Home treatment for mastitis

Mastitis is an inflammation of the breast tissue. In most cases it appears during the period of breast feeding. The symptoms usually include swelling of the breast, pain while breastfeeding, redness of the skin and sensitive breast to the touch. Sometimes the symptoms may resemble to flu, such as fever, chills and tiredness. The cause of mastitis is bacteria which can enter into the breast through the nipple or through a cut on the skin.

Usually mastitis is treated with antibiotics but there are some home remedies which can be very helpful. One of such remedies is a warm compression with calendula flowers and comfrey leaves. This should be applied four or five times a day. Calendula is especially good for easing the pain in nipples. Calendula flowers and comfrey leaves must be mixed with a little bit of water and some flour in a blender. The substance is then put on a piece of cloth.

Another useful home remedy for treating mastitis is cabbage leaves. Take a raw cabbage leaf and put it on the breast. The leaf will relieve the warmth of the breast and reduce the inflammation. As soon as the leaf turns saggy, replace it with another leaf. The leaves should be changed a few times a day for optimal results.

Echinacea root also does good for inflamed breast and reducing the fever. It can be used as a tincture six times a day at first and then two or three times a day as long as the symptoms are present. Echinacea root can be drunk as a tea. You should take a small amount of the root and put it in a pan of boiling water. Leave it for about eight hours. Take two cups of this tea every day until the fever reduces. After that, you can decrease the amount of tea.

A tincture of poke root is also helpful for mastitis. An additional home remedy is a compression with raw potato. Just grate some raw potato, and put it on the inflamed breast and cover it with a piece of cloth. When it dries, you should replace it with another compression.

Marshmallow root is good for treating mastitis, too. You should take some Marshmallow root, put it in boiling water and leave it through the night. Heat it again tomorrow and soak the breast in this remedy.

It is important for the woman with mastitis to have plenty of rest because exhausting everyday jobs can worsen the symptoms. Also, you should continue to breastfeed your child continuously because of the flow of the milk.