Soreness and swelling of the chest before the start of menstruation in most cases is considered normal. Three major hormones, prolactin, estrogen and progesterone, are involved in any process related to the change of the mammary glands in women. They are included in the work during puberty, pregnancy, childbirth or postpartum production of breast milk. In individual cases, chest pain before the onset of menstruation indicates truly serious and even pathological processes occurring inside the female body. Find out the reasons for chest pain before menstruation and what to do with it.
Chest pain before menstruation may be mastodynia.
As a rule, mastodynia (this scientific name has a common breast pain before menstruation) manifests itself in the period of premenstrual syndrome. She is accompanied by factors known to many women that are difficult not to notice:
1. Mood shifts
2. Capriciousness,
3. Crying
4. Drowsiness,
5. Increased fatigue during the day,
6. Pulling pains with localization of the lower abdomen on either side or only with one,
7. Pain in the chest, localized on the sides,
8. Arrhythmia,
9. Edema and the like.
According to statistics, about 70% of women of different ages suffer from this syndrome, and the more women are, the more often PMS symptoms appear. Nature has given us a unique opportunity: to give birth to children. However, we pay for it with multiple inconveniences that are usually caused by monthly changes in hormonal levels. There is nothing terrible about it, because as soon as menstruation begins, most of the symptoms disappear.
Mastodynia is often corrected by taking hormonal contraceptives, especially if it is also accompanied by a violation of the cycle, severe lower abdominal pain and heavy menstrual periods. But sometimes chest pain, unfortunately, can be menacing. It is disguised as a small hormonal failure on the eve of menstruation, however, it does not pass with the passage of time or, on the contrary, only increases. So, what to do if the pain suddenly appeared and became too strong? What factors should always pay attention?
Risk factors: chest pain before menstruation is dangerous.
Before talking about real risk factors, it is worth mentioning which condition is considered normal for premenstrual syndrome. The following feelings that a woman experiences one or two weeks before the onset of menstruation are variants of the norm and should not scare you:
• Breast swelling,
• Sensitivity and coarsening of the nipples,
• General increase in breast sensitivity,
• Slight pain while touching the sides,
• discomfort while wearing close bras,
• Breast augmentation in volume.
It so happened that these feelings can occur in a pregnant woman. That is why you should take a pregnancy test when, together with the listed symptoms, menstruation is delayed.
As you understand, chest pain may be not only a symptom of premenstrual syndrome, but also a major factor in pregnancy. In addition, pay attention to the nature of pain and the time of its occurrence, as it is fully capable of indicating that not everything is perfect in the body. Painful sensations are also characterized by:
• diseases of the mammary glands of an infectious nature,
• Benign or malignant neoplasms,
• injuries and damage to the chest,
• Mastopathy,
• lactational mastitis,
• Hypertrophic process of the mammary glands and other ailments.
Remember: if the breast is slightly sore before the menstruation, you feel discomfort, swelling and increased nipple sensitivity, it means that your body is preparing for the planned pregnancy. Breast tissues swell and grow, and after an unfertilized egg leaves during menstruation, they simply atrophy and die. This is considered a normal physiological process characteristic of most women.
Pay attention to the specifics of chest pain before menstruation.
In the case when the pain is almost constant in nature, it is localized not only on the sides of each of the mammary glands, and you also find several seals in yourself, this may already indicate the presence of a pathological process. Unfortunately, in the modern world one can often hear the diagnosis: breast cancer.
According to world statistics, more than a million cases of breast cancer are recorded within a year. And this figure is growing all the time, sadly. In addition to the pain experienced by the woman, there may be other symptoms as well. They should pay close attention and do not hesitate to contact a doctor, because otherwise the absence of treatment can certainly cost a woman life.
So, what you need to pay attention, in addition to chest pain before menstruation or at any other time:
1. Discharge secretions from the nipples. It may be clear, slightly whitish, pus-like, or tinged with yellow. It does not matter what kind of color you noticed. There should be no secret coming out of the chest, of course, unless you are a nursing mother.
2. Seals of a different nature. Usually they are clearly felt during palpation. On their own at home, it can be difficult for girls to determine if she has any seals, but a few simple manipulations will help to carry out self-diagnostics. For example, having thrown a hand behind the head, you should carefully examine the mammary gland with a second hand for unusual solid bodies, and also check whether there are no nipple secretions. The same process must be repeated with the second mammary gland.
3. Deformation of one or several glands, the appearance of unusual stains or ulcers on them. If you clearly see that one breast has become deformed, has changed its hue, or it often began to appear damage in the form of wounds or sores, which heal for an extremely long time - this is a cause for concern. Sometimes the color changes the nipple and the halo around it.
By these signs, it is already possible to understand that negative changes occur in the body and to visit the doctor-mammologist as soon as possible. Breast cancer, which was diagnosed at an early stage, often responds well to medication, and in most cases, the tumor is benign.
Chest pain before menstruation, as one of the symptoms of mastitis
The increase or growth of breast tissue, which is pathological in nature, is called mastopathy. By itself, the disease does not pose a danger to the patient's life, but without adequate therapy, it can easily transform into breast cancer.
This pathology has several phases of development:
• The first of these is characterized by chest pain before the onset of menstruation, which first increases, and with the arrival of menstruation, disappears completely. Also, a woman may feel on palpation small or medium nodules that can appear and disappear at different stages of the cycle. It is because of this factor, many women do not pay attention to the disease and are in no hurry to see a doctor.
• The next stage is more serious. The formations inside the mammary gland are getting bigger, taking on the appearance of a ball. They take the form of large painful nodes. In addition, there may be swollen lymph nodes, localized in the armpit. Sometimes pain causes such discomfort that it is impossible to touch the chest and armpits. Subsequently, the nodes can turn into a malignant tumor.
What can affect the development of mastopathy:
1. First, the body's hormonal dysfunction. If you do not turn to a gynecologist in time, a hormonal disruption can reach the point when pathological processes begin to develop in the body.
2. Secondly, sexually transmitted diseases and urinary infections can become provocateurs. In this case, self-healing on the advice of relatives or friends, you risk to earn a lot of problems.
3. Thirdly, frequent abortions also have no benefit to the female reproductive system. They are also considered to be a provoking factor for the development of hormonal disruption.
4. Stress, depression, increased anxiety always affect a woman’s health, as a result of which a whole complex of undesirable diseases can appear.
What to do if chest hurts before the start of menstruation
Of course, the first and main advice will be the following: it is imperative to visit the gynecologist at least once every six months, and with this the mammologist about once a year. He will do an examination of the mammary glands and possibly prescribe an ultrasound scan and a mammogram. A visit to the doctor is especially relevant for women who have crossed the age threshold of 40 years, because it is during this period that breast cancer most often develops. According to the results of the examination, the doctor will send you to an oncologist or an endocrinologist to clarify the diagnosis and further therapy. Remember: the sooner the diagnosis is carried out and the correct diagnosis is determined, the sooner it will be possible to begin treatment, respectively, to save yourself from death, if breast cancer is confirmed.
If the pain is only temporary, an irregular anesthetic medication, such as ibuprofen, is allowed.
When a woman has a hormonal imbalance, the gynecologist may prescribe drugs that stabilize it. This can be herbal medicines (Mastodinon or Cyclodinone), as well as drugs that normalize hormonal metabolism.
At home, in order to get rid of chest pain, you can use warm compresses and lotions with decoctions of herbs. Well affect the muscles of the chest, soothe pain and relieve tone:
Motherwort,
• Hypericum,
• The sequence
• Nettle,
• Dandelion root,
• Sage,
• Birch tree.
However, it is worth remembering that the chest can hurt and after a traumatic impact. In this case, you need to wait a period of 3-4 days before using warming compresses.
To relieve pain will also help decoction of medicinal herbs that can be consumed inside. For example, mint, lemon balm, chamomile, field horsetail or St. John's wort is an excellent herbal collection from which you can make fragrant tea and drink it throughout the day for half a glass. And besides, before the onset of menstruation, it is recommended to drink a diuretic drug, so that the swelling of the breast is not so strong.
