Unblocking Blocked Ducts.
One of the (painful) problems that may occur during breast feeding is a blocked
duct. This is first noticeable when a section of the breast becomes very hard, hot and swollen despite successful
nursing of the baby. On careful examination of the
nipple a small white pin-prick sized lump (presumably a crystal of dried milk) can be seen blocking the exit to the duct. This needs to be carefully and gently removed with a pin, a bit like removing a
splinter, so that the milk can be released. I can assure you that this doesn't hurt, unlike having a blocked duct which can be
extremely painful!
The consequences of not unblocking the duct are pain and possible mastitis which can make the woman feel like she has a bad case of influenza. I know that in the UK doctors treat mastitis with antibiotics, as if it was an infection. Personally I believe that this is often unecessary - the symptoms of infection are usually due to an inflammatory response against the milk (which has leaked out into surrounding tissue because of the high pressure within the breast) and not to an invading micro-organism.