Why are my nipples swollen and enlarged?

The swelling, pain and enlargement of nipples mainly occurs during women's menstrual period and ovulation period. Nipple swelling, pain and enlargement may also occur during breastfeeding. These symptoms are normal physiological phenomena and you don't need to worry too much. They are mainly caused by breast development or too much milk. As for the reasons why nipples become swollen, painful and enlarged, we can learn about them from the following introduction.

What causes breast swelling and nipple pain?

1. Breast pain during adolescence: The earliest breast pain in girls usually occurs between the ages of 9 and 13. At this time, girls' breasts begin to develop, with the nipples first bulging and a slight feeling of pain. After menarche, it will disappear on its own as the breasts mature during puberty.

2. Premenstrual breast pain: Many women experience fullness, hardness, and tenderness in the breasts during menstruation. In severe cases, the breasts may become swollen and painful even with a slight vibration or collision, and the original granules or nodules 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. After the menstrual period, the above changes disappear.

3. Breast tenderness during pregnancy: Some women experience breast tenderness around 40 days of pregnancy due to changes in estrogen levels in the body, which causes breast hyperplasia and breast enlargement. In severe cases, the pain may last throughout the pregnancy and no treatment is required.

4. Postpartum breast tenderness: Breast tenderness, lumps and pain may often occur 3 to 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 soon as possible; if there are nodules, apply hot compresses and massage the nodules before breastfeeding; you can also use a breast pump to draw out milk to promote patency of the mammary ducts.

5. Breast pain after artificial abortion: After artificial abortion, some women complain of breast pain and can feel a lump. This is due to the sudden interruption of pregnancy; the hormone level in the body drops sharply, causing the newly developed mammary gland to suddenly stop growing, resulting in breast lumps and breast pain.

6. Breast pain after sexual intercourse: This is related to the physiological changes in the breasts during sexual intercourse. People with low libido or an disharmonious sex life cannot achieve sexual satisfaction, so the congestion and swelling of the breasts are not easy to subside, or they subside incompletely. Continuous congestion will cause breast pain.

7. Breast cancer: It is common in women aged 20 to 40 and has a slow course of disease. In the early stage, there is one or more nodules in the breast, which are painless or tender, have unclear boundaries with surrounding tissues, are often adhered to the skin, and the axillary lymph nodes on the same side may swell.