Will A Clogged Milk Duct Eventually Dry Up? – 4 Remarkable Causes

For many breastfeeding moms, a question that pops up as they navigate the ups and downs of nurturing their little bundles of joy is “Will a clogged milk duct eventually dry up?”

Breastfeeding is such a special bond, but let’s face it, it’s not always smooth sailing. And those pesky clogged milk ducts? They’re like little roadblocks on our breastfeeding journey.

You’re not alone if you’ve felt the discomfort of these lumps, especially if you’re actively breastfeeding or have recently given birth. They can be a real pain, literally! But hey, they’re just a temporary bump in the road. Whether you’re dealing with a clogged milk duct or a few, rest assured, they’ll likely clear up within a day or two. And even if they stick around a bit longer, they’re not likely to affect your milk supply much. So hang in there, mama, and keep rocking that breastfeeding journey!

Will A Clogged Milk Duct Eventually Dry Up?

When more milk comes through after a short period, there is less supply for a short time. Following the clearing of the clogged milk duct, you can resume breastfeeding.

Furthermore, there are so many symptoms of a clogged milk duct. But first, as you already know a clogged milk duct occurs when the milk duct in your breast is blocked or has poor drainage. Below are symptoms you may experience:

• You feel a discomfort that subsides after feeding or pumping

• When you have lumpy skin in one place

• When there is a temporary decrease in milk supply

• When you feel Pain in one place in your breast

• When there is Heat and swelling in the breasts

• When your milk is Thick or fatty

• When you can feel a swollen and tender lump in the breast

• When there is a milk bleb (a small white dot) on your nipple

• When there is a temporary decrease in milk supply

• When there is slow milk flow on one side of your breast

• When you begin to feel a low fever. (might just mean you have a breast infection)

If your clogged milk duct does not clear after 24-48 hours and the symptoms gradually worsen, this could be mastitis. You should consult your doctor if you begin to feel any of the above-listed symptoms.

Will a Clogged Milk Duct Eventually Dry Up and What Are The Causes?

To answer the question of will a clogged milk duct eventually dry up? – we need to know the causes.

Different researches have proven several causes of clogged milk ducts but among all the major causes is if there is not enough milk that’s been removed from the breast during feeding or pumping.

Below are the risk factors capable of increasing the likelihood of developing blocked ducts which were and they are:

1. Too Tight Bras

Tight bras are one major cause of clogged milk ducts, surprise? Yes, it is, if your bra happens to be too tight, it will put pressure on your breast and restrict the milk flow in your breast.

For this reason, you must try as much as you can to put on a bra that correctly suits or fits your breast, maybe you can try looking for bras that do not have underwire such as nursing bras or t-shirt bras.

There are bras for breastfeeding mothers called nursing bras. These bras don’t have underwire and the design can fit your changing breast size as they increase to accommodate your milk supply.

Interestingly, some mothers prefer going braless while other moms feel more comfortable putting on a bra. This is a fact for women with big breasts.

Furthermore, there are good pads in the market that absorb any milk escaping from your breast, you can slip it into your bra, especially if you find yourself in public.

2. Poor Baby Latch

It takes time and practice to perfect breastfeeding because it naturally comes with lots of challenges and every baby is quite different.

But sometimes a poor latch can be out of your control, such as your baby being tongue-tied (where the skin connecting their tongue to the bottom of their mouth is too short). This can limit the tongue movement, making it difficult for your baby to obtain a proper latch.

Now, there are steps you can take to ensure your baby gets a proper latch, limiting the chances of developing a clogged milk duct, that is if the above reason is not the case. So, you can first try making sure that your baby’s whole body is facing you and not just their head.

Additionally, make sure that their chin is touching your breast first, but their nose should be free so they can breathe easily whilst feeding. If they only latch onto the nipple, use your finger to break the latch and try again.

If required, you can use your fingers to guide their mouth and make sure that they take as much of the areola as possible. Once they latch, your baby’s lips should turn out, their mouth should cover the whole nipple area and you should hear or see your child swallowing.

3. Not Feeding Enough

It can be really painful to try to remove milk from the affected breast. But as painful as it may be, you must persist in removing milk from it because leaving the milk there will only result in even more buildups. 

As earlier stated, this may lead to more complications. However, research recommends that you either pump or feed every 2-3 hours. Try to always empty your breast.

In addition, if your baby refuses to take any more milk from you, use your pump to extract what’s left to reduce the chances of milk building up in the ducts. You can regularly maintain the feeding schedule to keep a good supply of milk. 

Try not to skip feeds. If you cannot feed your baby at a specific time for whatever reason, use your pump instead, because your body won’t know the difference between the pump and your baby, just as long as you are removing the milk at regular intervals.

4. Incorrect Flange Size On Your Breast Pump

The average flange is between 24 and 27 mm and it is the flange is the shaped cup or shield that sits over your nipple when you use a breast pump, for some women the 24 and 27 mm size will fit them but if it doesn’t it can lead to blockage and inflammation.

Note that when your flange is too small it can cause your nipple to rub against the shield and it will irritate your skin but if it is too big it can cause the milk to go back up in the ducts and it will lead to a clogged milk duct.

Other causes can be you’ve had mastitis while breastfeeding before now, Stress, cracked skin on the nipple area, Smoking, Fatigue, and the like.

Things You Should Know If a Clogged Milk Duct Will Eventually Dry Up?

1. An Inflammation Of The Breast

It’s popular by the name, mastitis, and it can occur when a clogged milk duct doesn’t clear off, or more generally when the buildup of the milk in your breast causes swelling and inflammation, and if you have a tender breast, you may likely begin to feel achy, run-down and feverish and flu-like symptoms.

Some areas of the breast that remain undrained or that experience a clogged milk duct may be focal points for bacteria to take hold and start an infective process.

Delayed nipple wound healing, stress, chronic engorgement and persistent breast pain increase the risk of mastitis. You see, Mastitis is usually caused by backed-up milk in a section of the breast and it can progress to an infection if not treated as soon as possible or thoroughly.

You should note that the milk from your affected breast will not in any way harm your baby.

So, Milk production may drop from your affected breast for a few days during the worst of the symptoms, but your baby needs to continue breastfeeding from that side to help prevent the infection from turning into an abscess.

Some of the ways to treat a clogged milk duct are:

• Hand press or pump the affected side of your breast to thoroughly drain it, especially If your baby does not drain it.

• You should apply heat before feedings to promote breast drainage.

• Try as much as you can to rest well whenever there is an opportunity to.

• Consult or ask your doctor or nurse practitioner if you can use a medication such as ibuprofen to reduce the inflammation

• Continue to feed your baby 8-12 times each 24 hours from both breasts

• Massage and compress the breast and hard area each time the baby pauses between sucks

You should call your doctor if you observe that you do not feel better in 8-24 hours if you continue to run a high fever, if your breast becomes hotter, redder, or more swollen if you notice blood or pus in the breast milk, if you see red streaks on your breast from the areola to the underarm.

2. A Bleb

This is also called a milk blister which is usually a very painful white dot on a breastfeeding woman’s nipple or areola.

Milk blisters do not always hurt and may resolve over several weeks without any treatment but they are not the same as a blister caused by friction, either from an incorrect latch or a badly fitting nipple shield or breast pump flange. 

Thickened milk may block milk flow near the opening of the nipple, or sometimes a tiny bit of skin overgrows a milk duct opening and milk backs up behind causing the blister. They can be associated with mastitis.

If you have a painful milk blister there are ways you can treat it, but most importantly you should ask your doctor for help especially to know if this works.

• If you’ve observed that you have a painful milk blister the first thing to do is to soak your nipple into warm water.

• You should try applying moist heat using a warm compress and then when you feed your baby, why your baby keeps sucking, the blister may open.

• Sometimes it is possible to express a thickened string of milk, which helps open the duct and keep it open. Work back from the nipple to make sure there isn’t a blockage further back. So, you should Compress your nipple behind the blockage to try and express the blockage.

• Avoid opening the blister yourself, because it may bring relief but could also result in infection.

• Once a blister is finally open, help prevent yourself from catching an infection by washing the wound with mild, unperfumed soap and rinsing well once a day

• Wear a cotton ball soaked in olive oil in your bra to soften the skin and then attempt to peel away the thickened layer of skin.

Take Away

You must note that most clogged milk ducts will clear up within 24-48 hours. However, you are not advised to leave it unattended. You can look out for the above symptoms and causes and use the various listed methods to clear it or you can call your doctor for advice on what to do.