Breast enlargement (edema) is a common occurrence. It is not always accompanied by pain, but can confirm the occurrence of various pathologies. You should definitely pay attention to the swelling of the gland. Keep track of the frequency, remember the sensations. This will help the doctor get a complete picture of what is happening. What are the signs, causes of the problem? Are there effective methods to eliminate them?
Breast swelling - signs
An enlarged mammary gland does not necessarily signal illness. In parallel with the swelling, a new symptom develops that causes inconvenience - contact a specialist:
- the pain does not go away even if the woman lies or sits;
- physical activity is impossible;
- fluid from the milk ducts;
- breasts have enlarged.
Headaches, abdominal cramps, loss of activity, and general deterioration in health may also indicate illness.
Swelling of the mammary glands - physiological causes
A woman’s body is a complex system with specific features. Breast swelling with a certain frequency is a natural phenomenon and does not pose any danger. There may be several reasons.
Premenstrual period
The growth of the mammary gland is provoked by an egg that has matured. The level of hormones that tell the brain that fertilization is about to occur increases. All systems begin to prepare for breastfeeding, excess fluid accumulates in the tissues. Feelings – chest hurts, tightness.
Nature of the phenomenon:
- The period before ovulation - an increase in the level of the hormone estradiol, estriol, estrone. The substances are catalysts necessary for the growth of the milk ducts.
- After the egg matures, progesterone predominates. It stimulates the growth of cells in the mammary gland.
Such processes should not frighten a woman. But if the pain has intensified and you suffer with every PMS, it’s worth visiting a specialist.
Puberty adolescence
Adolescence in girls provokes swelling of the nipples. The reason is the formation of hormonal levels, the synthesis of substances that affect changes in the body. Clothes that are too tight can cause discomfort. As soon as puberty is completed, all unpleasant sensations will disappear.
Pregnancy
Your menstrual cycle is off, and your breasts are swollen? First signs of pregnancy. Make sure you are pregnant and consult a doctor to rule out any pathologies.
Enlarged glands, heaviness, discomfort are normal phenomena during pregnancy. This is due to progesterone, which prepares the body for feeding the baby. Glandular tissue cells grow. As the fetus grows, the breasts become even more sensitive and increase in volume. A comfortable bra and loose clothing can help reduce discomfort.
Lactation
During the feeding period, the soreness of the mammary glands increases sharply. Milk is produced, the lumens of the ducts expand, and the breasts become fuller. Joins:
- tissues become significantly denser, stiffness;
- increased temperature of the glands;
- localization of pain in certain areas;
- lump-like lumps - palpable after expressing milk;
- redness, cracked nipples.
To eliminate unpleasant symptoms, you should follow the baby’s feeding regimen and regularly express milk. Ignoring the recommendations can lead to a problem – mastitis. A complex disease is accompanied by acute pain, sometimes it is necessary to resort to surgery.
Abortion
Termination of pregnancy is an intervention in the functioning of the body. Hormones have already begun to be synthesized, mammary tissue is preparing for lactation. The consequence of surgery is a serious imbalance in the functioning of the reproductive system. The result will be swollen breasts and periodic pain.
Climax
The period when the restructuring of internal systems associated with age-related changes begins. New processes lead to swelling of the glands. The reason is that glandular tissue is being displaced from the breast, the place of which will be taken by growing fibrous and fatty tissue. Provokes breast growth:
- underwear that is too tight;
- drinking large amounts of liquid;
- excessive salt intake;
- caffeinated drinks.
Increasing pain is not a good symptom; you should consult a doctor.
Reasons for breast enlargement not related to pathologies
In addition to natural processes, breast swelling is sometimes associated with:
- Hormonal contraception - a side effect may be breast enlargement, accompanied by pain and discomfort. You need to consult a doctor and choose a different drug.
- Depressive disorder and stress.
- Use of medications. The greatest risk comes from antidepressants, which can unbalance hormonal levels. The body increases the frequency of formation of some substances and sharply reduces the level of others.
- Injuries, any mechanical damage to the breast - the tissues swell, redness and pain appear. You need to see a doctor.
- Excessive consumption of salty foods on the eve of monthly bleeding. The body accumulates fluid, and salt aggravates the process, preventing lymph from being freely excreted from the body.
A narrow, tight bra or tight-fitting clothing can also cause breast swelling.
Top 7 foods containing phytoestrogens
First, we will describe which products can actually increase the size of this body part. Don't be surprised if you don't find some products on this list that you expected to see on it.
Flax oil and seeds
They contain linoleic and linolenic acids, a whole complex of vitamins and minerals.
Usage:
- In the form of oil, it must be added to a variety of salads. You cannot fry it, otherwise it will lose all its beneficial properties. The oil is used both internally and externally. It should be gently rubbed into the skin of the chest after a shower. Do not wash off the excess, but remove it with a paper napkin.
- In the form of a seed, flax can be brewed and consumed orally, rinsed on the face and chest for beauty and youthful skin. Take a teaspoon of seeds in a glass of water, pour boiling water over it and stir thoroughly for a minute, then wrap it in a towel. Take warm twenty minutes before meals.
Carefully! Flaxseed oil is stored in the refrigerator, as it oxidizes quickly and can become harmful to health.
Hop cones
Hops are an excellent source of phytoetrogens - plant analogues of female sex hormones. Hop cones are used to prepare infusions, take baths, and make oil.
An excellent option is to drink it as tea, adding a teaspoon of raw materials to one glass of boiling water. Drink during the day after meals.
Rinse your face and chest well with the infusion. This wonderful plant can also be used for baths. Brew several handfuls of raw materials with boiling water and cool. Add the infusion to a bath at a temperature of 37 degrees. This bath rejuvenates the skin and gives it a subtle aroma and has a relaxing effect. This plant is an integral part of many women's herbal preparations.
Oil recipe. Pour a handful of crushed raw materials with not very hot vegetable oil. The oil should not be heated to a boil, otherwise it will be useless! Cool and strain. Add to creams or use as an independent product.
Oregano
The popular name of this plant is materina. Widely used in women's herbal teas, bath elixirs, and also for making oil.
Usage:
- Herb tea. A teaspoon of herbal raw materials is brewed with a glass of boiling water, cooled, and drunk throughout the day. This tea helps restore hormonal levels and has a calming and relaxing effect. An excellent way to cope with stress and insomnia.
- Bath. Brew a pack of pharmaceutical raw materials with a liter of boiling water, cool and pour into the bath. This procedure restores the normal structure of subcutaneous fat and helps cope with cellulite. It is good to take such a bath after intense gymnastic exercises. The decoction gives a golden hue to the skin, making it fresh and velvety.
- Oregano oil is prepared in the same way as hop oil. It can be added to creams and oils for the chest, décolleté and whole body.
Fenugreek
Infusion. Traditional healers recommended drinking an infusion of fenugreek seeds to enlarge breasts.
Pour a tablespoon of seeds into two glasses of cold water overnight. In the morning, bring to a boil, cool. Drink throughout the day, taking one third of a glass.
Sprouts – the top part can be added to various salads or brewed as tea.
Fennel
Avicenna also mentioned fennel in his works. In folk medicine it is called sweet dill. It is famous for stimulating the production of women's own estrogens. Sweet dill oil has a strong bactericidal effect.
Usage:
- It makes an excellent tea that has many beneficial properties - it calms, relieves stress, and relieves intestinal spasms.
- Grass, seeds and roots of the plant can be used as medicinal raw materials. The seeds have the most pronounced healing effect, so literally a few of them are added to one glass of boiling water. If we use herbs or roots, then in order to prepare a glass of tea, you will need a teaspoon of fennel.
Soya beans
Soy is rich in phyestrogens, so it is very useful for women to consume dishes made from it. In addition, it is an excellent source of vegetable protein.
Soy paste recipe. Soak the soybeans for several hours. Boil until they become soft. Add a few cloves of garlic, any vegetable oil, preferably flaxseed, a little salt, black pepper and blend in a blender. A tasty and healthy dish is ready!
Bananas
They are a healthy product containing carbohydrates, proteins, B vitamins, PP, carotene, as well as amino acids - lysine, methionine and tryptophan. Their calorie content per hundred grams is equal to one hundred calories. Girls who have a “boyish” body type can be recommended to consume bananas with milk to gain weight and develop feminine curves – breasts and butts.
Banana smoothie recipe. Beat one hundred grams of cream, one hundred grams of milk, one and a half bananas in a blender. Consume as a snack between main meals.
Tips for use:
- If you are starting to use any herbs or foods that you have never used before, start with small doses. This is due to the fact that they can cause an allergic reaction or individual intolerance;
- Plants containing phytoestrogens should not be used by pregnant women;
- Herbal infusions should not be used uncontrollably: they should be used only in recommended doses and as a course of treatment;
- It is necessary to use infusions in courses of ten days, then take a break; an overdose can cause allergies;
- Infusions and oils from medicinal plants should be used both internally and externally to enhance the effect;
Important! Traditional healers recommend that before you start using a medicinal plant, pay attention to whether you like its smell. If it is unpleasant or disgusting, this plant is not yours!
Pathological causes
Severe discomfort, noticeable breast enlargement is a signal from the body about the development of diseases:
- Mastopathy - manifests itself both during menopause and at any age. Signs - after the next menstruation, the breasts become full, sore, and there is a feeling of heaviness. The diagnosis can be cystic, fibrous, diffuse or focal mastopathy.
- Fibroadenoma (during pregnancy). It is associated with the appearance of benign tumors. Causes pain and swelling of the glands. The pathology cannot be treated during pregnancy, since medications cannot be taken.
- Oncology - a disease of a malignant or benign nature causes breast swelling.
It does not matter whether the swelling of the glands is caused by physiology or pathology. You should not ignore the symptoms, but consult a doctor for a correct diagnosis.
Types of chest deformation
Ryzhikov Dmitry Vladimirovich
Ryzhikov Dmitry Vladimirovich (Head of the Department of General Bone Pathology of the Federal State Budgetary Institution "National Medical Research Center for Pediatric Traumatology and Orthopedics named after G.I. Turner, Candidate of Medical Sciences, doctor of the highest qualification category, traumatologist-orthopedist)By type, we most often see the corpo-costal type, this is a deformation of the sternum in the lower part with the involvement of the ribs.
The manubrial type (manubrio-costal) is much less common, this type includes deformation of the manubrium of the sternum (this is the upper part of this bone).
Orthopedists also differentiate between asymmetric forms of deformation and its elasticity.
At what age and by what symptoms can chest deformation be detected in a child?
Among the patients of our Center there are children of any age. Most patients are admitted with a congenital form of the pathology. Sometimes a child is born with an already noticeable chest deformity, but most often we see situations where the deformation becomes noticeable for the first time at the age of 6-8 years and progresses significantly at 10-13 years. Chest deformities can increase while there is potential for skeletal growth, that is, on average until 15-17 years of age. And the higher the height of the parents and the more active the growth of the children, the higher the risk of developing a very pronounced deformity. In contrast to limb deformities, chest deformities often include in their list of symptoms and disturbances in the functioning of the chest organs.
We identify the reason
There were no injuries, but pain and swelling are observed? Take advantage of medical advances - all possible diagnostic methods are at your service. They will allow you to identify pathologies in the early stages:
- Palpation of the chest.
- Ultrasound of the adrenal cortex.
- Mammography.
- Enzyme immunoassays.
- MRI and CT of the adrenal glands and brain.
- Ultrasound of the glands and thyroid gland.
- Blood test for hormone levels.
- Urine testing for nitrogen.
- Examination of the pelvic organs.
The doctor will prescribe diagnostic procedures.
Diagnostics
The nature of the pathology that causes engorgement of the mammary glands is determined by a mammologist. The specialist interviews the patient, finds out when and under what circumstances the symptom arose, and how the disease developed. During the examination, the doctor examines the condition of the mammary glands, palpates regional lymph nodes, and identifies general changes. The further examination program includes:
- Gynecological examination.
It is carried out to establish pregnancy and detect diseases of the female genital organs. Supplemented with a pregnancy test. - Ultrasound of the pelvic organs.
It is carried out to confirm physiological gestation, exclude the ectopic location of the ovum and timely detect pathological pregnancy. - Ultrasound of the mammary glands.
An accessible basic study that allows you to visualize space-occupying formations, inflammatory changes, and disorders of the structure of the mammary glands. Recommended for young women. - Mammography.
It detects the same pathologies as ultrasound; due to age-related changes in the mammary glands, it is more informative in patients of the older age group. According to indications, it is supplemented with ductography, pneumocystography, and digital tomosynthesis. - Breast biopsy.
Indicated in the presence of inflammatory, fibrous, cystic, tumor changes. The tissue or fluid samples are then examined through morphological or microbiological examination. - Lab tests
. The nature and scope of laboratory tests depend on the identified symptoms. Most often, general and biochemical blood tests, a general urine test, and hormone tests are prescribed. A microbiological examination of nipple discharge and determination of the level of tumor markers may be required.
Preventive measures
The physiological processes that occur in the mammary glands are embedded in the genetic code. Therefore, prevention of tissue edema is impossible. Moderate exercise helps normalize carbohydrate metabolism. This is a guarantee that hormonal imbalance will not occur. It is worth limiting your use of:
- soy;
- potatoes;
- flax;
- asparagus;
- wheat;
- dates.
These products pose a threat to normal metabolism.
Treatment
Conservative therapy
Therapeutic tactics are determined by the identified physiological or pathological condition. Pregnant women are registered and pregnancy is monitored. For lactostasis, regular and ultrasonic massage of the mammary gland is performed, decantation is performed, and oxytocin is administered.
Patients with mastodynia and other conditions that occur against the background of cyclical changes are recommended hormonal drugs, sedatives, diuretics and analgesics. In case of hormonal disorders, taking into account the cause of engorgement of the mammary glands, oral contraceptives are canceled or the drug is replaced, and hormone therapy is prescribed. For malignant neoplasms, radiation therapy and chemotherapy may be indicated.
