 4 pills of each once more.

I was a little nervous because the goldenseal bottle said not to take while breastfeeding, but my midwife assured me that while it may dry up your milk if you took megadoses every day long-term, it is just the thing you need to treat a case of mastitis for a day or 2, and will not cause any harm. I'm only mentioning this because it would be a bad idea for anyone to take this stuff all the time as a preventative measure, or something.

She says she has seen many many cases of mastitis and plugged ducts, and in all her years she has never seen this combo not work! I am really pleased to have something that works, that isn't antibiotics!

[cat13]

For me, I love using lecithin. Since I seem to keep getting them over and over again, I have been taking one 1200mg lecithin 3-4 times a day and it has prevented them for me for the past 3 weeks. I also second the kellymom article that PP mentioned above.

While I have also heard that cabbage leaves can help, you want to be really careful with them, because they can reduce your supply.

ETA, Just noticed that OP said it already went away. Yea!