Pain in the armpit

Pain in the armpit is provoked by various reasons, both simple enough in terms of treatment, so serious enough, requiring careful examination and complex therapeutic actions.

Axillary cavity (cavum axillare) is the area of the body located between the arm, more precisely, the joint of the shoulder and the sternum. The cavity is limited by rather large muscles - the muscle of the chest and the back muscle (Musculus pectoralis major and Musculus latissimus dorsi). In the zone of the axillary hollow there are a lot of glands - fatty, sweaty, as well as nerve endings and lymph nodes.

[1], [2], [3]

What causes pain in the armpit?

Painful sypmtom in the armpits can indicate such diseases and conditions: 

• Injury of the shoulder or arm, which is accompanied by acute pain, including pain in the armpit.
• The pain can be explained with surgical intervention in the shoulder, sternum, breast - mastectomy, when the entire chest is removed. 
• Cyclic or noncyclic mastalgia - painful, pulling, aching sensations in the mammary glands and axillary cavities.
• The tumor at the breast is both benign and malignant.
• Lymphadenopathy - an increase in one or more lymph nodes.
• Allergy, which causes pain in the armpit with irritation and rash on the skin.
• Hydradenitis is an inflammation of the sweat (apocrine) glands, often purulent.
• Lymphadenitis and lymphangitis of infectious etiology - inflammation of lymph nodes and lymphatic vessels.
• Subcutaneous fatty adenoma of large size - atheroma (benign formation).
• Dermatological purulent skin disease in the axillary region - pyoderma.
• Furunculosis.
• Phlegmon and abscesses.
• Viral infection (flu, ARVI).
• Mastitis is an inflammation of breast tissue - the breast (parenchyma, interstitial tissue).
• Diseases of the cardiovascular system.

Description of the causes of pain in the armpit 

Traumatic injury of the arm, shoulder, side of the sternum, breast - strokes, bruises, sprains, muscles, tendons of the shoulder. Pain most often has a aching character, sensations are enhanced by physical exertion, sudden movements with hands. The pain in the armpit, provoked by mild trauma, is not a threatening symptom and often goes away on its own, if the arm and shoulder are temporarily immobilized and not subjected to additional stresses. 

Pain caused by a postoperative condition. The reason for the painful sensations are the surgical incisions that damage not only the skin and nerve endings but also temporarily disrupt the blood supply of tissues and muscles. The pain in the armpit caused by the operation can last quite a long time, but as the blood flow recovers, tissue regenerates, it gradually subsides. Some time a person can be bothered by itching and loss of sensitivity in the armpits, but these symptoms also go away. 

Pain in the armpit, triggered by courses of chemotherapy and irradiation with oncological diseases. 

Pain when draining a purulent wound in the chest or armpit. The pain symptom explains the damage to the skin and the violation of blood flow and lymph flow due to injury. 

Pain in the armpit can be explained by a physiological cause - the menstrual cycle. Mastalgia of a cyclic nature is not a disease, rather it is quite a typical symptom of the end of the monthly cycle. Pain occurs due to changes in the hormonal background and impaired lymph flow. Painful sensations are aching, pulling character and subside after the end of menstruation. Cyclic pain in the armpits passes with age and the onset of menopause. 

Pain in the armpit is often provoked by the intake of hormonal drugs (progesterone and estrogen-containing). This condition can be observed both in young women taking oral contraceptives, and in women during menopause. 

Pain can be a pathological symptom, a consequence of an oncological disease - breast tumor, sternum tumor. It should be noted that pain in the armpit is a bad sign, because on the first, supervised stages, the oncoprocesses proceed almost asymptomatically, that is, without pain. Most often, the pain in the armpit is accompanied by anatomical changes in the breast (nipple entrainment, change in color, atypical discharge from the nipple, deformity of the breast). 

Allergy to chemical components of perfumes or deodorants. The reaction may occur on zinc, aluminum compounds, essential oils, scented soap or detergents. Also, allergies provoke synthetic tissues, aggravate allergic irritation of the skin tight clothing. 

The enlargement of the lymph nodes due to the inflammatory process in the nearby internal organs can also provoke pain in the armpit. Lymphadenopathy has various causes, among which may be fungal infection, parasitic infestation, infectious mononucleosis, HIV, streptococcal infections, tuberculosis, severe pneumonia and others. Inflammation of the lymph nodes can be both chronic and acute, and even purulent. In humans, in addition to pain under the armpits, a febrile condition develops, there is a headache, sweating. Develops splenomegaly, hepatomegaly (enlarged spleen and liver), can have inflammation of the tonsils and pharyngitis. Lymphadenopathy is considered a polysymptomatic complex disease, and pain in the underarm area is just one of its symptoms. 

A cystic fatty or atheroma can also cause pain in the armpit. Atheroma is a benign formation under the skin, which arises from the chronic blockage (blockage) of the duct of the sebaceous glands. In appearance, this is a rather voluminous formation of a dense structure, the skin over the wen-tree is strongly stretched, it can not be captured in a crease. Pain symptoms are most often provoked by a purulent atheroma, since a simple wen usually does not cause pain. In addition to pain, there may be a rise in body temperature, swelling in the place of atheroma. Until the abscess breaks, the pain persists. As soon as the purulent contents pour out, the symptomatology subsides. Atheroma is recognized as a benign formation, however, independent actions to open it, insert infection into the wound or inadmissible warming up of the axilla can lead to malignization of the process (transformation into cancer disease). 

Gidradenitis is another reason for the development of pain in the armpit. The most common are hydratenitis of staphylococcal nature. The disease develops very slowly and almost unnoticeably. Then, under the armpits, there is itching, redness and pain, which is provoked by an internal formation with purulent contents. Apocrine glands (sweat) are in principle very vulnerable to infections, and with constant irritation and damage to the skin, hydradenitis appears as a fully explicable consequence. Multiple abscesses are treated with adequate antibiotic therapy, in exceptional cases local surgical intervention is indicated. 

Furunculosis is an infectious inflammation, a process that has passed into an acute stage, accompanied by purulent accumulation in the hair sacs of the armpit area. More often furunculosis has staphylococcal nature, it also provokes its non-observance of personal hygiene rules, traumatization of skin under the arms, hyperhidrosis - increased sweating, decreased immunity functions. The furunculosis is treated with antibiotics, both local and internal drugs, vitamins and immunomodulators. 1

Pain in the armpit can be caused by a heart attack. Most often, radiating pain is part of the common symptom in ischemic heart disease (CHD). Pain is felt not only in the armpits, but behind the breastbone, in the left shoulder blade, shoulder, arm. This disease requires immediate medical attention, as it can develop into a life-threatening consequence - myocardial infarction 

Myocardial infarction does not always show specific symptoms. There are often cases when the infarct looks like very different diseases - gastrointestinal, inflammatory and so on. Therefore, if the pain in the armpit is localized to the left and does not last for two to three hours, accompanied by irradiating pain in the left arm, in the left shoulder, nausea, weakness and slow heart rate, you need to call for medical assistance as soon as possible.

Pyoderma is a local, external problem of skin. Infection of the skin in the armpits can be caused by cuts, unsuccessful depilation, and non-observance of personal hygiene. Pyoderma in a neglected state causes pain in the armpit, which lasts exactly as much as inflammation.

[4], [5],

How is pain treated in the armpit?

The choice of therapeutic actions is directly related to the root cause of pain, that is, with a specific diagnosis. Because the pain in the armpit can be caused by both external factors and internal diseases, including serious ones, such as angina pectoris, ischemic heart disease, myocardial infarction, oncoprocess, any painful sensation in the underarm area requires the help of a doctor. Self-medication of the zone in which there are many lymph nodes is categorically unacceptable. Uncontrolled grinding, warming, compresses and applying ice can only exacerbate the pathological process. Even if the pain in the armpit is associated with a physiological cause - the menstrual cycle - it should be told about this symptom to the treating gynecologist, as the monthly cycle for a fully healthy woman should proceed with minimal painful sensations. It should not be considered pain in the armpit as something insignificant and frivolous, this sign requires a comprehensive examination, after which an adequate therapy (or a primary provoking condition) will be prescribed.