Before antibiotics, women with persistent mastitis ended up with breast abcesses that had to be surgically drained, all the while continuing to feed.
Ah yes, I neglected that one. Lancing abcesses is probably a technology that's been around for a very, very long time. You don't have to go very far back in books on breastfeeding to find the possibility of abcess mentioned. Abcesses were more common in the days when women were instructed not to feed with the affected breast, though, which was the standard advice throughout much of the 20th century.
Much as they're subject to abuse, I'm *very* grateful for the existence of antibiotics.
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Re: before antibiotics
Date: 2005-05-15 04:36 pm (UTC)Ah yes, I neglected that one. Lancing abcesses is probably a technology that's been around for a very, very long time. You don't have to go very far back in books on breastfeeding to find the possibility of abcess mentioned. Abcesses were more common in the days when women were instructed not to feed with the affected breast, though, which was the standard advice throughout much of the 20th century.
Much as they're subject to abuse, I'm *very* grateful for the existence of antibiotics.