The lumps are milk ducts and tissues around them that have grown and widened to form cysts. These enlarge quickly in response to hormones released near your period. The lumps may be hard or rubbery and could feel like a single (large or small) lump.
One of the biggest signs of a blocked milk duct is a hard lump on your breast. It'll be painful or sore when you touch it. It may be red or large enough to be visible if you look at your breast in a mirror. If you've ever dealt with engorgement, the lump from a clogged duct feels like that.
If you find a breast lump that feels round, smooth and firm, it could be a cyst — a dilated milk duct filled with fluid. A breast cyst can be large or small, and the surrounding breast tissue may be tender. A breast cyst may appear before your menstrual period and get smaller or disappear afterward.
Blocked breast milk ducts
If one of the segments is not drained properly during a feed (perhaps because your baby is not attached properly), this can lead to a blocked duct. You may feel a small, tender lump in your breast. Avoid wearing tight clothes or bras so your milk can flow freely from every part of your breast.
Symptoms of breast engorgement include: Swollen, firm and painful breasts. Severely engorged breasts are swollen, hard, shiny, and warm. You may also have plugged ducts (lumps) during engorgement.
Lump in Breast
Fortunately, most lumps in a lactating mother's breasts are either milk-filled glands or an inflammation, such as a blocked duct or mastitis. If the lump is tender, it is probably mastitis. Check out this page for information on treating mastitis.
Fibrocystic breast changes lead to the development of fluid-filled round or oval sacs, called cysts. The cysts can make breasts feel tender, lumpy or ropy. They feel distinct from other breast tissue. Fibrocystic breasts are composed of tissue that feels lumpy or ropelike in texture.
Blocked ducts usually resolve within 24-48 hours. If you have a lump that lasts longer than a few days, see your doctor to rule out any other potential issues besides clogged ducts (such as a galactocele). Clogged ducts may affect your milk supply as well, reducing output in the affected breast.
A subareolar abscess occurs when a gland or duct under your areola skin becomes blocked or clogged. When the duct is clogged and untreated, an infection can occur. Other less common causes of a subareolar abscess include diabetes, nipple piercings, and smoking.
A plugged duct often feels like a tender or hard lump, often pea-sized but could be much larger and may be warm or hot to the touch and red.
It's not the plugged milk duct that you can squeeze, but, in fact, the nipple. If you notice that there is dried milk on your nipple or the nipple pore is clogged, you can soak the affected nipple in warm water, and then try to express milk by hand to loosen and expel the milk that's causing the blockage.
The difference is that a superficial plug can usually be worked out. A milk blister doesn't emerge with pressure. Clogs that are deeper within the breast are harder to deal with. You can't usually detect them by looking at your breasts, although they can create redness on the skin that overlies the affected area.
What is an intraductal papilloma? An intraductal papilloma is a wart-like lump that develops in one or more of the milk ducts in the breast. It's usually close to the nipple, but can sometimes be found elsewhere in the breast. Intraductal papilloma is a benign (not cancer) breast condition.
A plugged duct feels like a tender lump in the breast. Some mothers seem to be more prone to developing them. Usually they happen when a mother goes too long without emptying her breasts. Or, if insufficient milk is removed during feedings.
A breast lump may feel as hard as a rock or squishy like a grape or pea. Breast lumps can occur in your breast tissue or close to your armpit area.
Fibroadenomas are solid, smooth, firm, noncancerous (benign) lumps that are most commonly found in women in their 20s and 30s. They are the most common benign lumps in women and can occur at any age. They are increasingly being seen in postmenopausal women who are taking hormone therapy.
On the areola there are some little raised bumps. These are quite normal and are called Montgomery glands. They produce fluid to moisturise the nipple. Your breasts change constantly throughout your life from puberty, through adolescence, the childbearing years, and then the menopause (change of life).
Intraductal papillomas are growths in the ducts of the breast. They usually feel like lumps just under the nipple and can cause a bloody discharge from the nipple. Women close to menopause may have only one growth. Several growths in both breasts are more common in younger women.
Montgomery tubercles are small bumps around your nipples and are completely normal. They are most common during pregnancy and breastfeeding, as well as around puberty and throughout the menstrual cycle. Still, people can develop them for several reasons.
There are many types of lumps and other breast changes that can happen during breastfeeding. Plugged milk ducts, engorged breasts, and mastitis are a few of the possibilities, and all can present as a breast lump.
Symptoms of plugged ducts, mastitis
Plugged duct symptoms progress gradually, and can include pain, a hard lump, a warm and painful localized spot or a wedge-shaped area of engorgement on the breast. Mastitis symptoms appear rapidly and include flu-like symptoms such as fever, chills, fatigue and body aches.
Breast tissue in and of itself can feel somewhat lumpy and sponge-like, so it can be hard to know if what you're feeling is an actual lump or just normal breast tissue. "A breast lump will feel like a distinct mass that's noticeably more solid than the rest of your breast tissue.
Breast tissue has natural lumps and bumps that you may feel, and you might just be more likely than others to develop lumps in your breasts. If you feel the same lumpiness in both breasts, or there isn't one lump that's firmer than the others, it's most likely your normal breast tissue.
A tumor may feel more like a rock than a grape. A cancerous lump is usually hard, not soft or squishy. And it often has angular, irregular, asymmetrical edges, as opposed to being smooth, Dr. Comander says.
Small cysts, known as galactoceles, can sometimes form in the breast. They contain milk and may come and go depending on how much milk is in the breast. These small lumps are not usually painful and will disappear once lactation is complete.