Is breast swelling and pain a sign of pregnancy?

Written by Wu Shi Ting
Breast Health Department
Updated on September 15, 2024
00:00
00:00

After pregnancy, due to the influence of estrogen and progesterone, most women experience breast tenderness. However, not all breast tenderness is caused by pregnancy. There are many causes of breast tenderness. For example, some women experience mild cyclic breast tenderness with menstrual cycle changes, which is often physiological. There are also some diseases, such as common breast hyperplasia, that can cause breast tenderness. Of course, some benign or malignant tumors in the breast can also cause tenderness. Therefore, it is recommended that patients with breast tenderness seek timely medical examination at a hospital.

Other Voices

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Lin Yang
Breast Surgery
49sec home-news-image

Breast swelling and pain, increased vaginal discharge, does it mean that menstruation is coming?

Breast swelling and pain, increased vaginal discharge, it might be that menstruation is coming. Breast swelling and pain are generally manifestations of mammary gland hyperplasia. The symptoms of mammary gland hyperplasia typically include cyclical breast swelling and pain, which often appear or worsen before menstruation and subside or disappear after menstruation. Some patients do not experience obvious cyclical changes; some may have swelling and needle-like pain in one or both breasts, which can extend to the shoulders, upper limbs, or chest and back areas. A few patients might have nipple discharge; the discharge can be yellow, brown, or bloody. The disease course can sometimes be long, but symptoms often disappear or lessen after menopause.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Lin Yang
Breast Surgery
1min 12sec home-news-image

Should I use cold or hot compress for breast pain?

For breast tenderness, we generally choose hot compresses to reduce pain. For the occurrence of mammary gland hyperplasia, it is recommended to use medication for symptomatic treatment, which may include traditional Chinese medicine. This treatment involves soothing the liver and regulating qi, and balancing the thoroughfare and conception vessels to alleviate pain. Endocrine treatments are also an option, but they are ideally avoided if possible. However, for significant pain during the pre-menopausal period, medication can be taken before the onset of menstruation. Vitamin treatments with vitamins B, C, and E, which help improve liver function, regulate hormone metabolism, and enhance autonomic nerve functions, can be used as adjunctive medications for this condition. Vitamin E also has pain-relieving properties. For individuals with a family history of breast cancer, localized lesions in part of the breast, noticeable lumps after menstruation or dense shadows or microcalcifications on a mammographic film, a biopsy or a Mammotome rotational excision procedure should be performed, and surgical treatment may be necessary if required.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Li Li Jie
Obstetrics and Gynecology
50sec home-news-image

What is the reason for breast pain during menstruation?

Menstrual breast pain is considered to be caused by two factors. First, the patient experiences breast pain during menstruation due to the stimulation of estrogen and progesterone secretion before the onset of menstruation. The pain symptoms may be more pronounced before menstruation and can be alleviated after menstruation. Second, if the patient's symptoms are severe, it is generally necessary to consider whether the pain is caused by mammary gland hyperplasia. Mammary gland hyperplasia can be caused by long-term staying up late, depression, and excessive stress. It is recommended that the patient undergoes a breast ultrasound to check for conditions like mammary ductal hyperplasia or fibroadenomas, and then receive targeted treatment.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Zhang Xiu Rong
Obstetrics and Gynecology
1min 9sec home-news-image

What is the cause of postmenopausal breast pain?

Under normal circumstances, if breast swelling and pain occur after menopause, it is necessary to visit a hospital for a breast ultrasound to check for any organic diseases in the breast. If the ultrasound reveals any abnormal masses or conditions, further examination with a mammogram is generally required. Normally, there should not be any swelling or pain in the breasts after menopause. If such symptoms occur, they should be taken seriously, and a hospital visit is necessary for relevant examinations to rule out malignant breast tumors. If there is no malignant tumor and the breast ultrasound does not show significant issues, merely presenting with breast swelling and pain, at this point, some medicinal treatment for regulation can be taken. Traditional Chinese medicine generally considers that the liver meridian passes through the breast, and patients with liver Qi stagnation may experience breast swelling and pain. In such cases, taking medicine to soothe the liver and alleviate depression can be symptomatically appropriate.

doctor image
home-news-image
Written by Wu Shi Ting
Breast Health Department
45sec home-news-image

What is premenstrual breast pain?

Many female friends are troubled by breast pain before their period. What exactly is the reason for this? Why do symptoms of breast pain appear before the period? Mild breast pain may be due to changes in hormones within the body, and it is considered a normal physiological condition. Of course, it could also be caused by diseases, such as the commonly seen fibrocystic breast changes, which show cyclical breast pain with the menstrual cycle. Indeed, other diseases can also cause cyclical pain in our breasts, and it is something that we need to pay attention to. Especially in cases of severe pain, where even light touch causes a lot of pain, we recommend going to the hospital for relevant examinations as soon as possible.