If you've never had mastitis, you're lucky. I made through the entire 2.5 years of nursing #1 without ever getting it, and made it through something like 15 months of nursing #2 before I got my first case of it.

Signs and symptoms of mastitis include:

- Part or all of the breast is intensely painful, hot, tender, red, and swollen. Some mothers can pinpoint a definite area of inflammation, while at other times the entire breast is tender.
- You feel tired, run down, achy, have chills or think you have the flu. A breastfeeding mother who thinks she has the flu probably has mastitis. Mothers with mastitis will sometimes experience these flu-like symptoms, even before they get a fever or notice breast tenderness.
- You have chills or feel feverish, or your temperature is 101F or higher. These symptoms suggest that you have an infection.
- You are feeling progressively worse, your breasts are growing more tender, and your fever is becoming more pronounced. With simple engorgement, a plugged duct, or mastitis without infection, you gradually feel better instead of worse.
- Recent events have set you up for mastitis: cracked or bleeding nipples, stress or getting run down, missed feedings or longer intervals between feedings.

(From Dr. Sears website)

Right now I'm facing three of the above signs, and waiting to see if I get better or I get a fever. This would be my second case in over 5 years of breastfeeding. All-in-all I consider myself pretty lucky.