The inflammation of the breast, or the mammary gland (Greek “mastos”), is called mastitis or mastadenitis. Mostly it affects breastfeeding women shortly after birth. This period of time is called postpartum.
Inflammations of the breast outside the puerperium are less frequent. Inflammation of the breast in men is also a rather rare case. Mastitis requires immediate medical treatment to prevent complications.
This primarily includes preventing the formation of a mature abscess. An abscess is an encapsulated accumulation of pus in tissue. There are different types of mastitis, which differ somewhat in their symptoms and causes.
An inflammation of the breast does not go unnoticed. It very often manifests itself in pain in the area of the nipple. Usually the pain is one-sided.
It leads to fever and overheating of the affected breast. The breast is reddened and swollen. This swelling is also palpable.
The lymph nodes in the armpit may also be swollen. Finally, the inflammation also makes itself felt in the quality of the milk secretion. It is altered and the cell count in it is increased.
In general, bacterial pathogens cause mastitis. These pathogens classically include bacteria that also occur in the normal skin and oral flora. These are sometimes staphylococci, streptococci and Pseudomonas.
There are different forms of mastitis. There is mastitis puerperalis, which occurs in the so-called postpartum, mastitis non-puerperalis and periductal mastitis. They are explained in more detail below.
In 60% of women, mastitis occurs before the age of 30, which is normally before menopause. Mastitis during the menopause is therefore rare. Changes in the hormone balance are discussed as a possible cause of inflammation of the mammary glands during the menopause.
In addition, it has been shown that women tend to undergo hormonally induced remodelling processes (mastopathy) with the formation of small cavities filled with secretion (cysts) in the breast, and that mastitis is more frequent during the menopause. However, the exact causes are not yet fully understood. The symptoms correspond to those of classical mastitis.
These are reddening, overheating and swelling of the affected area. In addition, the lesion is painful and the axillary lymph nodes on the same side may be swollen. Fever is rather untypical.
Changes in the hormonal balance are discussed as a possible cause of menopausal mastitis. In addition, it has been shown that women are more prone to hormonally induced remodelling processes (mastopathy) with the formation of small cavities filled with secretion (cysts) in the breast, and that mastitis is more frequent during the menopause. However, the exact causes are not yet fully understood.
The symptoms correspond to those of classical mastitis. These are reddening, overheating and swelling of the affected area. In addition, the lesion is painful and the axillary lymph nodes on the same side may be swollen.
Fever is rather untypical. The symptoms correspond to those of classic mastitis. These are redness, overheating and swelling of the affected area.
In addition, the lesion is painful and the axillary lymph nodes on the same side may be swollen. Fever is rather untypical. The nipple is one of the most sensitive areas of our body and easily reacts to disturbing factors with an inflammation.
Frequently, the nipple is also involved in inflammation of the mammary gland. As with mastitis, the cause can be a milk congestion or an infection with bacteria. Other causative factors are allergies, tissue irritation during breastfeeding, breast malformations or tissue growth.
It is important to note that inflammation of the nipple can also occur in men, usually due to excessive rubbing of clothing. The symptoms are similar to inflammation of the mammary gland with painful swelling and reddening of the nipple area. The lymph nodes of the armpit may be swollen on the affected side and secretion may be secreted from the breast.
If the inflammation of the nipple outside the breastfeeding period is combined with a secretion, an examination should be arranged with the gynaecologist, as this can be an early sign of breast cancer. If there is no suspicion of a tumor disease, the diagnosis is made with a clinical examination similar to mastitis.The therapeutic measures also correspond to those of mastitis, although the regular emptying of the breast during breastfeeding can only be possible under severe conditions due to the severe pain. Additionally, herbal ointments can be applied to the nipple, which can act directly at the site of inflammation.
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