| The breast is the upper ventral region of the human torso. The
breasts of a female primate’s body contain the mammary glands,
which secrete milk used to feed infants. Both men and women develop
breasts from the same embryological tissues. However, at puberty,
female sex hormones, mainly estrogen, promote breast development
which does not occur in men. As a result, women's breasts become
far more prominent than those of men.
Mastitis is the inflammation of breast tissue.
It is called puerperal mastitis when it occurs in lactating mothers
and non-puerperal otherwise. Mastitis can occur in men, albeit rarely.
The signs and symptoms usually appear suddenly and they include:
Breast tenderness or warmth to the touch, General malaise or feeling
ill, Swelling of the breast, Pain or a burning sensation continuously
or while breast-feeding, Skin redness, often in a wedge-shaped pattern,
Fever of 101 F (38.3 C) or greater,
The affected breast can then start to appear lumpy and red.
Benign Breast Tumors usually include simple cysts and fibroadenomas.
Breast cancer: A cancerous tumor in the breast
is a mass of breast tissue that is growing in an abnormal, uncontrolled
way. The tumor may invade surrounding tissue, or shed cells into
the bloodstream or lymph system.
#Conium. [Con]
This remedy has a specific action on the female breast, dissipating
its engorgements and tumors and relieving its pains. Tumors of a
suspicious nature in the mammae have been caused to disappear by
the use of Conium. They are the seat of a piercing pains, worse
at night, and the rest of the gland is tender. The 30th potency
is one that can be relied on in these cases. Conium corresponds
also to injuries of the breast from a blow or pressure or overuse
of arms; the characteristics are the hardness and the extreme sensitiveness;
the breasts are painful even to the touch of the clothes or the
jar of walking. This remedy suits cases where the gland becomes
inflamed after every little cold. Pruritus is a confirming symptom.
Bryonia. Breasts become hard and painful. Mastitis commencing with
a chill, stitching pains, tense swelling, headache and other general
Bryonia symptoms.
#Phytolacca. [Phyt]
This remedy is suitable to irritable mammary tumors; the breasts
are very sensitive during nursing, with an excessive flow of milk.
There is tendency of the breasts to cake and suppurate; here no
remedy is so useful; the pains seem to radiate from the nipple all
over the body, especially down the arm from the axilla. Patient
is chilly, rigors showing suppuration ; sore and fissured nipples;
also Graphites and Hepar. Great aching all over the body with any
of these condition is greatly characteristic. Croton tiglium. Pains
shoot from nipple to the shoulders. Phellandrium. Stitching pain
in nipple and pain along the milk ducts. Arnica. Tumors of the mammary
gland from bruises. There is a discoloration of the parts and everything
adds to the soreness; clothing, bandage, etc. Murex. Dr. Jousset
has successfully used this remedy to quiet the pains of mammary
tumors, especially when these pains are increased during menses.
#Calcarea fluorica. [Calc-f]
This remedy corresponds to hard indurated swellings in the female
breast. It has an excellent clinical record in dissipating these
growths. Silicea suits chronic cases of mastitis with fistulous
openings and callous edges. It will often disperse hard lumps in
the breast. Sabal serrulata is said to materially aid in growth
of undeveloped mammary glands.
#Aconite. [Acon]
This should be used in the initial chill of acute mastitis, and
it may be followed by Belladonna when red streaks radiate from a
central point accompanied by pulsating pains, headache and a hardness
of the breasts. Dr. E.S. Bailey thinks Belladonna has aborted more
mammary neoplasms than any other remedy in the materia medica. Mercurius
may be used when throbbing or transient chills indicate the beginning
of suppuration. Sulphur may also be needed. Prof. Bailey further
considers Sulphur as one of the best remedies for mammary neoplasms.
Burning is mentioned as as indicating symptoms; also a history of
former skin diseases and suppressed eruptions or of an infective
leucorrhoea. Psorinum may also be mentioned in this connection.
#Pulsatilla [Puls]
is also an excellent remedy in scanty flow or absence of milk, the
patient being gloomy or tearful. It is useful where mechanical irritation
excites the flow of milk in young girls. Urtica urens. Non-appearance
of milk, with no special symptoms, may be corrected by this remedy.
Scrophularia nodosa, according to Dr. Cooper, of London, has an
especial affinity for breast tissue. Adenoma and carcinoma come
within its curative range. |
