Breast

Burning Sensation in Breast, Causes, Sharp Pain, Stinging, Cancer, Breastfeeding, Get Rid, Treatment

January 9, 2018

Burning sensation in breast

Your breast is a potential area of your body that can develop itchiness, sharp pain, or stinging sensation due to various factors such as mastitis, neuropathy, cancer, and others. Discover more causes of burning sensation in breast during puberty, pregnancy, breastfeeding, and menopause period, how to get rid and treatment.

Burning Sensation in Breast Causes

Burning sensation in breast

Breast pain is a common problem that can affect anybody. However, this problem often affects women as compared to men. The breasts of women are more susceptible to develop burning sensation because it has mammary glands and fatty tissues that can easily be affected by various health conditions.

According to the medical description, breast pain is also called mastalgia, mastodynia or mammalgia. The breast pain includes sharp pain, stinging pain, burning sensation, tightness, heaviness, breast tenderness, and itchy nipples.

The pain in the breast can range from mild itchiness to severe depending on the causal agent. Mild breast pain might be an indication of minor health problem that can resolve by itself without the help of medical treatment.

Occasionally, severe or chronic breast pain could be a symptom of more serious health problem such as cancer and mastitis. Nevertheless, severe breast pain is not always a symptom of the cancerous condition. Other health problem can also be the reason why you might develop severe itchiness in your breast.

If you feel a burning sensation in breast just in few days within your periods, this is normal and does not mean you have a health problem. This pain is usually mild that typically affects both of your breasts during the week of your menstrual cycle.

Menstruation breast related pain can come a week before or after your menstruation cycle and can go away after the period. If the burning sensation in your breast continues throughout the mouth after your menstruation cycle, then this is not normal.

In case you develop a pain in your breast that has refused to go away within duration of two menstrual cycles, it might be an indication of a health problem. It is advisable to seek the help of your doctor for diagnosis and treatment.

The breast pains that are related to menstruation cycle are classified as cyclic. The noncyclic breast pain is always not linked to your menstruation cycles. The two categories of breast itchiness have different signs and symptoms.

Cyclic breast pain is characterized by the following symptoms that include:

The pain comes during menstruation period
It usually affects both breasts
Usually mild pain, dull and heavy
Swollen breast with tight nipples
The pain goes away after menstruation period

Cyclic breast pain usually occurs as n effect of hormone changes in the body. Women can develop a burning sensation in breast during puberty, pregnancy, menstruation, and menopause periods.

Noncyclic pain is usually symptoms of the health-related problem. The signs and symptoms that are attributed to noncyclic breast pain include the following:

The pain can occur anytime without relating to periods
Usually affects one breast but it can affect both in rare cases
The itchiness is always severe or chronic
Associated with burning, tight, sores, lumps in breast and itchy skin on breast
Associated with strange discharge from nipple

What Causes burning in Breast?

You can develop burning sensation in your breast due to several factors or causal agents. These causal agents can lead to either to a harmless or more serious health condition that needs you to go for medical treatments.

It is important for you to be conversant with the possible factors that can lead to burning sensation in your breast. This can help you to make a decision whether to go for medical treatment or not in case you develop breast pain.

The common causes that may lead to burning sensation in breast include the following:

Mastitis

You can develop burning sensation in your breast as an effect of mastitis infection. Mastitis infection often affects women who are breastfeeding. However, this infection can affect women who are not even breastfeeding at menopause.

This infection is usually characterized by painful, inflamed, swollen and tenderness of the breast. In lactating women, it causes hard painful lumps inside the mammary glands. Sometimes it can make the milk to come out in clots.

Mastitis infection is caused by a bacterial attack of the breast tissue. Staphylococcus aureus is a known bacterium that causes this infection. The bacteria can enter your breast tissue through cracks on the skin of the breast or through the pores of the nipples.

Milk stasis or blocked milk ducts in breastfeeding women is a major risk factor that can encourage mastitis infection and breast pain. The blocked milk ducts may lead to milk stasis in the mammary gland that can encourage the growth of Staphylococcus bacteria.

You can also develop mastitis due to other predisposing factors that include the following:

Poor hygiene on your body during breastfeeding period
Cracks, cuts or bruises of the skin of the breast
Not attaching your baby on breast well during the time of breastfeeding
Infrequent and irregular breastfeeding your baby
wearing of tight bra that exerts a lot of pressure on mammary glands

You can escape the infection of mastitis by avoiding risk factor that might encourage the infection. In case you are already infected by mastitis, you can go for medical treatment by visiting your medical doctor.

Inflammatory Breast Cancer

A serious burning sensation in your breast can occur as consequence of an inflammatory breast cancer. This condition can make your breast to become tender, inflamed and swollen. Other symptoms associated with inflammatory breast cancer include:

a strange discharge from the nipple
itchy red spots, rash, bumps or lesions on the skin of the breast that look like bug bites
flattening, dimpling or inversion of the nipple
severe pain in the breast

According to the Association of Breast Cancer Foundation, it attributes that people with inflammatory breast cancer may develop malignant tissues in the breast that block the lymph vessels. These results in the accumulation of lymph fluid that make the breast to be swollen, tender and red inflamed.

With a poor prognosis, inflammatory breast cancer can spread very quickly through the lymph vessel of your breast without your noticing. It is unfortunate that you might not realize easily if a burning sensation in breast is a symptom of breast cancer.

However, early detection of inflammatory breast cancer can be managed and controlled by doctors with appropriate cancer therapy for your survival. It is advisable to go for a regular medical checkup of the breast by visiting your doctor after every 6 months.

Neuropathy

A burning sensation in your breast can occur due to neuropathy. This condition is caused by the damaged peripheral nervous system in the body. The damaged nerves can lead to the abnormal perception of pain from sensory nerves hence you can feel sharp or stinging pain in the breast.

Women with this problem can develop burning sensation, sharp pain that comes and go. Also, it can lead to a feeling of numbness and tingle in the tissue of the breast.

You can develop this condition as a result of other underlying medical condition in your body. This underlying condition includes uncontrolled diabetes and autoimmune disorders. Also, the use of certain medication such as cancer therapy can lead to neuropathy.

Usually, nerves damage is a permanent health problem that might be difficult to treat. However, neuropathy can be improved with the used of appropriate medication. Also, you can change your lifestyles that can help to improve the condition.

Paget’s infection of the breast

Paget’s infection is a form of cancer that typically affects the areola or the tipple of the breast. The condition has a similar characteristic to the inflammatory breast cancer. Paget’s infection is usually characterized by red inflamed and swollen nipple.

What Causes a Stinging Sensation in the Breast?

Have you ever felt a stinging sensation breast? If your answer is “yes”, then you are not the only the one only who is experiencing this problem. A stinging sensation in the breast tissue is a common problem that many people complain about.

It is quite normal for you to have an interest and concern to know what could be the cause of this irritating stinging sensation in your breast that makes you feel a discomfort. If you are eager to know the possible causes of a stinging sensation in your breast, here are some of them that include the following:

change of body hormones due to menstruation, pregnancy, and menopause
mastitis infection
inflammatory breast cancer
Paget’s disease
Mammary duct ectasia
Neuropathy
Allergic reactions
Certain medication
Skin infection such as eczema, shingles, rashes, chickenpox, psoriasis, fungal attack

If you develop stinging pain in your breast that persists and does not relate to your menstruation cycle, it is advisable to visit your doctor. Your doctor can help you in diagnosis and treatment your breast health problem.

Is a Burning Sensation in the Breast a Sign of Cancer?

According to the information of Breast Cancer Foundation, burning sensation in your breast is not always a sign of cancer. You can also develop breast pain or tenderness due to other causes that are already been discussed in the relevant section of this post. Some of these causes include mastitis, mammary duct ectasia, breast cellulitis, and neuropathy.

However, cancer of the breast has a symptom of burning sensation in the breast that is associated with other strange symptoms that include a hard lump in breast, redness, tenderness, flattening or dimpling of the nipple.

If your breast develops a feeling of burning sensation, you should not worry but instead visit your doctor to help in diagnosis and treatment.

Sharp Pain in one Breast

Sharp pain in one breast might be an indication of either harmless or more serious health condition. In most occasions, sharp pain in the breast may not be a sign of more serious health condition. However, you should not ignore it.

The first step you should do is to seek the help of your doctor. Continuous sharp pain in the breast that persists could be a symptom of a more serious health problem. Your doctor can help you to diagnosis and determine the main cause of the pain before giving you the appropriate treatment.

How to Get Rid of a Burning Sensation in Breast

You get rid of burning sensation in your breast using various methods. You can use natural home remedies for mild breast pain. Alternatively, you can go for medical treatment if you feel a serious burning sensation in your breasts that are likely to be a symptom of a serious health condition.

Here are some of the methods you can use to get rid of burning sensation in your breast that includes the following:

Hot compress

The use of hot compress on your breast can help to relieve burning sensation and also ease swollen or inflamed breast. This treatment can help to facilitate circulation of blood in the affected area of the breast that that can help to reduced breast pain.

How to use:

Soak clean washcloth in warm water for few seconds
Use the soaked washcloth to hot compress your breast for about 15 minutes
Repeat this treatment three times in a day until burning sensation your breast go away

Cold compress

Cold compressing your breast is an effective home remedy that can help to relieve sharp breast pain or burning sensation.

How to use:

Wrap an ice cube in a clean washcloth
Place it over your breast for 15 minutes before removing it
Alternatively, soak the washcloth in ice-cold water and cold compress your breast
Repeat this treatment several times in a day until you are relieved from burning sensation in your breast

Physical exercise of the body

Physical exercise can help your body to reduce weight and increase the flow of blood in the body system. Proper body exercise can help to reduce burning sensation in your breast and maintain your body healthy.

Ensure you involve your body in a physical exercise such as running, walking, jumping, playing, and riding a bicycle or any other body exercise that can make your body to burn calories.

Change of diet and lifestyle

You get rid of burning sensation in your breast by simply changing your diet and lifestyle. You can adopt the following:

Eat food with low-fat content
Eat balanced diet with a lot of fiber
Include vitamin and mineral supplement in your diet
Avoid smoking, chewing tobacco, drinking alcohol and any other illicit drug

Relaxation therapies

You can try yoga and meditation as relaxation therapy that can help to relieve stress and anxiety. This can help to relieve burning sensation and breast pain that is associated with a change of hormones in the body.

Burning Sensation in Breast Treatment

You can go for medical treatment in case you feel a serious burning sensation in your breast that is likely to be a health complication that is accompanied by strange symptoms such as severe chest pain, headache, and nausea, difficulties in breathing, redness, and tender breast.

Your doctor may use various diagnostic methods to determine the cause of your health problem. Some of the diagnostic methods that your doctor might use include:

Mammogram that uses an X-ray to examine the breast
Breast biopsy where sample tissue is taken from your breast to the laboratory for testing and analysis
Ultrasound scan that uses sound wave to produce images of the breast

After diagnosis, your doctor will decide the appropriate treatment method depending on diagnosis results. Some of the treatment methods that your doctor might use to solve your health problem include the following:

Prescription of oral medications, antibiotics drugs, and anti-inflammatory ointment creams
Chemotherapy and radiotherapy treatment for cancer
Surgical procedure to remove malignant tissue in breast that leads to burning sensation

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