Patient's question:
Doctor, I am still breastfeeding, and I am seven days away from completing the postpartum period. The breast pain started about three or four days ago! And I have also had a fever these past few days. Previously, the pain was always due to engorgement, and it would disappear after the baby drank or spit out. But these past few days, my left breast has been in pain, specifically in the armpit area. I thought it was due to engorgement, but there is so much milk the baby can't drink, and there is also so much milk that I can't express. I have applied a warm towel, but there hasn't been much improvement. I have never had this kind of symptom before my period. Today, the pain has slightly subsided, and when I touched it, I noticed irregular hard lumps in the armpit area of my breast. I have heard of breast hyperplasia before, but I don't understand it, so I want to ask if my condition could be breast hyperplasia?Doctor's answer:
Your condition is more likely to be due to accessory breast tissue in the armpit, apart from the possibility of inflamed axillary lymph nodes. It does not indicate breast hyperplasia. It is recommended to have a doctor perform a physical examination and check your blood C-reactive protein levels to determine if there is inflammation. If so, treatment with anti-inflammatory medication may be necessary. Since it is only lymphadenitis and not an abscess, you can continue breastfeeding even with medication, as the doctor will be cautious about it. The most important thing is to undergo a thorough examination.It is quite late now, so you can visit the outpatient department of the obstetrics and gynecology ward to seek medical attention. If they are unable to see you, you can go to the surgical department for an examination.