|
General swelling (as distinct from a lump or general lumpiness) is normal during sexual arousal, pregnancy and in a breast feeding woman as her breasts fill with milk.
Other common causes of breast swelling include weight gain and fluid retention.
At other times swelling is often hormone-related, occurring before a period (perhaps as part of premenstrual syndrome), on the Pill, around the menopause or with HRT.
Swelling can also result from a breast infection (infected mastitis) when accompanied by redness, pain, tenderness and a fever.
If your breasts are unacceptably tense and uncomfortable, or you suspect something is wrong, the following should help:
Keep a diary note of your periods, and daily estimates of the degree of swelling, and whether you are retaining fluid elsewhere around your ankles and fingers, for example. This will suggest whether the swelling is hormone sensitive, or simply due to 'whole-body' weight gain
Discourage estrogen dominance. Consider - using the advice on massage, herbal remedies, aromatherapy, and hydrotherapy.
Though this itself can increase estrogen levels and thereby encourage hormone-sensitive breast swelling.
|
