What causes breast pain and swelling?

Women's breasts not only increase their charm, but are also an important part for raising babies. When a baby is just born, its digestive system and teeth are not yet fully developed, so it can only get nutrition from breast milk. This shows the importance of breasts. But sometimes breast pain and swelling may occur, which causes distress to many women. Today I will tell you some common sense about breast pain and swelling.

Pain during puberty: The earliest breast pain in adolescent girls usually occurs between the ages of 9 and 13. At this time, the girl's breasts begin to develop. First, the nipple swells, and then a dome-shaped lump about the size of a pea or a bean appears in the breast tissue under the nipple, which is slightly swollen and painful. After menarche, it will disappear on its own as the breasts mature.

Premenstrual breast pain: More than half of women experience breast fullness, hardness, and tenderness before menstruation. In severe cases, the breasts may become swollen and painful even with the slightest vibration or collision, and the original granular or nodular feeling may become more obvious. This is caused by increased estrogen levels in the body before menstruation, breast hyperplasia, and edema of the breast interstitial tissue. The above changes may disappear after menstruation.

Breast distension and pain during pregnancy: Some women experience breast distension and pain around 40 days after pregnancy due to the placenta and villi secreting large amounts of estrogen, progesterone and prolactin, which causes breast hyperplasia and breast enlargement. In severe cases, the pain may last throughout the pregnancy and no treatment is required. Postpartum swelling and pain: Breast swelling, hardness and pain may often occur 3-7 days after delivery. This is mainly caused by breast lymph retention, venous congestion, interstitial edema and obstruction of mammary ducts. Prevention and treatment methods: Mothers should breastfeed as early as possible. If there is a lump, you can apply hot compress and massage the lump before breastfeeding, or you can use a breast pump to draw out milk to promote patency of the mammary duct.

It can be seen that most cases of breast pain and swelling are not serious. This phenomenon often occurs during certain periods of women's lives, and these symptoms will disappear on their own after the specific period has passed. But this does not mean that you don’t need to pay attention to these breast symptoms. If the pain occurs outside of a special period, you still need to see a doctor.