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Breast cyst treatment
Last reviewed: 07.07.2025

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Treatment of breast cysts can be carried out using both traditional (official) medicine and folk medicine.
When treating a breast cyst, its size is taken into account:
- In case of multiple small cysts, conservative treatment is carried out with the prescription of anti-inflammatory, resolving, and also drugs that help normalize the woman's hormonal background. Small cysts are those that, as a rule, are not palpated and are determined during an ultrasound examination of the mammary gland or mammography.
- A breast cyst that is easily palpated during a doctor's examination and is 15 millimeters or larger in size is subject to puncture. The contents of the cyst are sucked out with a puncture needle, and special substances (air or ozone) are introduced into its cavity, which help to glue its walls together, preventing its recurrence.
- In cases of cyst recurrence, suspicion of tumor formation inside the cyst (about 1%), or if conservative therapy is ineffective (especially for multi-chamber cysts), the issue of surgical removal is decided.
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Traditional treatment of breast cysts
Traditional treatment of breast cysts is used after consultation with a mammologist and an accurately confirmed diagnosis after an ultrasound examination of the mammary gland or mammography. Most often, traditional methods are used for small cysts that are not complicated and do not require surgical intervention.
The following folk remedies are used to treat breast cysts.
- Burdock root tincture. To prepare it, pour ten grams of burdock root (previously crushed) with boiling water (one glass - 200 ml), close tightly and leave for three hours. Use the tincture one tablespoon three times a day before meals until the cyst disappears.
- St. John's wort tincture. Prepared as follows: twenty grams of dried St. John's wort herb is poured with boiling water (200 ml), cooled and applied warm to the area of the cyst projection in the mammary gland.
- A poultice of grated beetroot. Two hundred grams of red beetroot should be grated on a fine grater and heated in a water bath, then add a few tablespoons of table vinegar (9%). The poultice is placed before bedtime in the area of the cyst projection for ten days.
- A cabbage leaf is smeared with butter and applied to the mammary gland before going to bed; a bra made of natural fabric should be put on top.
- Ointment from celandine and melted butter. To prepare it, celandine and melted butter are mixed in equal parts, after which the mammary gland is lubricated for four hours and washed off.
- Sunflower oil and garlic are taken internally, one teaspoon before meals for a month.
- Grated fresh carrots are applied to the mammary gland as a poultice, which is changed a couple of times a day.
- Use of chaga mushroom. Fresh mushroom should be grated and filled with warm water in a ratio of one to five. Infuse for two days and drink three glasses per day.
Often, folk remedies successfully complement the treatment of breast cysts, which is prescribed by traditional medicine. If folk treatment of a breast cyst does not show positive results and the condition worsens (the cyst does not resolve, increases in size, becomes inflamed, pain appears), then it is necessary to stop self-medication and seek help from a specialist.
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Medicines for the treatment of breast cysts
The following drugs are used as conservative therapy for the treatment of breast cysts, both individually and in combination with each other:
- Homeopathic medicines.
- Mastodinone is a complex homeopathic preparation containing plant components: iris, European cyclamen (alpine violet), ignatia chilibuha, thalictate cohosh, tiger lily and sacred vitex (chaste tree). Release form - tablets and drops. Its action is based on reducing the increased production of the hormone prolactin, as a result of which the pathological proliferation of cellular elements in the mammary gland decreases and, as a consequence, fibrocystic mastopathy is prevented. Mastodinone is taken in the morning and evening before meals, one tablet or 30 drops for three months.
- Mastiol Edas - 927 (granules) and Mastiol Edas - 127 (drops) are homeopathic remedies containing the following components: calcium fluoratum, kalium iodatum, creosotum, silicea, conium, thuja. Take one dose 2-3 times a day (for granules) and five drops (one dose) 3 times a day, regardless of food intake. The course of therapy is three months.
- Mastopol is a homeopathic remedy often used for multiple or diffuse fibrocystic mastopathy. Take one tablet under the tongue three times a day before meals for two months.
- Biologically active additives (herbal preparations).
- Indinol (Indinol-3-carbinol) – contains an extract from cruciferous plants (cauliflower, broccoli). It helps to normalize the balance of estrogen hormones in a woman’s body and thus suppresses pathological proliferation of breast cells. It also selectively promotes the death of altered cells with increased proliferative activity. It is available in capsules, take one or two capsules during meals one or two times a day for three to six months.
- Klamin is a complex of active substances obtained from seaweed (laminar). It has antioxidant, anticarcinogenic, immunocorrective effects. Reduces proliferative activity of tissues, especially the mammary gland. Take one tablet or two capsules three times a day during meals for a month.
- Fitolon is an alcohol solution based on extracts obtained from spruce needles and brown algae. It has antioxidant, immunomodulatory, and anti-inflammatory effects. It promotes the resorption of cysts. Take 1–2 tablets or 25–30 drops three times a day for one to six months.
- After laboratory and clinical examination, iodine preparations (iodomarin, clamin) are often necessary. These preparations reduce tissue proliferative activity and normalize thyroid function.
- Herbal infusions.
- Mint leaves, fennel seeds, valerian and chamomile flowers are mixed in equal parts and poured with boiling water, infused and taken ½ cup three times a day.
- Sometimes hormonal therapy is prescribed in small doses, which reduces and prevents the formation of new cysts in the mammary glands, normalizes the woman's hormonal background. Hormonal drugs should be prescribed strictly after determining the woman's hormonal background using laboratory methods.
- Duphaston or Utrozhestan are progesterone preparations that are prescribed orally in the second half of the menstrual cycle.
- Progestogel – progesterone in the form of a gel – is applied to the skin in the affected area several times a day for a duration determined by the doctor.
- Bromocriptine or Parloderl - inhibit prolactin secretion - are prescribed from the tenth to the twenty-fifth day of the menstrual cycle.
- Janine or Marvelon are contraceptives for oral use.
- Tamoxifen or Fareston are anti-estrogen drugs that are prescribed less frequently and are taken for a long time (for three months).
- Sometimes enzyme preparations are used in complex therapy, such as Wobenzym - a drug with a complex of plant and animal enzymes that have anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory effects. It also has anti-edematous, analgesic and antiproliferative effects, normalizes fat metabolism. It is taken for a long time - up to six months. Dosages are selected by the doctor individually.
- Vitamin therapy is often prescribed (vitamins B, A, P, E and C or complex vitamins – Multifort, Vitrum, etc.).
- Sedatives are used to correct the psycho-emotional state - Tenoten, tinctures of valerian, motherwort, etc.
- In case of inflammation and/or pain syndrome in the mammary gland, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (Dicloberl, diclofenac) are prescribed.
- A diet with a reduction or exclusion of coffee, chocolate, salt and a high intake of fiber (vegetables, fruits) is mandatory.
Treatment of atypical breast cyst
Treatment of an atypical cyst of the mammary gland consists of aspiration of its contents, after which the patient is under dispensary observation. If malignancy of an atypical cyst is suspected, it is removed surgically with a part of the mammary gland (sectoral resection) followed by histological examination. In most cases, it is better to remove an atypical cyst surgically immediately after its detection, since its intracavitary growths can give a higher percentage of complications. After removal of the cyst, it is necessary to have a balanced and rational diet (vegetables, fruits, lean meats), it is necessary to monitor the psycho-emotional state (taking sedatives, avoiding negative emotions), take vitamin complexes (for example, Vitrum, Multifort, etc.), and it is also possible to take hormonal drugs in order to correct the woman's hormonal background.
Treatment of solitary breast cyst
Treatment of a solitary (single, unilateral) breast cyst is not required if it is small. It is only necessary to be regularly monitored by a doctor and follow a diet high in fiber and limit coffee, dark chocolate, as well as normalize the psychoemotional background (avoid stress, negative emotions, take sedatives - Tenoten, tincture of valerian, motherwort, etc.), use homeopathic drugs (Mastodynon) and / or traditional methods of therapy (herbal infusions, compresses). If the solitary cyst is large, it is usually punctured, the contents are aspirated with the introduction of agents into the cavity that sclerose its walls (ozone, air, alcohol). After that, it is also necessary to follow a diet, avoid the influence of negative factors, take vitamins (C, B, E, P) and regularly see a mammologist or gynecologist, with periodic ultrasound examination of the mammary glands.
Treatment of inflammation of the breast cyst
Treatment of inflammation of the breast cyst consists of prescribing painkillers and anti-inflammatory drugs - non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (nimesil, nurofen, diclofenac), it is possible to use compresses with dimexide or apply a cabbage leaf to the affected breast. The inflammatory process in the cyst can be purulent and then an abscess occurs. In case of an abscess, it is necessary to open it, empty it and drain it. At the same time, antibacterial drugs (cephalosporins - ceftriaxone, cefepime, etc.), painkillers (NSAIDs - nimesil or analgin), vitamin therapy (multifort, vitrum), immunomodulators (echinacea, immunal), sedatives (tenoten, valerian), a diet high in vegetables, fruits and proteins are prescribed.
Self-treatment of a cyst, especially one complicated by inflammation, is not recommended; you should seek help from a mammologist-oncologist to avoid unwanted consequences.
Treatment of multiple breast cysts
Treatment of multiple breast cysts is most often conservative, especially if they are small. Often, therapy for multiple cysts is performed by a mammologist together with an endocrinologist. Often prescribed:
- hormonal therapy,
- weight correction (sports and a low-calorie diet with a high content of vegetables and fruits, with limited salt, sweets, especially chocolate and coffee),
- taking homeopathic remedies (Mastodinone, Mastopol),
- sedatives (for the purpose of correcting the emotional state - valerian, motherwort, Tenoten),
- vitamins (complex or individual – B, C, A, E, P),
- It is possible to use traditional medicine (lotions, herbal infusions).
Based on indications (depending on the size of the cyst and ultrasound results), puncture or surgical removal of breast cysts with subsequent histological examination may be prescribed.
Surgical treatment of breast cysts
Surgical treatment of breast cysts is carried out in the following cases:
- if the size of the cyst is 15 millimeters or more (sometimes cysts of one centimeter in size are removed),
- its recurrence,
- if conservative therapy is ineffective and the cyst becomes complicated,
- if there is a suspicion of malignancy of the cyst.
Surgical treatment of breast cysts:
- It consists of a sectoral resection, in which the cyst is removed together with nearby healthy tissues (usually, healthy tissue is captured about one to three centimeters from the cyst). Sectoral resection is performed under general anesthesia, a minimal incision is made and a cosmetic suture is applied.
- It is possible to use the method of enucleation (enucleation) of the cyst, which is used in case of a negative result for malignancy of the cyst after its puncture. After enucleation, there is usually no cosmetic defect or it is minimal.
Surgical removal of the cyst does not affect the functional activity of the mammary gland and does not interfere with breastfeeding in the future.
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