Breast Abscess

Breast Abscess

Breast boils or breast abscesses are lumps on the breast containing pus. Breast abscesses are usually caused by infection. This disease is often experienced by nursing mothers.

If you experience breast abscess, nursing mothers need to be treated immediately. But don't worry, sufferers of breast abscess can keep breastfeeding their children with uninfected breasts.

Causes of breast abscesses

Inflammation of breast tissue (mastitis) that is not immediately treated or caused by a blockage in the breast gland, is the main cause of gathering in the breast.

Breast infections can occur because of several things. One of them is the entry of bacteria from the baby's mouth to the milk channel through cracks in the nipples. Although more common in nursing mothers, women who do not breastfeed and a small portion of men can also experience breast abscesses.

Several factors increase a person's risk of suffering from breast abscesses, including:

• Have piercings on the nipples
• Have a smoking habit
• Having diabetes
• Suffer from HIV / AIDS
• Had undergone breast surgery in the last 2 months
• Had experienced breast infections
• Elderly

Signs and symptoms of breast abscesses

Breast abscess shaped like a lump under the skin, which if touched feels soft and can be moved. However, this lump cannot be touched if abscesses grow deeper in the breast. Breast abscesses can usually appear along with boils in the breast.

Symptoms experienced by sufferers of breast abscesses can vary depending on the severity. If you suffer breast abscess, someone can experience symptoms in the form of:

• Breasts look reddish, swollen, and feel
• If touched, some lumps don't disappear after breastfeeding.
• Get out of the nipple.
• The breast feels sustainable pain until it interferes with activity.
• Breast pain causes the mother to not breastfeed her child.
• Fever for more than 3 days and did not improve even though it was treated.

When to go to the doctor

Breast abscesses formed due to mastitis which were not immediately treated. Therefore, nursing mothers need to be vigilant and immediately check with the doctor if they feel there are lumps in the breast, the breasts feel pain, swollen and reddish.

A woman is also recommended to carry out her breast examination (realizing) every 7 days after menstruation. It aims to find oddities in the breast early.

Routine breast examinations also need to be done clinically by the doctor. This examination is called Sadanis. A woman is recommended to conduct Sadanis regularly from the age of 20 years, every 1-3 years. After the age of 40 years, Sadanis needs to be done routinely at least once a year.

Realizing and Sadanis is done as a form of anticipation and early examination of the breast disease, especially if there is a history of breast cancer in the family.

Breast abscess diagnosis

To diagnose breast abscess, the doctor will conduct a physical examination of the patient's breasts. Furthermore, the doctor will ask the patient to undergo breast ultrasound (ultrasound mamma).

USG is used to check the depth and location of infections in the breast, and ensure whether the lump is mastitis, breast abscess, or tumor.

The doctor will also take samples of breast milk or pus from abscesses using injections, then check in the laboratory. From the examination, the doctor can find out the cause of the infection and determine the right type of treatment.

Apart from ultrasound, imaging can also be done with mammograms and breast biopsies. This is only done if mastitis sufferers are women who are not breastfeeding. The test is done to ensure that the symptoms experienced by sufferers are not cancer symptoms.

How to treat breast abscess

To handle breast abscess in nursing mothers, the doctor will provide antibiotics, such as Cephalexin. Breastfeeding mothers can keep breastfeeding their children even though they use the drug. Cephalexin is consumed for 10-14 days with a dose of 500 mg, every 6 hours.

Breast abscesses can also occur in women who are not breastfeeding. To overcome it, the doctor can provide one of the following drugs:

• Clindamycin 300 mg, which is taken every 6 hours.
• Amoxicillin / Clavulanate 500 mg, which is taken 3 times a day.

In addition to treatment with antibiotics, other procedures can be done to overcome breast abscesses, namely:

• Remove pus with a syringe.
• Flowing pus out with the help of a catheter.
• Overcoming breast abscesses with special actions named vacuum-assisted biopsy.

Meanwhile, pain due to breast abscess is usually handled by taking paracetamol drugs and compressing breasts with towels that have been soaked in warm water or ice water.

In healing breast abscesses, sufferers who are breastfeeding need to remove breast milk every 2 hours of sick breasts. This was done to prevent further infection. However, children may not breastfeed from sick breasts because they are at risk of contracting the infection.

In addition, breast abscess sufferers also need to rest sufficiently, eat nutritious foods, multiply drinking water, and manage stress well. These things are done to accelerate the healing of breast abscesses.

Complications of breast abscess

Several complications can occur due to breast abscesses, including:

• Maternal breast infections.
• The emergence of scars or scar tissue.
• The breast size shrinks so it looks unbalanced.
• Secretary (chronic) breast abscess.
• Distribution of infections to other body areas.
• The appearance of the channel is not normal in the breast.
• Lymph tread abnormalities that make swelling on arm (lymphedema)

Prevention of breast abscess

Mastitis is one of the causes of breast abscess. There are many things that nursing mothers can do to prevent mastitis, including:

• Always wash your hands before breastfeeding, to avoid the possibility of spreading bacteria.
• Breastfeeding children with the right position, and ensuring the nipples and brown parts around it (Areola) stick to the mouth of the child.
• Breastfeed with both breasts alternately and do not use the same breastfeeding position continuously.
• Breastfeeding regularly. Avoid the old pause between breastfeeding time.
• Wearing a bra whose size is right and doesn't wear tight clothes.
• Do not use cream and topics on the nipples.
• Do not use the nipple bearing in the long run.
• Drink plenty of water to avoid dehydration.

In addition, regularly do realize and Sadanis to detect abnormalities in your breast early.

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