Male Breast Pain

Many people think that mastitis is a "patent" of women, but it is not true. Men can also suffer from breast diseases, but because men do not need to breastfeed, the incidence rate is not high, which makes it very easy for men to ignore this disease. So, when men have breast pain, in order to avoid breast disease, they can go to a regular hospital for a breast ultrasound examination.

Mastitis is a common disease among women. According to different causes, it can be divided into acute purulent mastitis, paraareolar duct fistula, plasmacytitis, etc. Here we will discuss the most common acute purulent mastitis.

The clinical manifestations of acute mastitis can be divided into three stages or phases.

Stage 1: stasis and swelling or redness and swelling. The main manifestation is sudden swelling, hardness, swelling and pain in a part of the breast, usually the upper outer or upper inner quadrant, with unclear boundaries and obvious tenderness. The inflammation inside the breast at this stage is in the stage of cellulitis, and abscesses have not yet formed. The color of the breast skin is normal or slightly red, or slightly hot. Sudden high fever, chills, pain, swelling, and local bright red, which quickly pus and rupture, often accompanied by chest tightness, headache, loss of appetite, etc. If there is nipple fissure, the nipple will feel painful like a needle prick during breastfeeding, and one or two small pus spots or very small cracks can be seen on the surface of the nipple.

Stage II, abscess formation stage. If the cellulitis stage fails to dissipate in time, inflammation continues to develop, tissue necrosis, and abscess formation is inevitable. The lump gradually increases in size and hardens, the pain worsens, mostly throbbing pain, or even persistent severe pain, and the local skin of the breast becomes red and burning. The whole body is hot, thirsty, nauseous, and has enlarged lymph nodes in the ipsilateral axillary fossa. After 2 to 3 days of redness, swelling, heat and pain, the center of the lump gradually becomes soft and wavy, the center is red, swollen and shiny, the skin becomes thinner, and the surrounding skin is bright red. Pus will be sucked out during puncture. At this stage, abscess has already occurred and the time for conservative treatment has passed.

Stage three, late stage of abscess. When the abscess matures, it can burst on its own or be surgically incised to drain. If the drainage is smooth, the local swelling and pain will subside, the body temperature will return to normal, and the wound will gradually heal in about a month after changing the dressing. If the abscess does not drain smoothly after rupture, the swelling does not subside, the pain does not subside, and the body temperature does not subside, it means that the drainage is not smooth. If it does not heal for a long time, it will turn into chronic mastitis and will also form milk fistula, that is, milk mixed with pus will flow out.