Many women of childbearing age often begin to experience some chest discomfort. Unfortunately, not everyone is eager to seek medical help, but they naively hope that everything will go away on their own. In fact, such problems can lead to serious breast diseases. One of these troubles is mastopathy disease. Such an ailment usually has dire consequences for women, it is characterized by inflammation, the development of a tumor, sometimes turning into a malignant one.
What it is?
Mastopathy is a disease of the mammary glands with pathological irradiation of the connective and epithelial tissues, which entails pain and secretion. Statistical studies indicate that today the disease began to appear in women much more often than 10 years ago. Not only patients of childbearing age are affected, but also elderly ladies, as well as girls who only have a menstrual cycle. In the presence of any gynecological disease, the risk of developing mastopathy disease also increases.
Causes of occurrence
Problems with the mammary glands can be caused by various pathological factors. Often women do not pay attention to the first signs of the disease, which may threaten them with serious complications in the future. Therefore, if the chest hurts, mastopathy should be excluded first.
The risk group includes women who have a history of tumor formations in the organs of the gynecological sphere (inflammation, cysts, fibroids, etc.), endometrioid disorders and other diseases of hormonal etiology. Also pathological factors include diabetes mellitus, adrenal gland, thyroid gland diseases, obesity, hypertension, irregular sexual life of a woman.
The presence of depression, stress or neurosis also negatively affects the health of the mammary gland. We can not exclude the genetic predisposition of the patient, the absence of pregnancy or childbirth up to 30 years of age, as well as a history of abortion. In women giving birth, focal mastopathy can occur due to failure or interruption of breastfeeding, prolonged hormonal therapy. Young girls have an increased risk of getting sick when wearing uncomfortable or tight underwear, the metal bones of which cause injury to the chest, as well as the abuse of smoking and alcohol.
Types and forms
In medicine, two main forms of mastopathy are known : nodular and diffuse. Nodular is characterized by the presence of single compacted inclusions in the iron, diffuse - by their many. Depending on the nature of the proliferation of cysts, papillomas and fibroadenomas in the chest, the diffuse form includes fibrocystic mastopathy. According to the structure of nodes formed in the gland, it is divided into the following types:
- with a predominance of the fibrous component;
- with a predominance of the cystic component;
- mixed.
Features of fibrotic mastopathy
Fibrous mastopathy is a disease that is characterized by the occurrence of fibrosis in the connective tissue of the mammary gland. The symptoms of this form of the disease include the appearance of small lumps in the tissues of the chest, a change in the sensation of the nipples, itching, irritation. Similar symptoms occur in the middle of the menstrual cycle and can fluctuate with varying degrees of severity. After menstruation, the above symptoms subside, and there comes a period of "improvement" in the patient's condition.
The exact causes of fibrotic mastopathy, unfortunately, remain unclear. It is believed that the mammary glands in women are inflamed due to a number of pathological factors. An important role in the appearance of the disease is played by heredity. The formation of fibrous lumps is caused by hormonal imbalance in the body. A surge of hormones leads to swelling of the ducts in the mammary gland and entails a water retention in the body. Signs of fibrotic mastopathy are more common in women of childbearing age.
The peculiarity of this form of the disease is that it rarely passes into the oncological stage. In addition, fibrous cones are characterized by softness on palpation, the ability to move freely inside the gland, which is how they differ from cancer. The mammary glands in women with cancer signs, on the contrary, have solid and motionless inclusions.
Fibrous mastopathy is treated with conservative methods and dieting. With this form of mastopathy, coffee, tea, alcoholic beverages should be excluded from the diet, since they contain methylxanthines. These substances increase the production of stress hormone, which entails the formation of fibrous lumps in the breast. The diet should include fish rich in iodine, vegetables, herbs. But meat products should be abandoned for a while.
Features of cystic mastopathy
Cystic mastopathy (photo diagnostic tests are given below) is characterized by engorgement of the mammary glands. This occurs due to the proliferation of pathological tissues in which cystic formations of various sizes and quantities appear. The causes of the disease in most cases are an excess of estrogen and a lack of progesterone in the patient. Other causes include heredity, chest injuries, frequent abortions, infertility, or late first births. This also includes endocrine disorders, stress and neurosis, bad habits.
If a woman has breast pain, mastopathy may be one of the causes of this symptom. Other signs include a feeling of heaviness, discomfort in the mammary gland, secretion from the nipples, the formation of seals and nodes. These symptoms are directly related to the patient's menstrual cycle, which is accompanied by breast edema. Treatment occurs by taking hormonal drugs. Launched cases require surgical intervention (puncture or resection of the affected part of the gland).
Diagnosis of the disease
The main method for detecting breast diseases is a regular examination by a mammologist or oncologist. Upon examination, the doctor notes the structural features of the mammary glands, the appearance of signs of any change in them. By the way, a woman can independently examine the breast by palpation of the glands to detect any seals in them, for example, cystic focal mastopathy is felt this way quite well. Additional diagnostic methods include mammographic and ultrasound examinations of the mammary glands, determination of the level of sex hormones in the blood.
Medication for mastopathy
Many diseases caused by hormonal imbalance are treated with hormones, including mastopathy. This is the most reasonable method, which is used only after obtaining the results of tests for hormones. Otherwise, the problem can only worsen.
The drugs that are used in medical practice to treat this disease include hormonal, combined oral agents, contraceptives, antiestrogens and homeopathic medicines. However, hormones are prescribed when other drugs do not cope with the task.
The goal of conservative therapy is to reduce pain, reduce the inflammatory process in the tissues of the gland, resorption of cysts and fibrosis, as well as prevent relapse and oncology. If the patient has concomitant diseases of the genital or endocrine sphere, treatment should be adjusted according to the recommendations of the gynecologist or endocrinologist. It is also important to exclude nervous disorders and diseases of internal organs.
In recent years, doctors have widely used new medicines to eliminate breast problems in women, such as Progestogel, Mammoleptin, Mastodipon, Wobenzym, and others. It is noted that the new generation of drugs quite effectively suppress the development of a disease such as mastopathy at the initial stage. Unfortunately, the methods of treatment with drugs for the fibrocystic form of the disease and in the presence of a genetic predisposition to breast cancer tumors are ineffective. In especially difficult cases, the disease is treated promptly.
Surgery
Mastopathy is a disease that undergoes surgery to remove affected breast tissue. The fibrocystic form is precisely the case when conservative treatment does not bring positive results. If single or multiple nodes are diagnosed in the gland, the surgeon removes them and sends the biomaterial for histological examination. This procedure allows you to identify the nature of the neoplasms (malignant or benign), on which further treatment will subsequently depend.
The need for histology after surgery
If the results of a histological examination reveal cancer cells in the biomaterial sent for analysis, then the woman will be prescribed a course of chemotherapy. This will destroy the cancer cells in the body. To monitor the state of health, the patient will regularly undergo a tomographic examination using contrast - a special substance that allows you to see cancer cells on the tomography monitor. With the introduction of contrast into a vein, malignant cells actively absorb it and stain, which makes them well distinguishable during the diagnosis.
Is physiotherapy rational?
Physiotherapy for mastopathy is rarely used. This is due to the increased risk of tumor degeneration into a malignant formation. The only physiological treatment for this disease is hirudotherapy. With its help, stagnation in tissues is eliminated, normal blood circulation in the mammary glands is restored, which contributes to the resorption of nodules.
Traditional medicine for mastopathy
If a woman is diagnosed with mastopathy, this is not a reason to despair. With timely diagnosis of the disease, it can be treated with alternative methods, and quite successfully. It is worth saying that the decision to use alternative medicine prescriptions should be made by the attending physician. Of the most popular treatments for mastopathy, compresses, lotions, poultices of ointment and oil are used. Inside take tinctures and decoctions of medicinal plants.
Hot poultices should not be applied to the skin of the breast if redness of the epithelial tissues, fever, edema occurs. Also, the use of external agents in the presence of skin rashes is not recommended. Treatment should be aimed at eliminating pain in the gland, resorption of cysts and fibrous tissue, and preventing the development of complications and malignant tumors.
For the preparation of decoctions and tinctures, immunomodulating plants, antitumor and gonadotropic plants (acting on the gonads) should be used. Antineoplastic agents include wormwood, gingerbread, burdock, saber, birch, elderberry and plant poisons (celandine, fly agaric, mistletoe, hemlock and others). As immunomodulators, aloe, echinacea, propolis, elecampane are used.
Prevention
In order to prevent mastopathy, simple preventative measures should be observed:
- regularly visit a mammologist and gynecologist;
- avoid stress, nervous strain;
- wear comfortable underwear;
- lead a healthy lifestyle, abandon bad habits;
- monitor weight;
- Do not self-medicate.
When all the recommendations are implemented, women significantly increase the chances of avoiding mastopathy or identifying the disease at the initial stage.