Description: Acute Inflammation and infection with a collection of pus within the breast tissue.
Persons affected: Women in the child bearing age group who have recently given birth,
Organ and part affected: Breast.
Symptoms and indications: Redness, heat, Inflammation, hardness, and pain in infected part. Also, enlargement of lymph glands in the armpit and sharp pain when the infant sucks. If left untreated the skin darkens and the abscess eventually bursts. The person may be feverish. A woman with symptoms of a breast abscess should seek medical treatment.
Treatment: Involves supporting and bandaging the affected breast, and avoidance of feeding the baby on that side. Also an antibiotic such as Penicillin maybe prescribed to fight the infection. A surgery to open and drain the abscess maybe necessary and if the infection is very severe breast feeding maybe abandoned.
Causes and risk factors: Its a bacterial infection (staphylococcus or streptococcus). It enters the breast through the nipple.
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