Page 127 - (DK) Home Doctor: Providing practical advice on home treatments

COMMON CONDITIONS: WOMEN’S PROBLEMS 125

What you can do yourself continued…
PRACTICAL TECHNIQUE
● Reduce your caffeine intake by cutting down
on drinks such as coffee, tea, and cola. Breast awareness If you examine your
● If you suffer from fluid retention and bloating, breasts once a month, you will know what looks and
feels normal for you and find it easier to notice any
cut down on salt the week before your period.
change. The best time to do this is just after your
● Increase the amount of carbohydrates in your period, when any hormone-related lumps should
diet, eat plenty of fresh fruit and vegetables, and have subsided. If you no longer have periods, choose
avoid fatty food. a specific day that will be easy to remember, such as
the first day of each month.
● If you are overweight, try losing some weight.
Excess fat reserves in your body can affect your Strip to the waist,
hormone levels and contribute to breast pain. then stand with your
1 arms by your sides.
● If tension or stress makes you more susceptible Look at your breasts
to cyclical breast pain, try practicing some deep in a mirror from the
front, then turn and
breathing and muscle relaxation exercises
view them from each
(see PRACTICAL TECHNIQUES, pp.20–21).
side to check the
● Take an analgesic on the days when your breasts outer edges.
are painful (see DRUG REMEDIES, left).
● Some women find supplements of vitamin B 6
help ease cyclical breast pain and lumpiness
(see NATURAL REMEDIES, opposite page). Raise your arms. Look
at your breasts from
● Regularly examine your breasts for lumps 2 the front and each side.
(see PRACTICAL TECHNIQUE, right). Put your hands on your
hips, tense your chest
Mastitis muscles, lean forward,
● If you are breast-feeding and you have pain and look again. Each
in one breast due to mastitis or milk buildup time, check for dimples,
(engorgement), continue to feed your baby at least puckered skin, changes
every 2 hours from the affected breast, unless your in size or shape, and
changes in the nipples.
doctor has advised you otherwise. This will keep
the milk flowing and keep the breast from getting
too full. Alternatively, use a breast pump.
● Make sure your baby is latched on correctly
and is sucking properly (see PRACTICAL TIPS:
BREAST-FEEDING HOLDS FOR SORE NIPPLES, p.126).
This will help relieve pressure on the breast.

Seek further medical advice
Arrange to see your doctor if: Lie down and put one hand behind your head.
Feel the breast on that side, using the flat of
● Cyclical breast pain or lumpiness has lasted
3 your fingers in firm, small, circular movements.
for more than 2–3 menstrual cycles and is not Examine the whole breast, including the
relieved using self-help measures nipple and armpit. Change hands and repeat
● Breast pain is causing you distress and/or is the examination for the other breast.
preventing you from carrying out your normal Note any abnormalities such as tenderness,
daily activities
lumps, swollen veins, or thickened areas. If you
4 discover any changes, consult your doctor.