Mastalgia

Painful breasts, often experienced by young women, may be either cyclical or acyclical, depending on the age of the individual. Cyclical mastalgia is characterized by breast pain in the days leading up to menstruation. Severe mastalgia, lasting more than a week and significantly interfering with daily activities, may warrant drug treatment. Chronic mastalgia is diagnosed when pain persists for over six months and demands further investigation.

Treatment for mastalgia encompasses several approaches, including analgesics, evening primrose oil capsules, danazol, bromocriptine, tamoxifen, ormeloxifene, gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) analogues, testosterone undecanoate, and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs). Treatment choices vary based on effectiveness, side effects, and patient preferences.

Noncyclical mastalgia, often observed in older women, can be indicative of breast cancer. This warrants thorough investigations to discern the underlying cause. In cases where chest wall pain, such as Tietze syndrome ( a condition where chest pain and swelling persists near the breastbone, due to inflammation of the cartilage that connects the ribs to the breastbone), is identified, NSAIDs (anti-inflammatory drugs) generally provide relief, while other causes require local injection with an anesthetic-steroid combination.