Health Guide

Hints to help you relieve breast pain

Breast pain, called mastalgia, is very common. As mentioned before, your breasts respond to the monthly changes linked with the hormone fluctuations in the menstrual cycle. Many women experience some degree of tenderness and/or pain before or during their periods. This is quite normal but sometimes the pain or tenderness can be rather severe and interfere with your normal routine. Often, all that you need is a visit to the doctor so that you can be reassured that your pain is not cancer. For some women, though, the pain may be severe enough to require some form of treatment.

There are some simple things you may try if you suffer from breast pain. You may need to try several of these ideas before finding what works for you.

Some women find that wearing a supportive bra at all times, even when they are in bed, helps by reducing breast movement. However, other women choose not to wear a bra at all or choose to wear a loose fitting one.

Sometimes, cutting down on caffeine or cutting it out altogether can help to relieve breast pain. Caffeine is found in coffee, tea, cola and chocolate. Reducing the amount of salt and fat in your diet may also help.

Some women have also found that Vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) relieves their breast pain, although we are not sure why it works. Check with your doctor about the appropriate dose. Other women have found that Evening Primrose Oil, taken in tablet or liquid form, can help to relieve pain or premenstrual symptoms. An improvement will be noticed within several months of taking it if it is going to be effective. Evening Primrose Oil is available without prescription from chemists, health food stores and supermarkets that have a 'health' section. As Evening Primrose Oil is expensive, you might like to try Vitamin B6 first.

Your doctor may sometimes prescribe a diuretic to relieve your breast pain. A diuretic will remove excess fluid from the body in the form of urine, this makes you go to the toilet more often. This release of fluid may possibly decrease your breast swelling and pain. Because some diuretics may reduce the level of potassium in the body, you may need to include an extra banana or orange juice in your diet to replace it. Check with your doctor to see if this is necessary for you.

| Posted in » Breast