Symptoms of gynecomastia - a one- or two-sided breast enlargement in men. Besides cosmetic defect gynecomastia may also be accompanied by unpleasant or painful sensations in the chest, as well as discharge from the nipple. In order to begin to treat this disease, you need to understand the reasons for its occurrence.

What is gynecomastia and its species

Gynecomastia - a breast enlargement in men. Generally, two causes of gynecomastia: hormonal background as a result of a variety of reasons or obese. Changes in hormonal levels can be expressed in reducing the amount of male sex hormones, or increase in the content of female hormones. And then, and more can occur not only in violation of the testes, but also for violations occurring in the hypothalamus or pituitary gland - the organs that regulate the secretion of hormones. Quite often, gynecomastia occurs when taking various drugs, such as glucocorticoids.

Gynecomastia can be true (breast increases under the influence of hormones due to the proliferation of breast strokes and connective tissue) and false (breast enlargement due to fat tissue).

Gynecomastia can occur not only in adult males. Sometimes it occurs in newborn boys, if the blood they have a lot of female sex hormones estrogen, transmitted by the mother during pregnancy. Violations hormonal arising in adolescence, can also cause gynecomastia. Finally, quite often, this pathology occurs in older men, when they reduced the content in the blood of male hormones.

How is gynecomastia

Gynecomastia can be diffuse (uniform increase in one or both breasts) and nodular (appearance of breast node). True gynecomastia has three stages: proliferative (growing), intermediate and fibrous.

At the stage of proliferation is proliferation of connective tissue, glandular proliferation strokes small and medium ducts. This stage lasts about four months, and usually responds well to conservative treatment.

At the intermediate stage, which lasts from six months to a year, and is an active increase in mammary glands. Finally, fibrous stage breast is compressed by fat and connective tissue - gynecomastia is finally formed. In this case, get rid of gynecomastia can only surgically.

Symptoms

A sign of diffuse gynecomastia is visible to the eye an increase in one or both breasts. Often they are uniform in size. On examination, you can sometimes see a small retraction in one or both breasts, but the breast and areola (areola) is not changed. Sometimes nipples appear clear or lightly blood stained discharge.

If you test the breast, the nipple area can detect small painful elastic seal with indistinct contours, not soldered to surrounding tissues. The seal surface most often smooth, but sometimes - a bit grainy. Initially, a slight increase of not more than one centimeter in a diameter, but may increase rapidly with a simultaneous increase of the pain. The diameter of the seal over time can reach 10 cm or more.

Nodal gynecomastia is an assembly of small size, which is often located on only one side. Node dense, painless, has clear boundaries (as opposed to diffuse gynecomastia - it has fuzzy boundaries), not soldered to surrounding tissues. Discharge from the nipple in the hub almost never happens, the nipple is not drawn, the skin of the breast and areola is not changed. Nodal mastopathy Breast - the mirror Women's Health   sometimes accidental discovery - the patient feels it himself or the doctor discovers during a baseline medical examination.

In men suffering from gynecomastia Gynecomastia - known since ancient times   You can identify a number of symptoms, indirectly pointing to hormonal disorders Hormonal disorders - oversupply and a lack of equally dangerous : Weakening of libido, reduced potency, the changing nature of body hair (sometimes hair on a man's body begin to grow on the female type). On palpation of the testes in such patients can also reveal signs of trouble that should be subject to further examination.

The dangerous gynecomastia

When gynecomastia through hole in the nipple and in advanced breast ducts can become infected, leading to the development of mastitis.

Nodal gynecomastia can be transformed into breast cancer Breast cancer: what every woman needs to know That men are much less common than in women, however, it runs hard.

The symptoms of gynecomastia may occur in other, more serious diseases, such as tumors of the testis, pituitary or hypothalamus. Therefore, the appearance of gynecomastia should consult a doctor.

Galina Romanenko

How to detect breast cancer doctor tells mammolog. He also teach women techniques of self, will tell you when to seek medical care. The detection of breast cancer Breast cancer - the verdict?   the woman must take a proactive stance - that from it in most cases depends on the timely detection of the disease.

What can the woman for breast cancer

The woman can master the techniques of self-examination and to hold them on a monthly basis in the same time. Women of childbearing age carry out self-examination in the seventh to tenth day of the menstrual cycle The days of the menstrual cycle: Four phases When changes in the mammary gland under the influence of hormones are minimized.

If a woman has irregular menstrual cycle, then you need to choose a day of the month, when the breasts do not swell and do not differ morbidity and conduct self-examination only to these days. Women during menopause should also be set aside for self-certain day of the month.

Self-examination should begin with a thorough examination of the chest. Topless woman examining breast in the mirror first with a lowered and then raised his hands. The change poses to fully explain all the changes in the breast, which appeared during the month. This may be an increase or decrease in one of the glands, changing its shape, color. Note the appearance of indentations, protrusions on the breast, nipple swelling or retractions on the skin over the breast - it may be reddened, swollen, in the form of orange peel, ulcerated, covered with scales or crusts, and so on.

After the inspection is conducted palpation (palpation) of the mammary glands. It is better to do first standing before the mirror and then in the prone position, and finally the shower - this would reveal any possible changes in the mammary glands.

The status and standing in front of a mirror in turn examine both breasts, starting with the right. At the same time the right hand is raised up and the fingers of the left put on the right breast and palpate it in a circular motion. It examines not only the breast, and armpit. Then change hands and examine the left breast. Then press down on the nipples and check whether there is a separation, and their character.

Lying gland palpated by placing the shoulder blade with the survey party pillow - this will allow the breast is better distributed on the surface of the chest. Palpation performed as well as in the standing position.

Palpation of the shower sometimes allows more detail to probe the mammary gland, so it should also not be neglected.

When detecting any changes in the breast that have occurred over the last month, should see a doctor.

What makes for the detection of breast cancer doctor

First of all, the doctor will conduct inspection and palpation of the breast. The skilled artisan that it is sometimes enough to make up their minds about the disease. Breast cancer in the early stages can occur unnoticed, so regular visits mammalogy help identify the disease as early as possible.

The diagnosis must be confirmed by laboratory and instrumental methods of research.

First of all, the woman carried ultrasound breast. This makes it possible to identify the size and shape of the tumor, its contours. But the set is revealed by the formation of benign or malignant on the ultrasound impossible. This will require first mammogram Mammography - protection against breast cancer   (X-rays of the breast) and then needle biopsy followed by cytological or histological examination punctate.

Today, instead of needle biopsy to establish the nature of the tumor began to apply the method of ultrasound elastography (or Sonoelastography), which greatly facilitated the diagnosis of breast diseases. The method is based on the fact that different tissue changes alter its properties and lead to a local change in the rigidity and elasticity, which allows more accurate benign from malignant tumors in the early stages of their development. In addition, ultrasound elastography method avoids undue needle biopsy, which is an additional stressful moment for women.

Less commonly used survey methods such as computer and magnetic rezonanskaya tomography (CT and MRI) - due to lower availability of finance for the general population. MRI is now widely used for the detection of breast cancer in pregnant women, as it is informative and absolutely safe method.

Detection of breast cancer Breast cancer: what every woman needs to know   in the early stages is critical, because the sooner it is diagnosed, the more effective the treatment will be.

Galina Romanenko