Serous Mastitis - What Is It? Symptoms And Treatment

2024 Author: Josephine Shorter | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-16 21:43

Serous mastitis: treatment methods

The prevalence of serous mastitis is quite high. Its danger lies in the fact that with incorrect therapy, the disease turns into a purulent form with an unfavorable and unpredictable prognosis. According to medical statistics, half of all cases of this disease have such an outcome.

About 90% of diagnoses are a lactational type of pathology. Up to half of lactating primiparous women suffer from it. In order to prevent the transition of mastitis to more complex forms for treatment, it is important to treat the disease correctly and in a timely manner.

Content:

• Causes of serous mastitis
• Risk factors
• Classification and symptoms of the disease
• Complications of serous mastitis
• Diagnostics
• Serous mastitis treatment
• Prevention
• Disease prognosis

Causes of serous mastitis

With a serous form of mastitis, the parenchyma and milk ducts of the gland become inflamed. The infiltrate does not consist of pus, but of lymph and intercellular fluid.

The reasons for the development of the disease:

• Improper breastfeeding hygienic care - rubbing of the nipple, infrequent or too frequent wiping or washing of the breast.
• Installation of an artificial implant, compression with synthetic material, impaired lymph outflow.
• Improper grip of the nipple when feeding: the baby pulls it without covering part of the areola with his mouth.
• Stagnation of milk and a violation of its normal outflow.

Milk stagnation, or lactostasis, leads to impaired absorption and excretion of lactic acids. As soon as the serous fluid enters the breast tissue, the outflow of lymph becomes difficult, an infiltration is formed. The appearance of a serous infiltrate leads to inflammation of the tissues of the gland. If infectious microorganisms penetrate through lesions in the form of cracked nipples into the chest, serous mastitis turns into a purulent form.

Risk factors

The process of breastfeeding is fine-tuned by nature - normally a woman produces just as much milk as her child needs at a given moment in her life. If, for some reason, normal lactation is disrupted, serous mastitis develops. Therefore, it is important to apply a newborn baby to the breast not according to the regimen, but on demand, both day and night. By following this strategy, it is easy to normalize the breastfeeding process without developing breast health problems.

Classification and symptoms of the disease

Types of serous mastitis at the site of the infiltration:

• Localized;
• Diffuse when it is distributed throughout the tissues of the entire gland.

Stages of development of the inflammatory process:

• Local stage - a small area of the chest is inflamed;
• A common stage is the infiltration occupies the entire gland.

The fact that serous inflammation has begun can be assumed by the child's reaction during feeding. He is hungry because he is not full due to the weak outflow of milk from the milk ducts squeezed by the infiltration. The infant's efforts to suck milk causes pain - the first sign of pathology.

Other symptoms of serous mastitis:

• Heaviness and engorgement in the chest;
• Pain and discomfort;
• Enlargement of the affected breast;
• Absence of fever, skin redness, and other systemic manifestations;
• Discharge of a few drops of clear liquid from the nipple;
• Difficulty expressing milk from the affected breast.

With the development of the inflammatory process, milk stagnation increases, the breast becomes even larger. With non-lactational serous mastitis, the first symptom is the release of a transparent secretion from the nipple. The initial signs of serous mastitis are the reason for immediate medical attention.

Complications of serous mastitis

The ingress of pathogenic bacteria into the infiltrate causes an adequate response of the immune system - the formation of pus.

Complications:

• Formation of an abscess - an encapsulated collection of pus;

• Formation of phlegmon - diffuse inflammation of the glandular tissue of the breast,
• Dilation of the milk ducts, which subsequently prevents normal lactation and threatens with suppuration.

Diagnostics

When contacting a doctor (surgeon, mammologist, gynecologist), a visual examination of the breast is performed. When pressing on the nipple, the doctor may detect clear discharge from it. The specialist collects anamnesis, finds out what complaints the patient has, and gets to know the feeding habits.

General clinical analyzes to exclude other pathologies:

• General blood analysis;
• Analysis of urine;
• Blood sugar test.

An exceptionally informative diagnostic method is breast ultrasound. Ultrasound penetrates all breast tissues, helps to determine the localization of the infiltrate, its features, size, and to monitor the effectiveness of treatment.

It is important to differentiate serous mastitis from the purulent form of this disease. The purulent form of mastitis is characterized by an increase in temperature, a general deterioration in the condition, and the release of pus from the nipple. The manifestations of abscessed mastitis can be detected by palpation, when fluctuation and softening of the middle of the infiltrate are noted.

Serous mastitis treatment

In order to normalize blood circulation and improve lymph circulation, it is important to restore normal milk flow. After the edema subsides, the serous fluid will be absorbed spontaneously, and the disease will be cured. Continuing breastfeeding or learning the correct pumping technique is important to improve milk flow. To facilitate this process, a light and gentle massage is performed from the top of the breast to the nipple. The next massage movement is carried out from the nipple to the armpits along the lymph flow.

A warm heating pad can be placed on the breast to improve blood circulation and relax the muscles of the breast.

Medication for the treatment of serous mastitis is optional.

Medicines for symptomatic treatment:

• No-shpa - relieves pain, improves milk flow;
• Malavit is a medicine created on a natural basis, used for compresses that relieve pain and itching, swelling and inflammation;
• Progestogel - a gel with progesterone in its composition, used to relieve edema, reduce vascular permeability;
• Menovazine is a topical ointment used to restore blood circulation, relieve swelling.

Vitamin complexes are used to restore immunity.

In the treatment of serous mastitis, physiotherapeutic methods are used:

• Electrophoresis with magnesia, Dimexide, Malavit;
• Infrasound;
• Magnetotherapy.

Proven folk methods are used as additional means. Among them are compresses from honey cakes and cabbage leaves, alcohol compresses with aloe juice. It is important to remember about the dangers of alcohol for an infant, wash off traces of such a compress from the chest.

Medicinal herbs are used as compresses, ingredients of ointments and healing infusions:

• Arnica - the infusion relieves swelling, helps to absorb infiltration, improves blood circulation.
• Yarrow - compresses from brewed herbs or the use of infusion inside helps relieve spasm of the milk ducts, normalize lactation.
• St. John's wort - compresses have an antispasmodic effect, improve the outflow of blood from the focus of inflammation.

Prevention

To prevent serous mastitis, it is enough to properly care for the breast and feed the baby rationally.

Basic preventive measures:

• Feed the baby on request, without taking more than 3 hours breaks between feedings;
• Carefully wash the breast between feedings, do not rub it, do not use aggressive detergents;
• Eat adequate food and sleep enough for adequate milk production.

Disease prognosis

If treatment is carried out in a timely manner, the prognosis for the development of serous mastitis is extremely favorable. A woman has many chances to finally recover. To prevent complications, it is important not to ignore the symptoms of serous mastitis, because complications develop very quickly. Pain, discomfort, disturbances in the normal feeding of the baby should not be ignored and time should not be lost for diagnosis and treatment.

The author of the article: Lapikova Valentina Vladimirovna | Gynecologist, reproductologist

Education: Diploma in Obstetrics and Gynecology received at the Russian State Medical University of the Federal Agency for Healthcare and Social Development (2010). In 2013 completed postgraduate studies at N. N. N. I. Pirogova.