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Symptoms of disease - pain in the mammary gland

Pain in the mammary gland or mastalgia is a fairly common condition, which is worried about 70% of the women had at least once in life. Most often pain in the mammary gland is found in young women, in premenopausal period. However, in postmenopausal women may also experience this condition. Almost every tenth woman feels pain in the mammary glands of different degree of intensity of more than 5 days in a month. In some cases, pain in the mammary gland in women may last during the whole period of a month. The pain affect the daily activity, such as work, family relations, as well as the sexual life.

In itself, the only one mastalgia is rarely a sign of cancer. However, if You are worried about a sudden pain in the mammary gland, and You don't leave the thought of cancer, then in order to find out the cause of the pain, consult a doctor.

Mastalgia may be cyclical, acyclic and not related to the mammary gland. The cyclical pain is usually associated with the menstrual cycle. Acyclic the pain is usually constant and is not connected with the menstrual cycle. The pain that is not related to the mammary gland may be a sign of muscle pain, but sometimes a woman may think that the reason for it is the mammary gland.

During cyclic pain usually the process captures both mammary glands and usually the pain is spreading through the gland, especially affecting the upper and outer parts of it. During cyclic pain often occurs irritation, swelling and swelling of the mammary glands. Women often describe the pain as a sense of gravity and expansion in your chest. The most expressed this pain during the week before the beginning of the month and then gradually fades away. Cyclic pain in the mammary glands are the most frequent type of pain, which occurs in 2/3 of women.

Acyclic pain more often affects the only one mammary gland and is localized in any one place. Less acyclic pain may be diffuse nature and smite all the mammary gland, capturing and armpit. Often the pain is described women as burning, annoyed. Cyclic pain in the mammary gland usually occurs in women at the age of 30-40 years, and acyclic - at the age older than 40 years.

Which diseases there is pain in the mammary gland

Causes of pain in the mammary gland

1. The cyclical nature of the pain usually occurs disorders of the hormonal status. Hormonal theory of cyclic pain in the mammary gland explains, for example, the fact that during pregnancy or in the period of menopause the pain stops. This is due to the fact that, in these States there are no permanent cyclic hormonal changes in a woman's body.
The emergence of pain in the premenstrual period and a weakening or disappearance from the beginning of the milf. Sometimes a clear link with the beginning of the milf is absent. Usually two-sided localization, mainly in the upper, outer areas of the mammary glands. Different intensity of the painful feelings - of dull, aching (more often) to Express, impeding the movement of their hands. The pain may give to the axillary area or hand. The examination can be identified minor tuberosity tissue of the mammary glands. The severity of clinical manifestations usually increases with age and sharply weakens or disappears after menopause. The occurrence of cyclic mastalgia associated with changing hormone background. This kind of violations suffer more than 2/3 of women, usually young reproductive age, although there are similar complaints from women in postmenopausal period, receiving substitution therapy hormonal drugs.

2. The reasons for acyclic pain in the mammary gland rather related to the anatomical changes in the breast, but not hormonal. It could be a cyst, blunt trauma, an operation on a mammary gland.Noncyclic pain can also be due to the reasons not connected with mammary gland (the chest wall, muscles, joints and nerves).
Description: the pain often one-sided. Localization - mainly in the middle part of the mammary gland, around fetish. Sharp, burning, cutting the nature of the pain. Can be either periodic and continuous.
Localized, the long-term persistent pain in the mammary gland can be connected to presence in her fibroadenomas (benign tumor) or cysts. However, to avoid more serious causes of acyclic mastalgia (for example, breast cancer), it is recommended that as much as possible the earlier appeal to a specialist.

3. The cause of the pain in the mammary glands may lie in an imbalance of fatty acids in the tissues of the mammary glands. This imbalance, in turn, increases the sensitivity of cancer cells to hormones. This explains effective in some cases the pain application of oil primrose. This oil contains gamma-linolenic acid. It is believed that this acid is capable to restore the imbalance of fatty acids in the body and reduce the sensitivity of the tissue of a mammary gland to hormones.

4. In addition, a cyclic pain may be associated with the intake of certain medications, for example, hormonal drugs for the treatment of infertility, or the contraceptive pill. Cyclic pain in the mammary glands may be a side effect of receiving estrogen and progesterone, which may explain why some women remains a pain in the mammary glands even in postmenopause, when they are forced to take hormonal drugs. In addition, it is reported that sometimes this pain can occur when receiving antidepressants.

5. Mastitis and other infectious diseases. In addition to local symptoms (pain, redness, swelling of the mammary gland) are accompanied by intoxication (fever, sometimes with chills, headache, a breach of appetite, weakness, etc.). Often mastitis occurs in the postpartum period in connection with the penetration of pathogens through microcracks fetish and stagnation in the prostate milk.

6. Cancer of the mammary gland. In addition to different degree of pain sensations (but they may not!) characterized by the presence of tumor education with indistinct contours, often in the upper outer areas of the mammary gland, it is possible to change the skin over the tumor in the form of wrinkling, or “orange peel”, the involvement of the fetish or spin-off from him. The risk of development of a cancer of a mammary gland is higher in nulliparous women or women who later gave birth to their first child, women with hereditary predisposition, overweight, the presence of mastitis.

Diagnosis of pain in the mammary gland

So, if You are worried about the pain in the mammary gland, it is necessary to find out the cause of this pain. First of all, the doctor asks about Your medical history, that is, he is conducting a survey of what exactly You are concerned, the nature of pain, their relationship with the menstruation, with other factors, the localization of pain, and also transferred in the history of disease. The doctor be sure to ask:
- How long have You been having these pains?
- What is the intensity of the pain?
- The pain is localized in one or both mammary glands?
- When You did the last time a mammogram?
- Is there along with the pain any other manifestations of, for example, allocation of fetish?
- What medication are You taking?

Next, a manual examination of mammary glands, as well as the status of the axillary lymph nodes. Usually it is also recommended and x-ray investigation - mammography. In case of detection of tumor education is appointed by ultrasound.

Which doctor should I contact if there is a pain in the mammary gland

• Mammologist
• Oncologist

Are you experiencing pain in the mammary gland? You want to know more detailed information, or you need an inspection? Please sign up on reception to the doctor! Doctors will examine you, examine the external signs and help to determine the disease the symptoms, they will consult you and provide the necessary assistance. You can also call the doctor on the house.

Do you feel mammary gland hurts? You should be very careful approach to your health in general. People pay not enough attention to the symptoms of the disease and don't realize that these diseases can be critically dangerous. There are many diseases that in the beginning didn't manifest in our body, but in the end it turns out, unfortunately, it have already been treated too late. Every disease has its own specific features typical symptoms - called symptoms of the disease. Definition of symptoms is the first step in the diagnosis of diseases in general. You just need a few times a year to be screened by a doctor, not only to prevent a terrible disease, but also to maintain a healthy spirit in a body and the organism in general.

Pains by category

Pains by alphabet

Map of the symptoms and the types of pain is intended solely for educational purposes. We strongly recommend do NOT self-medicate; on all matters relating to the definition of the disease and ways of its treatment, contact your doctor. Md-tips is not responsible for the consequences of use information posted on the site.