8 Causes of enlarged and painful breasts other than puberty

Breasts are prone to change over time. Starting from the age of puberty, the increase in the hormone estrogen makes breasts enlarged and painful for the first time. This change aims to improve breast function as a provider of breast milk. Over time, adult female breasts may occasionally enlarge and feel painful even though they are no longer puberty. For example, every time you want to menstruate.

Come on, find out what else can make breasts enlarged and painful!

Causes of enlarged breasts and pain other than puberty

In adult women, enlarged breasts are no longer caused by changes in the hormones of puberty. Your daily routine or certain medical conditions may be the cause.

1. Take birth control pills

Adult women who regularly take birth control pills may find that their breasts are slightly enlarged from normal. Because, birth control pills contain high estrogen. The addition of this hormone in the body can also cause fluid to collect around the breasts. As a result, the breast size will be bigger and feel very sensitive.

2. Pregnant and breastfeeding

During pregnancy, the hormone estrogen in the body will increase rapidly, causing bigger breasts.

The hormonal changes of pregnancy make the breasts heavier, bigger, and more sensitive. You will notice it when you see the nipple and areola (the black area around the nipple) become more enlarged.

These breast changes will continue until you breastfeed. It aims to prepare and increase milk production.

3. Menopause

Breast enlargement can also occur after menopause. In contrast to the fertile period, enlarged breasts after menopause are actually caused by decreasing estrogen levels in the body. This makes the fibrous tissue that holds the breast form weak.

Breast density also decreases with age. That's why many women aged 50 years and over who are overweight feel their breasts relax and get bigger.

4. Sex

Apart from hormonal changes, sex can also make your breasts enlarge. Caressing and kissing around the nipple or clitoris can increase blood flow to the breasts. This causes the breasts to swell while sex is still ongoing.

5. Weight gain

You need to know if the breast is made up of fat and breast tissue. When you gain weight, your breast size will certainly get bigger. However, not all women experience the same condition.

Women with dense breasts tend to have less fat tissue so that the breast size does not change much.

6. Insect bites

Mosquitoes, ants, or other small insects can bite your body, including around the breast area. These small insect bites can cause itching.

If your hand continues to scratch the itchy area, the breast can become swollen and painful. Fortunately, this situation can only heal quickly.

7. Consume caffeine

It turns out that there are some tissues in the breast that are very sensitive to caffeine. This is especially influential for women with fibrocystic breasts, namely the growth of benign tumors in the mammary glands.

This condition sometimes causes pain and swelling of the breasts that are triggered by caffeine. If you have this condition, your doctor may recommend that you limit your caffeine intake or avoid it altogether.

8. Certain drugs

Enlarged, painful, and uncomfortable breasts can also occur if you are taking antidepressants or antipsychotics.

Usually these drugs are given to people who have mental disorders, such as bipolar disorder, depression, or anxiety disorders.

Risperdal, one of the drugs for bipolar disorder, can increase proclatin. Prolactin is a hormone that plays a role in increasing milk production so that the breast size can increase. It can also cause the nipple to discharge even though you are not breastfeeding.