Breast pain

Pain in the mammary gland is exactly the case when you need to plan a visit to the doctor as soon as possible. In a healthy state, a woman's body, if it should experience pain, then only from love torment or emotional disappointments, all other pains are the result of the development of an illness, which should be given close attention and emergency measures should be taken.

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Diseases that cause breast pain

Let's start with the simplest and almost harmless - hormonal disorder. Oh, this mastopathy! If it did not have pathological changes at its core, one could only dream of its appearance, especially for ladies with miniature breasts. The fact is that due to changes in the structure of the glandular tissue and its swelling during mastopathy, the breast becomes noticeably larger and more elastic, although painful, of course. However, this is where all the "charms" of mastopathy end. Pain in the mammary gland, with this disease, occurs due to swelling of the glandular tissue. Signs of pain appear in the premenstrual period and occur in the same cyclical manner, ending with the appearance of menstrual flow or after its cessation. Along with the pain, the lump in the breast goes away, and the breast itself takes its previous size.

Mastopathy does not have a detrimental effect on the entire body, except for changes in the mammary gland itself, no other signs are observed. But you should not relax, having found in one breast, or in both at once, seals, no matter whether these seals are painful or not. A timely visit to the gynecologist will help to find out the nature of the seals and take the necessary measures. A visit to the mammologist can be made either before visiting the gynecologist, or after, having received a referral from the gynecology for additional examination and consultation. Recently, gynecologists are required to examine the breast, palpate it in order to prevent mastopathy. Therefore, it is very likely that the gynecologist will be the first to suspect the disease, and not the woman herself.

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Bruises and injuries of the mammary gland

An active lifestyle and all kinds of sports that interest women are good. But sprains, bruises and injuries of various kinds that can be received during exercise are much worse. Breast injuries can be received not only during physical exercises in fitness centers, but also at home, due to careless behavior, falls or incorrect lifting of weights, impacts with hard objects. Breast injuries are rarely open, gunshot and knife wounds will not be taken into account.

After receiving a bruise, the pain in the mammary gland is not significant, it intensifies only at moments of tension of the pectoral muscles or when palpating the area of the bruise. The skin at the site of the bruise may be colored reddish, and a hematoma (bruise) may form later. In the deep layers of the mammary gland, a compaction can be felt, this is a deep hematoma (accumulation of a small amount of blood inside the muscle or glandular tissue).

If after a bruise the compaction does not go away within 3-5 days, the pain in the chest and external hyperemia of the skin do not go away, but only increase, you need to urgently consult a doctor. And in general, with any suspicious manifestations in the chest, it is always worth getting additional advice from a specialist. A visit to the doctor will never be superfluous.

Early manifestation of pregnancy

A woman's breasts, like litmus paper, react to the slightest changes in the level of hormones in the body. At the earliest stages of pregnancy, when there are no, even the most pronounced, signs, the breasts are already capable of giving the first warning bell. Almost every woman faces the fact that as the menstrual cycle approaches, the breasts become sensitive. The sensitivity is increased, often with a strong pain sensation, less often it manifests itself weakly, but in any case, before menstruation the breasts behave differently than usual. So, with the onset of pregnancy, this sensitivity becomes even more acute.

A woman who is attentive to her health can immediately suspect that something is wrong with her body, having discovered pain in the mammary gland, different from the usual premenstrual sensation. Particular soreness is noted in the nipple area, the nipple itself reacts painfully even to touching the fabric of underwear. To the touch, the breast is elastic, dense, but without nodular seals, uniformly enlarged. As the night approaches, the feeling of distension in the mammary glands increases. If, in addition to the "strange behavior" of the breast, pregnancy does not manifest itself in any way and it is too early to do a test to detect it, then you should go to the gynecologist and take a blood test for the presence of a special hormone indicating the presence of pregnancy - hCG. Normally, that is, in the absence of pregnancy, this hormone is not in the blood, the indicator is zero. But if implantation has occurred, the pregnancy hormone will immediately be at a mark of 1 to 10 points. The more days after conception, the higher these indicators. So, a gynecologist is the best friend and advisor in any cases of unpleasant sensations and pain in the female body.

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Mastitis

A formidable disease, which mainly affects nursing mothers. Any colds of a recent mother, exposure to drafts and cold temperatures, in the postpartum period, can cause a complication in the form of inflammation of the muscular-glandular tissue of the breast. The nature of this disease is infectious. There are many cracks and small wounds on the mammary glands of women in labor, which are open gates for the penetration of infection into the mammary gland. Most often, one gland is affected, less often both. In non-nursing women, mastitis is also possible, but occurs in very rare cases.

The pain in the mammary gland is pronounced and constant, increasing during feeding. In acute form, feeding from the diseased breast is completely impossible, because milk will come out with blood and pus. Abscesses can have an outlet on the surface of the breast. With this disease, the whole body suffers. Increased body temperature and all signs of intoxication, from headache and muscle pain to nausea.

Breast cancer

Contrary to popular belief that a cancerous tumor causes severe pain in the mammary gland, you need to know that cancer can be completely asymptomatic for a very long time and even at its latest stages there may be no pain. Therefore, for those who care about their health, who monitor the condition of their breasts, you need to take note of the following changes in the breast, upon detection of which you need to act immediately:

• any changes in the mammary gland, especially existing lumps;
• tumors with smooth, pea-like borders;
• enlargement of one mammary gland, without changes in the other;
• the presence of redness, unevenness, rashes, wrinkles and cracks on the skin;
• "strange" behavior of the nipple in the form of falling into the mammary gland.

If all of the above symptoms or at least one of them have been detected, do not lose your composure and lose heart. Early detection of any neoplasms leads to their complete cure. Even at the latest stages of development, there is always a chance for recovery. To do this, you need to be able to approach the problem correctly and not be afraid to seek help from specialists, exclude the use of self-medication and most folk remedies.

Checking the chest

Every month, women of all ages should conduct a correct, pay attention to this word, a correct self-examination of the mammary glands. It is correct to do this on certain days of the menstrual cycle, namely on the 3rd-5th day. Stand in front of a mirror, raise your hand up and begin to palpate (feel) the mammary gland with light movements clockwise, slightly capturing the armpit. Normally, there should be no clear seals or dense strands. The glandular tissue under the fingers is felt as a cellular structure, there is no pain in the mammary gland, the nipple is smooth, located on the surface of the chest exactly in the center. After examining one gland, do the same with the other.

If you are not completely sure that your personal examination was correct or if suspicious formations are detected during your next check-up, do not waste time searching for independent solutions, contact a gynecologist or mammologist. A specialist examination, together with an ultrasound examination of the mammary glands, will allow you to accurately determine the cause of your concerns or exclude them.

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How to treat breast pain?

Pathological changes in the mammary glands are easily treated by modern medicine. With minor manifestations, treatment will take less time, with inattention, lazy attitude to the signals of your body, leading to an advanced painful condition or complex inflammatory processes - treatment is delayed for a long time. But, in most cases, the outcome is a complete recovery.

If the pain in the mammary gland was provoked by a hormonal disorder, after receiving the results of a blood test with an index of all hormones, the deficiency of the necessary one is restored by means of hormone therapy. After the correction, the problem with mastopathy, for example, can completely exhaust itself.

Conservatively, that is, without surgical intervention, only by various therapeutic methods and means, it is possible to treat almost all breast diseases, except cancer, especially in the late stages of its development. In the initial stages of breast cancer, conservative methods can still be used, and if the tumor was noticed in time, this can be enough.

In cases of infectious inflammatory processes in the mammary gland, complex treatment is carried out: a course of antibiotics and painkillers, local application of anesthetics and anti-inflammatory ointment dressings (in the case of open wounds and fistulas from abscesses). In difficult situations, surgical intervention may be involved when the abscess, in mastitis, is very pronounced, but has no outlet. Its forced opening is carried out, the wound is cleaned, drainage is installed, a bandage is applied to release the newly formed purulent-serous contents.

Massage for breast pain

Pain in the mammary glands can appear for various reasons, so it is unacceptable to take any independent actions without consulting a doctor. Before you start to relieve the problem, you need to contact a specialist who will help you find out the source of the pain and prescribe treatment, which may include massage.

There are pathologies in which massage for pain in the mammary glands is a basic method of treatment, but in a number of diseases it is strictly prohibited.

The cause of pain may be:

• Hormonal imbalance that changes in a woman during the menstrual cycle or may change in the presence of certain pathologies. In this situation, massage can bring relief and smooth out the situation.
• Trauma of the gland (as a result of a fall, blow, wearing an uncomfortable bra). In this situation, the use of the method under consideration remains a question that only a doctor can answer.
• Mastopathy, this pathology is a consequence of a long-term hormonal disorder, milk stagnation in a nursing woman and a complication of another order. Massaging is one of the elements of complex treatment.
• Breastfeeding – the procedure will help to activate lactation and prevent the development of many complications.
• Inflammatory processes in the mammary gland – manipulations with the breast are possible only with the permission of a specialist.
• Malignant neoplasm of the breast. Massage is not allowed.
• Lack of sexual release can provoke painful symptoms in the chest. Massage of the mammary glands is not only allowed, but also absolutely recommended. The main thing is to learn how to do it correctly.

The main thing is not to self-medicate. The cause should be determined by a mammologist - oncologist.

Prevention

To ensure that pain in the mammary gland never occurs, and if it does, it would be associated only with cyclical natural processes in the body and would not cause any particular worries, you need very little:

• monitor the health of your body and all internal organs by undergoing routine examinations twice a year;
• lead an active lifestyle and give preference to swimming;
• choose a set of exercises aimed at strengthening the muscles surrounding and supporting the mammary glands;

Watch your weight – weight gain has a negative effect on the skin of the chest. With rapid weight gain and rapid weight loss, the skin on the chest stretches, wrinkles and stretch marks appear, and the mammary gland itself becomes “overgrown” with fatty tissue, which is also not good;

• eat healthy food that contains more vegetables. Eat porridge, especially pearl barley, buckwheat and wheat. The content of microelements in porridge from these cereals is quite high, which has a beneficial effect on the condition of the female body.

As life experience shows, pain in the mammary gland bothers those women who are happy in marriage and feel needed and wanted less.