Chest before menstruation: why and what to do?

Breast tenderness before the onset of critical days worries so many women. Some of them hardly notice her, others suffer from severe pain, which leads to a deterioration in the quality of life. Why does the chest hurt, and how to deal with it?

Why does breast ache before menstruation?

Pain in the mammary gland a few days before the onset of the menstrual cycle is also called mastodynia. This condition is a variant of the norm. Often its occurrence is due to the fact that the glandular tissue of the breast grows. This happens due to the fact that before a mature egg is removed from the follicle, there is a sharp production of estrogen, so the body is prepared for conception. These hormones also affect the condition of the mammary glands. They are characterized by lobular structure of the tissue. All lobes consist of milk ducts, connective, glandular and adipose tissue. In the latter, hormones estrogen are produced, the increase in the content of which leads to an increase in the amount of adipose tissue. In addition, there is an increase in glandular tissues, so preparation for lactation is carried out.

The hormones progesterone and prolactin act on the mammary gland in such a way that they coarse and swell, become more sensitive, which is why pain occurs. In most cases, this physiological state appears as a result of stressful situations and psychoemotional stresses experienced by a woman.

The intensity of painful sensations in each representative of the weaker sex is expressed differently. It depends on many points that affect the hormonal background. These factors include age, individual characteristics of the body, the lifestyle that a woman leads, and much more.

Usually, approximately 10 days later, chest pain is felt before the start of the menstrual cycle. When menstruation comes, that is, conception does not occur, it recedes.

Other causes of chest pain before menstruation

It happens that chest pain is provoked not by physiological factors, but by other, more serious pathological conditions.

Muscle strains are considered non-hazardous causes of pain in the mammary glands. This can happen, for example, due to increased physical exertion (long wearing heavy objects in the hands, intense sports training, etc.).

Reasons that pose a more serious threat to women's health may include the following:

1. Change in hormone levels. Any imbalance in the hormonal background can cause dangerous consequences and malfunctions in the functioning of all internal organs.
2. Gynecological diseases. Often lead to hormonal imbalance. In some cases, they can be an independent cause of breast pain.
3. Inflammation of the mammary glands or adjacent organs.
4. Breast disease. There are many reasons provoked, accompanied by different symptoms and proceed in different ways. Most often, a disease that causes pain in the chest becomes mastopathy.
5. Benign or malignant tumors. Both those and others are capable of causing pain in any phase of the cycle, in particular, and before the start of critical days.

When is chest pain considered a disease?

Any woman, regardless of age, must be careful about her own breasts, since the mammary glands very often undergo cancer.

The fact that the pathogenic process develops in the body can tell the nature and severity of painful sensations. For example, if the pain syndrome has changed before menstruation, has become stronger or has begun to occur on other days of the cycle, you need to be alert and carefully monitor everything that happens in the body, visit a competent doctor.

With special attention to all pains in the mammary glands, ladies who are at risk, that is, those who have:

1. In the past, there were artificial or spontaneous abortions.
2. There is instability of the menstrual cycle, or a complete absence of menstruation.
3. There is a hereditary predisposition to various diseases of the mammary glands.
4. Who for a long time takes oral contraceptives, hormone-containing drugs for therapeutic purposes.
5. Who abuses fatty and fried foods, sugary foods, junk food, cigarettes.

If a woman who knows about the nature of pain in the chest before menstruation, notices any changes in this condition, she should visit a doctor. A mild, slightly aching pain is considered normal.

Symptoms in which you should be wary and suspect the development of diseases:

• pain in only one mammary gland;
• rough nipples and the appearance of discharge from them;
• pain syndrome has a wave-like character;
• formation of compaction;
• cramping in the chest;
• severe, unbearable pain that does not allow to lead a normal lifestyle.

It should be noted that breast pain and hypersensitivity can increase significantly if pregnancy occurs. Immediately after fertilization, the nipple's susceptibility to various mechanical influences increases. Similar signs may appear even before the delay of menstruation.

What to do with chest pain before menstruation

If this phenomenon does not in any way affect the woman, does not cause serious inconvenience, there is no cause for concern. If the pain does not go away even after the period came, you need to see a doctor, because this is a deviation from the norm.

In this situation, the causes of pain are usually various factors (gynecological diseases, stress and nervous tension, hormonal imbalance, colds, oncology).

The reason for concern with pain in the mammary glands should be a cardinal change in the menstrual cycle. For example, before the start of critical days, there were no special chest pains, or, on the contrary, it was from such painful sensations that the approaching onset of menstruation could be determined - and both options are considered normal. And if a woman notices that the cycle does not proceed as before, and this repeats itself not a single month in a row, in this case it is necessary to visit a doctor. A doctor’s consultation will also be required in a situation where the usual symptoms in the form of a roughened and painful breast are not observed. This is due to a decrease in progesterone production, which adversely affects the ability to become pregnant and have a healthy baby.

To exclude the presence of pathology, you should undergo an examination at the gynecologist once every six months, and at the mammologist once a year. In addition, it is recommended to examine the mammary glands on a monthly basis independently. To do this, it is necessary to pick up each breast in turn with one hand, and with the help of palpating movements, check the condition of the chest with the other. If during this procedure, seals are detected, or blood discharge with pus from the nipples, it is necessary to visit a mammologist as soon as possible. It is necessary to timely detect and eliminate changes that have occurred in the mammary gland.The treatment will be selected by the doctor, for each individual patient it is individual.

To establish the cause of pain in the chest before critical days, the following diagnostic procedures will be prescribed:

• Research on hormones.
• Test for tumor markers.
• Ultrasound examination of the chest and pelvic organs.

How to relieve chest pain

To reduce pain in the mammary gland before menstruation, it is necessary to approach this issue comprehensively. Activities that will help to cope with the problem, first of all, should include nutrition adjustment in the second half of the cycle. It is recommended to limit the use of salty and fatty foods, drink less liquid, refuse strong tea and coffee, alcoholic beverages. In addition, you should not wear tight, tight clothes at this time, which compresses the chest. A consultation with a doctor will not be superfluous. He can recommend taking in the second phase of the cycle of drugs containing magnesium, hormonal contraceptives, as well as herbal remedies that help to avoid the occurrence of mastodynia.

Well remedies for breast soreness before the onset of menstruation are folk remedies. For these purposes, medicinal preparations are used that contain plants such as peony, saber, nettle, string, celandine, tatarnik, dandelion. In addition, you can use the following recipes of traditional medicine:

1. Compress of vegetables. Grind medium beets with a grater, add a little honey. Take a leaf of cabbage, beat it off, put the prepared mixture on it and apply to a sore spot. Cover from above with polyethylene and wrap. The tool not only reduces pain, but also helps to get rid of seals in the mammary gland.
2. Flaxseeds. They have a beneficial effect on the hormonal background, eliminating the imbalance. To improve the condition and reduce soreness of the breast, flaxseeds should be crushed. Use the resulting powder in a tablespoon twice a day, drinking plenty of fluids.

It must be remembered that the use of any medicine is fraught with the occurrence of various side effects. In addition, each drug has certain contraindications. For this reason, before using them, you need to consult a doctor.

Prevention against the appearance of painful sensations in the chest before menstruation is protection against stressful situations and hypothermia. In addition, you should abandon squeezing underwear, which leads to a violation of blood circulation, squeezing of blood vessels and lymph nodes. With soreness in the chest, you can wear sports bras that do not compress the mammary glands, but provide support.

Even if a similar condition occurs, you should not try to treat it yourself. If a woman is bothered by chest pain, the first thing she should do is consult a doctor.

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