Different in nature, pain in the mammary glands in men has its own causes, some of them are quite serious. To eliminate discomfort, it is necessary to undergo a comprehensive examination, on its basis, the doctor will prescribe a course of treatment.

Causes

The mammary glands of men and women have almost the same structure. During puberty female breast due to the influence of hormones, it begins to grow, while the male remains in its infancy.

There are a lot of reasons for pain in the chest, these are:

Painful sensations and areas of seals often occur in adolescents. Usually, during palpation in the chest in young men, one can feel dense single or multiple balls located asymmetrically and mainly near the nipples.

The mammary glands in boys swell, pain occurs - this condition is called physiological gynecomastia.

If there are no other signs of a change in well-being and the symptom goes away on its own no later than 20 years, you should not worry. In severe cases, adolescent gynecomastia requires medical or surgical treatment (read more about this in). The clinical examination should include a consultation with a urologist to rule out non-physiological causes, such as Reifenstein syndrome, in which there is a defect in testosterone synthesis in the body. This disease may be accompanied by atrophy of the genital organs or hermaphroditism.

For more information, see the video consultation of a mammologist:

Types of pain

Pain and discomfort in the mammary glands can be of different intensity, periodic, constant or detected only by palpation.

Pain can occur at any age, often painful sensations in the mammary glands occur with diseases of the internal organs and with endocrine disorders. An assessment in the aggregate of all manifestations in a change in the patient's well-being helps the doctor establish a preliminary diagnosis.

The pain may be:

• One-sided (left or right side). In this case, trauma, the development of atheroma, fibroma, and a cancerous process should be excluded.
• Bilateral. Pain on both sides and a simultaneous increase or induration is characteristic of gynecomastia.
• In the nipples, in the halo, inside the nipples. This change also occurs with gynecomastia, a disturbed hormonal background. When present, tumors must be excluded.

Discomfort is fixed both constantly and when pressed or after physical exertion.

Further actions

When pain occurs, it is necessary to be examined as soon as possible. Diseases are treated by endocrinologists, mammologists, and surgeons.

Most of the changes in the mammary glands are benign, but if they are not eliminated in time, then a malignant process may develop.

Pathologies such as atheroma, fibroma are often removed in one visit to the surgeon, and after that, after a few days, all changes disappear.

To clarify the preliminary diagnosis, doctors prescribe:

Treatment depends on the cause of breast pain. And it is better to always carry it out in the early stages, since in advanced cases it is often not possible to achieve the return of the breast to its usual size, shape and health.

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After the birth of a child, a close relationship is established between mother and baby, which only intensifies in the process of breastfeeding. However, the wonderful moments of unity between mother and baby during the application of crumbs to a woman’s breast can overshadow the pain in the mammary gland.

Unfortunately, very often, a woman cannot cope with them on her own and stops lactation. In this case, it would not hurt to contact a consultant specializing in breastfeeding, or a specialist who is knowledgeable in this field, who would help to find out the factors if the chest gets sick or often hurts during the lactation period and measures to eliminate them.

Causes of pain

Not necessarily pain in the mammary gland can be a consequence dangerous pathologies or diseases. However, such moments can not only make the process of feeding unpleasant and painful, but also harm the health of the child.

Important! All the reasons why it is painful for a woman to breastfeed can conditionally be divided into two groups: physiological and pathological.

Physiological causes

Physiological include:

• Hormonal changes in the body. From the very beginning of feeding, from the first second of putting the baby to the breast, a woman may have nipples. This is due to the fact that the hormone oxytocin, which was involved in the process of childbirth, continues to be actively produced. Such pain can persist for several hours or days, and sometimes weeks after the birth of the crumbs. So, stimulation of the nipples by the child during meals leads to uterine contractions, due to oxytocin, pain appears in the lower abdomen and in the chest. Different women experience sensations of different strengths: for some, tingling and slight numbness are more characteristic, for others, quite severe pains are characteristic. Gradually, the body recovers and adjusts to the lactation period, the pain goes away and the process of breastfeeding begins to bring pleasure.
• The shape of the nipples. The structure of the breasts of all women is different, as well as the shape of their nipples. Some nipples are flat and inverted, while others are bulging. Large, inverted, or flat nipples can lead to a problem during breastfeeding, when it is difficult for the baby to latch onto the breast. That is why, the stage of lactation should be prepared even before the birth of the child. But, being pregnant, a woman should not stimulate the nipples, since such a procedure can cause premature birth.

Interesting! To help out in such a situation can special pads on the chest, imitating the shape of the nipples.

• Violent flushes of milk. Often, for many women, pain during lactation appears due to strong rushes of milk, they become more intense at the time the baby is applied to the breast. This is a normal condition, and it can last until the baby is three months old, until natural lactation is established.

Such pain can appear both before feeding, during it, and even after, if the baby did not drink all the milk. To get rid of such sensations, it is worth pumping a little before feeding, so that it is more convenient for the baby to grab the nipples, and for the mother it is more comfortable to feed the first minutes. After feeding, pumping can increase new hot flashes, so doctors recommend expressing milk only until the condition is relieved.

Pathological causes

Pathological causes are not caused by physiology, but by problems that require identification and prompt elimination. These include:

1. Cracks in the nipples and areolas. Poor breast hygiene, as well as a violation of feeding technique, can become a factor in the formation and occurrence of cracks in the nipples, which will bleed and cause significant pain to the mother when feeding the baby.

If the baby is not properly attached, he will not be able to take the nipples in his mouth as needed, the halo will remain outside his mouth, and all the intensity of feeding will fall on the nipple. Women also do wrong when they try to take the breast from a child. The baby's tight grip on the nipple can be loosened by lightly pinching the baby.

Another cause of cracked nipples and areolas is dry skin. That is why after each feeding it is important to wash the breasts with warm water and lubricate with special protective agents. It can be sea buckthorn oil or a cream that contains lanolin. In addition, it is advisable to ventilate the breast after each feed, change the breast pads in the bra as often as possible to avoid infection, and monitor the correct attachment of the baby to the breast.

Important! Do not apply brilliant green or any other alcohol-containing products to the nipples. Besides the fact that they dry out the skin, they can also have an irritating effect on the chest.

2. Thrush. The symptoms of this unpleasant phenomenon are as follows:

• Cracks that do not heal after treatment and proper care;
• Inflammation and swelling of the nipples, the skin on them is covered with horny scales;
• Pain that does not stop after feeding;
• The pain goes to the area of ​​​​the arms or back;
• Areola skin is irritated and dry.

It is worth remembering that thrush harms not only a woman, but also a child, because it gets to him on the oral mucosa during feeding.

As a rule, the treatment of thrush can be combined with breastfeeding. Mom can use special ointments, and the baby's mouth needs to be wiped with products designed specifically for this purpose. However, all treatment is important to carry out only under medical supervision.

In extreme cases, neglected thrush can lead to serious damage, then you will have to be treated with antifungal therapies. Thrush can be the result of mastitis, which is characterized by an increase in temperature to high levels.

Important! The main causes of thrush are very frequent and too thorough breast washing with soap, yeast infections formed during pregnancy, and poor hygiene.

3. lactostasis develops due to the fact that any duct of the mammary gland is not completely released from breast milk. You can easily feel the lumps in the chest. They are the result of lactostasis. If a temperature appears along with the bumps, you should immediately consult a doctor. With timely and proper treatment, lactostasis goes away within a day. Soreness and tightness in the chest may remain for another day or two.

The causes of lactostasis are:

• Long breaks from one feeding to another;
• With incomplete emptying of the breast by a child. For example, when the mother takes the breast, and the baby has not eaten;
• The same position when a child eats can cause lactostasis, just like sleeping on one side. Most often, this manifests itself in those women who practice co-sleeping with a child and sleep facing the baby;
• When a woman gives her baby a breast, holding it with medium and index fingers, this can also cause lactostasis;
• Wearing tight underwear;
• Fatigue of the mother's body and lack of sleep, developing into chronic;
• uniformity homework, oddly enough, can also cause lactostasis;
• Baby sucking on a pacifier leads to incomplete breast emptying and congestion;
• Eating too fatty foods. It makes milk much thicker;
• A situation where a woman caught a cold and got sick. Especially during the season of viruses and acute respiratory diseases.

If the mother has lumps in her chest, then you need to immediately start working on their elimination. First aid will massage the breast before feeding. Attaching the baby to the breast using different feeding positions will help him suck out all the lobules of the mammary glands better. The most preventive position for the prevention and treatment of lactostasis is from under the arm. In case of incomplete sucking of milk from the breasts by the child and the presence of lactostasis, the breasts must be decanted.

Advice! Not bad help compresses from cabbage leaves, honey cakes, natural cottage cheese.

Important! If the temperature rises by more than 39 degrees and persists for two days, a doctor's consultation is mandatory.

One of the methods in the fight against lactostasis is as follows:

Express milk from the breast under a warm shower until only lactostasis remains.

Feed the baby in such a way that while eating, his lower lip is directed to the place of compaction.

Apply a cool compress to your chest.

4. Mastitis. This is one of the most serious and dangerous causes, due to which severe chest pain can develop, since it has an infectious component. The development of mastitis occurs very quickly and is expressed by the following symptoms:

• The chest is tense;
• The skin on the chest turned red (the phenomenon of hyperemia);
• Impurities of blood or pus appeared in the milk;
• Spots or streaks of an unnatural color have formed on the skin;
• The temperature has risen.

Due to the fact that mastitis poses a real threat to a woman's life, it requires immediate urgent treatment.

If mastitis is of an infectious origin, then antibiotics cannot be dispensed with, as a result of which it is sometimes necessary to suspend HB for a while.

5. Vasospasm. If there is pain before and after feeding, as well as a situation where the nipple becomes white color after feeding, it can be assumed that the woman develops vasospasm. It is extremely rare and is caused by a very close location of one of the nerves or its endings to the nipple. Usually, vasospasm is the result of another problem, such as thrush, and not an independent disease. To reduce pain from vasospasm in the mammary gland during breastfeeding, heat helps some women, and cold helps others.

If the pain in the mammary gland during lactation was the result of vasospasm, then you may need to consult a neurologist.

Other causes of pain

There are reasons that are not directly related to feeding. Absolutely any nursing mother during lactation can face them:

• Wearing tight underwear (bra). It is important to choose the right one, because uncomfortable cups can interfere with the flow of milk, squeeze the breasts and nipples, and also cause lactostasis. It is best to give preference to underwear that is designed specifically for feeding;
• A few days before the onset of menstruation. As a rule, the onset and recovery of menstruation is often the first companion of pain in the chest. In the middle of the cycle or when approaching the date of ovulation, the pain will decrease;
• Fibrocystic mastopathy. This pathology increases the likelihood of lactostasis, one should not give up breastfeeding because of it.

What can and cannot be done when pain occurs?

If it is painful for a mother to feed a child, then it is important to adhere to the following rules. They will help not only reduce pain, which will be less intense, but will also become measures for its prevention:

• Feed the baby very often at his first request. Crowded mammary glands are the risk of developing many pathological processes. More frequent attachment and keeping the baby near the breast will help to avoid such situations;
• Alternate breasts - in one feeding - one, in the next - the other. So it will be possible to avoid stagnation of milk during lactation;
• A breastfeeding mother needs to drink more liquid after the feeding process and before it. No wonder consultants specializing in breastfeeding recommend drinking a cup of warm tea 30 minutes before feeding the baby.

There are a number of actions that should not be done in any case if the chest hurts during breastfeeding:

• Take pills or take any action to reduce the amount of milk and its flushes, including expressing all the milk to the last drops;
• Drink little liquid. This will not help the situation, but it will cause a lot of problems;
• Make compresses on alcohol or vodka, as well as warm the chest in other ways. Maximum - a barely warm heating pad or diaper in some cases;
• Offer your baby a pacifier or bottle.

If there is chest pain during lactation, and a woman cannot eliminate it, then the mother begins to worry, and stress, as you know, can cause no less harm to the breastfeeding process than the disease itself. What should a woman do to calm down and try to keep her breastfeeding?

Interesting! The use of any sedatives can harm the health of the child. But there are drugs that even doctors recommend to nursing mothers. This is a common valerian.

Nervousness and irritability are some of the reasons why valerian can be prescribed to mom. The effect of its reception is cumulative and occurs some time after the start of treatment. The course is usually seven to ten days.

However, even such a harmless remedy as valerian can cause side effects in a child: poor sleep and appetite, moodiness, allergic rash. Therefore, treatment is important only under the strict supervision of a specialist.

Any mother should find out why the breast hurts when feeding, and solve this problem immediately. Incessant pain can not only cause a refusal to breastfeed, but also cause significant harm to health.

Why do breasts hurt while breastfeeding? (video)

Breast pain during feeding and its causes (video)

Diseases of the mammary glands (video)

Pain in the nipples can describe any discomfort in the area of ​​the nipples of the chest. It is usually caused by physical trauma or other exposure to them, such as breastfeeding, exercising (such as running) without a sports bra, or wearing an inappropriate bra size.

Pain in the nipples can also be caused by inflammatory diseases. For example, mastitis is an inflammation of the ducts of the mammary gland, or an abscess is an accumulation of pus in the chest area. Such diseases are often common in lactating women.

A rare type of cancer known as Paget's disease can cause inflammation and pain in the nipple.

In each case, it is necessary to set true reason pain. Therefore, we will dwell on each provoking factor in detail.

Causes of nipple pain and action plan

Pain can be caused by friction and abrasions. So:

• Wear sports underwear while playing sports;
• Do not wear the wrong size bra;
• Avoid cuts and abrasions in the nipple area. If this happens, use a patch.

Physical effects and breast changes. It can be:

• Surgical operations on the chest;
• Breast-feeding;
• Drying and cracking of the nipple or areola;
• Hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle;
• The onset of puberty.

Diseases that cause pain:

• Breast abscess or Zuska's disease (the occurrence of abscesses around the nipple);
• Inflammation of the breast (mastitis);
• contact dermatitis;
• eczema;
• Galactocele (benign cystic tumor in the breast);
• Galactorrhea (spontaneous lactation).

Deadly diseases:

• Paget's disease.

Diagnosis of the causes of nipple pain

To establish the causes of pain, in any case, it is better to contact the clinic. A competent specialist always keeps at the ready a list of on-duty questions that can determine the cause of pain and prescribe necessary treatment. Answer them yourself first:

• How long do you feel pain? When were they first seen?
• Do pain symptoms occur simultaneously in other parts of the body?
• Is there any recurrence of symptoms? How often and with what frequency?
• Do you feel discomfort Only in one breast or in two at the same time?
• Maybe at the same time you have a fever and feel chills?
• Is there any discharge from the nipples? Seals? Edema?
• Have you had breast surgery? Were there any injuries in the chest area?

Possible Complications

Complications of pain in the nipples are quite rare. Typically, routine nipple care consists of hygiene procedures to protect the body from the spread of infections. If you are a breastfeeding mother, more frequent feedings can help, which makes it easier for milk to pass through the milk ducts.

However, in some cases, urgent medical attention is really required. Timely diagnosis and prescribed treatment reduces the risk of complications, including the spread of malignant or infectious diseases (abscess and sepsis).

Additionally, pay attention to such dangerous symptoms as:

• Bleeding from the nipples;
• Swelling of the mammary gland;
• Change appearance breasts, such as wrinkling or looseness, change in shape and size;
• Rashes, cracks and itching;
• The occurrence of bruising in the chest area;
• elevated temperature;
• Nausea and vomiting.

In some cases, side effects can indicate extremely serious diseases. If you even for a moment lose your bearings, fainting, shortness of breath, immediately call an ambulance.

For a baby, breastfeeding is very important - from mother's milk, the child receives not only the vitamins and minerals necessary for its development, but also immunity! When the baby is at the nipple, a woman receives pleasant emotions, she is embraced by tenderness for her own creation, an emotional connection - mother-child is strengthened.

It happens that very unpleasant sensations break the idyll - breastfeeding turns into torture, because it hurts. Ignoring this symptom is dangerous - you can miss the development of serious pathological processes in the mammary gland.

So what should you do if your chest hurts while feeding!

Causes of an unpleasant state

Why does my chest hurt before or after feeding?

In the early days, pain and fullness in the mammary glands can be explained natural causes- a rush of milk. If the child does not have time to release "milk storage" in full or the ducts in the nipples are not sufficiently developed, clogged milk lobules can provoke lactostasis. Lactostasis is the stagnation of milk in individual lobules, which is easy to notice on palpation. In the initial stage, separate dense nodules in the mammary gland are felt. This phenomenon cannot be ignored - lactostasis can turn into mastitis in a matter of hours.

Mastitis is an acute inflammation of the mammary gland, its symptoms are: acute pain, enlargement of the lymph glands in the axillary tissue, redness, seals, difficulty in the outflow of milk, fever.

Its purulent form, which occurs when a secondary infection penetrates through the ducts, mostly staphylococci, has additional signs - purulent discharge from the nipples, general intoxication, high fever.

Breast hurts after feeding if:

• the baby is too energetic, and after his bites, cracks appeared on the nipples;
• milk arrives immediately after the sucking process and causes swelling;
• the baby sucks out little milk.

Breast pain while breastfeeding irregular shape nipples or because the woman does not properly attach the baby to them. Sometimes a woman herself is to blame for the fact that she has pain - she, delighted with an increase in her bust, begins to "force" in inappropriate underwear, pulling her mammary gland.

In this case, she causes stagnation artificially, unnaturally raising her breasts. During lactation, the mammary gland is subject to the negative effects of external factors. The inflammatory process is caused by hypothermia, minimal physical impact can lead to injury.

Elimination of lactostasis

To eliminate lactostasis, the breast should be completely freed from milk after the baby has eaten. If he does not completely empty the chest, then you need to resort to pumping.
You can pump by hand or with a breast pump. Modern devices for expressing breast milk do not damage the nipples - they have soft suction cups. Buy for yourself should be a more convenient model. Before pumping, you need to learn how to massage the mammary glands - then it will be possible to completely free the breast from milk and remove the seal.

The mammary glands are warmed with a warm towel dipped in hot water for 3-5 minutes, then massage in a circular motion from the base to the nipple in a circle, especially carefully kneading the places of congestion. Massage should be absolutely painless. After the disappearance of seals, the breast may still hurt for 48 hours.

It is impossible to carry out warming procedures using alcohol compresses or warming up with sand or salt - such actions can aggravate the general condition.

If pumping and massage did not help, the chest still hurts while feeding and, in addition, the temperature rose, most likely, mastitis has developed.

Mastitis treatment

As soon as the first signs of mastitis appear, you should immediately consult a doctor. The disease at an early stage can be cured without resorting to surgical intervention.

Lactational mastitis is not a contraindication for breastfeeding and should be continued. As with lactostasis, after each feeding, you should try to empty the breast completely. After feeding and pumping, a cool compress is applied to the mammary gland.

If you want to make a compress of medicinal substances - the most commonly used solution for resorption of seals is dimethyl sulfoxide - before the procedure, express as much milk as the baby needs for nutrition.

One feeding after the compress will have to be skipped, and the milk should be expressed again. In the acute form of the disease, antibiotic therapy may be required - in this case, the doctor prescribes such medicines that will not harm the baby and minimally dissolve in milk. If you correctly draw up a regimen for taking drugs - for example, take a pill immediately after the baby is full - then by the next feeding in the milk there will be a minimum amount of antibiotic.

The ban on feeding - only acute purulent mastitis. In this case, surgical intervention and excision of tissue in the area of ​​compacted inflamed ducts are most often required.

Nipple treatment

Treatment is prescribed depending on the reasons why the nipples hurt while breastfeeding. If the inflammation and the formation of cracks were provoked by the unfortunate shape of the nipples - they are too small or very flat, it is inconvenient for the baby to suck, then special nozzles made of silicone or latex are applied to the nipples. In addition, before each attachment to the breast, the woman massages the nipples, pulls them back. After a while they will the child needs shape.

Cracks also occur in such cases:

• when the baby is incorrectly applied to the breast;
• the nipple is pulled out of the mouth by force, when the baby clamps the jaws, prevents tearing away from the "feeder".

The following factors provoke the appearance of irritation of the delicate halo of the mammary glands:

• improper care of the mammary gland - overdrying with detergents, rubbing with linen
  or hard towel;
• increased dryness of the skin;
• incorrect expression;
• hypervitaminosis or beriberi;
• child.

Sometimes cracks occur in women who are already breastfeeding. "grown up" babies with teeth - in this case, the child injures the nipple by biting it.

You should not stop breastfeeding with cracks in the nipples, if a purulent-inflammatory process does not develop. Breast pads - as with uncomfortable nipples - will help get rid of the problem.

Treatment of nipples is carried out according to the following algorithm.

The halos are washed with an antiseptic - potassium permanganate or a decoction of chamomile, then lotions are applied from sea buckthorn oil or an oil solution of vitamin A, Solcoseryl gel. For washing, you can use "Bepanten" - the drug simultaneously has an anti-inflammatory and wound-healing effect, there are no contraindications for use during breastfeeding.

Accelerate the healing of the nipples compresses from the oil solution "Chlorophyllipta". At night - when the child is sleeping, you can apply synthomycin or furacillin ointment to the halos. Before attaching the baby to the breast, the nipples are thoroughly washed with boiled water, and then breast milk. By the way, the last remedy in itself is an effective antiseptic.

Prevention of lactation problems

In order to avoid pain in the chest when feeding a child, it is necessary to prepare the mammary glands already in the third trimester of pregnancy. Nipples are strengthened with contrasting water procedures, rub the nipples so that they become coarse.

Before feeding, the breasts are washed without soap so that the skin does not dry out, and they are blotted with paper.
towel. After feeding, the nipple should dry itself - being absorbed, the milk restores the water-fat balance of the skin.

Feed the baby should be on demand, do not keep for a long time at the breast.

Better 2 feedings for 10 minutes than one half-hour, when the baby falls asleep from fatigue, clutching the nipple with his gums. It is necessary from the first days to properly apply and take the breast from the baby.

The nipple must be fully grasped, with part of the areola. If you want to remove the breast from the baby's mouth, press the nipple so that the baby gets air into the mouth and the vacuum resolves.

When a woman is attentive to herself, prepares her breasts for feeding in advance, observes hygiene and technical rules for feeding, she will not have to face the problem of pain during lactation. When breastfeeding, she will experience only positive emotions.