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The Doctors Book of Home Remedies II: Breast Lumpiness

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Breast Lumpiness

As if being swollen and tender weren't bad enough, your breasts can also become lumpy. With many women, lumps often show up before menstruation. That's because hormones stimulate fluid buildup in the breast's milk glands and ducts. This buildup, in turn, creates lumps that can feel like masses of grain, peas, grapes or even golf balls.

Women who regularly experience this know that in a few days, when their period begins, the lumps will melt away. But women who feel pain along with the swelling may find this premenstrual problem intolerable. Here are some ways to reduce the lumps and raise your comfort level with ready remedies at home.

Steer clear of caffeine. The caffeine in black tea, coffee, cola and chocolate is often blamed for breast lumpiness. If you want to avoid caffeine completely, also avoid soft drinks like Mountain Dew and over-the-counter medications such as Dexatrim, Extra-Strength Excedrin, Midol, Anacin and Sinarest.

"Some women swear this works, and there's some research to indicate it may help," says David Rose, M.D., Ph.D., D.Sc., chief of the Division of Nutrition and Endocrinology and associate director of the Naylor Dana Institute for Disease Prevention at the American Health Foundation in Valhalla, New York. Dr. Rose suggests that you try to avoid caffeine for two or three months as a trial run: "If it works for you, then stay away from these things. If there is no improvement, obviously it is not going to help you--so you may as well go back to your coffee."

Take it easy on salt. A high-salt diet makes it harder for your body to counter-act the hormone-induced fluid retention that occurs during the two weeks leading up to your period. "Try to keep your sodium intake to under 1,500 milligrams a day," advises gynecologist Robert L. Shirley, M.D., clinical professor of medicine at Harvard Medical School in Boston. Also, read the labels of processed foods and avoid the ones that have more than 300 milligrams of sodium per serving. If you miss the flavor of salt, use spices to make up for lost taste.

When to See the Doctor

There's always concern that lumps may signal, or hide, a more serious condition such as breast cancer. Although that's seldom the case, a woman who sees a doctor for lumpy breasts should make sure her breasts are checked for dominant, solitary or asymmetric masses.

While premenstrual breast lumpiness usually appears symmetrically and in both breasts, you should see your doctor if you detect any change from this pattern. Doctors recommend that all women have a yearly breast exam and perform self-exams monthly. Yearly or biyearly mammograms are recommended for all women once they reach age 40.

Don't bring home the bacon. Some women placed on a relatively lean diet, with no more than 20 percent of calories from fat, have reported that it seems to help relieve the pain in lumpy breasts. You can significantly reduce fat in your diet by avoiding fatty meats, oils and dairy products. Substitute fruits, vegetables and whole grains whenever possible. And if you eat wheat bran, there's an added plus: This type of fiber reduces estrogen, the hormone that stimulates breast tissue.

Get support. No, not the touchy-feely kind--the Maidenform kind. Find a good, sturdy sports bra, suggests California nurse Kerry McGinn, R.N., author of The Informed Woman's Guide to Breast Health. When you try on a bra for fit, do some running in place in the changing room--and get the bra that minimizes bounce. "You want a bra that holds you firmly and comfortably, without biting and binding," McGinn says.

Try heat, ice or both. A warm bath or shower or a heating pad relieves pain for some women, McGinn says. Others find respite with anything cool--an ice pack wrapped in a towel, or fingertips chilled in cold water. And some women find alternating between a heating pad and an ice pack works best for them, McGinn says.

Do a soap massage. "Soap your breasts well in the bath or shower, and then move your fingers gently in small circles all over each breast," McGinn suggests. (The circles should be about the size of a coin.)

Then, holding your hands vertically on each side of one breast, gently press in and up to raise the breast. This helps move fluid out of the breast and into the lymph ducts under the arms and around the collarbone, where it can be transported out of the body.

Take a multivitamin/mineral supplement. Among the vitamins and minerals that may have some benefits are vitamin A, the B-complex vitamins, vitamin E, iodine and selenium, according to Susan Lark, M.D., medical director of the PMS and Menopause Self-Help Center in Los Altos, California. Adds Dr. Rose: "It's a shotgun approach that has not been studied in clinical trials, but it can't do any harm at safe dosages, and it might help."

Exercise every day. An hour of aerobic exercise daily can make a difference. Studies have shown that exercise helps reduce premenstrual water retention and thus ease the pain of swollen breasts. If running or even walking causes pain (even when you're wearing a well-fitting sports bra), try biking or swimming.

Shed excess pounds. The more body fat a woman carries around, the higher her blood levels of estrogen. And since estrogen is the hormone that stimulates breast tissue, "losing some weight does seem like a reasonable thing to do," says Dr. Rose.

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