Staying healthy and illness-free is something that many mamas would love. No one wants to be sick, after all. That’s why when you feel a fever coming up or start having a sore throat, you’d end up popping a paracetamol or taking a lozenge. At least for those instances, you have some peace of mind knowing you’re doing what you can to manage a possible illness. However, not all symptoms can be managed easily, let alone understood right away.
For many mamas, there may be times where they’d feel certain symptoms and not know how to deal with them. One perfect example is breast pain. At some point in their lives, every mama will experience breast pain of some sort. Unlike other symptoms, like a fever or a cough, breast pain is something that’s a little harder to deal with. Whether it’s because you don’t know what’s causing it or how to get rid of it, there are lots of reasons for a mama to worry about it.
If you’ve always wondered why these things happen or how to deal with it, then look no further! This article will tackle breast pain, its different causes, and what you can do about it. That way, you can give yourself some peace of mind or at least be able to make more informed decisions should the day come that you experience breast pain of some sort.
Breast Pain
When a woman finds herself experiencing breast pain, there are probably hundreds of thoughts going through her head. A lot of these thoughts can be scary and disconcerting. However, while it may seem like something scary, breast pain is something that many women experience at some point in their lives. What’s more, there are several different causes for breast pain. So, experiencing breast pain is something normal, and it also doesn’t necessarily mean you have to worry a lot.
Kinds of Breast Pain
With that in mind, it’s good to break down the topic of breast pain into different parts. Identifying the kinds of breast pain is a good way to get started on the topic. You see, breast pain can be classified into three different kinds, all based on their timing. By understanding the timing of the breast pain, you can then help narrow down what’s causing it.
Cyclical Breast Pain
When you say breast pain is cyclical, this means that it always happens during a specific time. This is one of the most common kinds of breast pains and is usually associated with hormonal changes, like during the week leading up to your period. What’s more, this type of breast pain is felt on both breasts. In most cases, breast pain that is cyclical in nature is normal. As the name implies, it happens in cycles and will go away after those hormonal changes are done.
Noncyclical Breast Pain
Whereas cyclical breast pain has some sort of predictable timing to it, noncyclical breast pain is more random. It doesn’t follow hormonal changes like what goes on during your menstrual cycle. However, sometimes it can still happen intermittently or even constantly. It may also happen only to one breast. However, despite this, the causes of noncyclical breast pain aren’t necessarily too serious.
Extramammary Pain
The third kind of breast pain isn’t necessarily due to something that’s wrong with the breasts. As the name implies, extramammary pain is pain due to a problem outside of the breasts. With that in mind, you might be wondering why you’d end up feeling pain in your breasts. This is because the nerves that are responsible for sensation in your breasts also share a common nerve with some other body parts. As such, sometimes your brain might perceive this as pain coming from your breasts.
Breast Pain Causes
Now that you know the kinds of breast pain, we can take a closer look at their different causes. Some of these were already mentioned earlier, but we’ll get into a little more detail with these causes. That way you can at least have a better understanding of why you’re experiencing breast pain in the first place.
Hormones
As mentioned earlier when talking about cyclical breast pain, hormones are one of the more common causes of breast pain. This is usually the case during the menstrual cycle. More specifically, this happens during the week or two leading up to your period.
In the days leading up to your period, your body is ovulating. This entails preparing a feasible egg that’s ideal for fertilization. Along with this, the rest of your body is preparing for a possible pregnancy too. One of your body parts that’s part of these preparations would be your breasts. With the help of your hormones, your breast tissues are growing. This growth in your breast tissues are what are responsible for the pain.
Aside from menstrual cycle-related breast pain, there’s also the possibility that the pain is caused by hormone therapies. This is usually the case for people who are taking oral contraceptives for the first time, have changed their birth control pills, or are taking hormones for any other medical condition. As such, these types of pain may be cyclical or noncyclical, occurring around the time of your intake of these hormones.
Pregnancy
Aside from hormone changes during your menstrual cycle, pregnancy can also be a reason for breast pain. Similar to what happens during the days leading up to your period, the breast pain pregnancy makes you feel is also due to breast tissue changes. So, don’t be surprised if things like breast pain pregnancy second trimester take place. This is most likely due to the growth of tissue in your breasts preparing for the baby on the way. This kind of breast pain pregnant people feel is just as normal as the one felt by those on their periods.
Cysts
Another possible cause of breast pain would be due to growths like cysts. Now, breast cysts and their causes is a topic for an entirely different article. However, these cysts can cause symptoms of pain too. Much like how the growth of your breast tissue during your menstrual cycle and pregnancy can be painful, these cysts can also cause pain for similar reasons. These growths may also hit a nerve that can then cause your body to have a pain sensation. This is especially common in solitary cysts that grow rapidly over time.
Mastitis
Breast pain can also be caused by something called mastitis. However, unlike hormones, pregnancies, or cysts, this is something more apparent. Additionally, this is usually caused by breastfeeding and lactation. Mastitis is an inflammation of your breast tissue. So, your breasts will appear to be inflamed—red and swollen. Aside from that, you will usually have a fever too. So, if you notice these symptoms, there is a chance your breast pain is caused by a case of mastitis.
Cancer
While it’s rare, sometimes breast pain can also be caused by cancer. However, before you go thinking that you have cancer should you happen to experience breast pain, it’s important to also take note of the other symptoms that typically accompany breast cancer. More specifically, if there is the presence of a lump in your breast, changes in your breast’s skin resembling the appearance of an orange peel, skin dimpling, or nipple inversion. So, if any of these changes are present along breast pain with lump, there is a chance you may have breast cancer.
“Referred Pain”
Also mentioned earlier, you can also have breast pain that have extramammary causes. For example breast pain left side of your chest, you may possibly have a problem with your heart or your lungs. However, because things like your heart and lungs are in the same area as your breasts, you may perceive this as breast pain. This is what is sometimes called “referred pain,” and happens because a lot of your organs and body parts share a common nerve as they go up to your brain.
In these cases, it’s good to take note of how this pain arises. For example, if the pain is felt on the left side of your chest, maybe during strenuous exercise, it could be a heart-related issue. On the other hand, if you feel it in the breast area, but it’s more of a sharp pain that you experience when taking a deep breath, it could be a lung problem.
Other Reasons
Aside from all the causes mentioned above, there are some other reasons why you might be experiencing breast pain. What’s more, these reasons could seem very random and not a cause for worry at all. For example, having large pendulous breasts, that is breasts that may hang a little loosely, can be another cause for this pain. The reason why this is so is because your breasts have a ligament called the Cooper’s ligament that holds your breasts up. Having large breasts can add a little more strain to them than usual, eventually causing the pain.
Trauma to the breast can also be another reason for breast pain. This may sound obvious, but sometimes people who experience this kind of pain may tend to forget that they got hit in that area. However, it’s very common to experience pain that would last for a while, even after the trauma has already passed.
What To Do
When it comes to breast pain, figuring out what to do should be based on the possible cause of the pain. Given that you have some idea on what may cause breast pain, this would aid in giving you a better idea on what you can do about it.
For instances where you feel breast pain during the days leading up to your period, after getting hit in the breast, or due to having your breasts hang more loosely than usual, taking something like a painkiller could help mitigate the pain. However, for more serious things such as the presence of a mass, a case of mastitis, or pain accompanied by skin changes of the breast, it may be more advisable to seek medical attention as soon as you can.
Of course, this isn’t to say that you should self-medicate or self-diagnose. However, by knowing all these things, you can at least make more informed decisions about what you can do for these instances. After all, doctors can still be the most knowledgeable people when it comes to these things. With their expertise, they can also at least give you a definitive cause of your breast pain and the peace of mind you might need.
