Breast health management

For the vast majority of ordinary women, the core of breast health management has never been to follow the trend and buy expensive dredging projects or take Internet celebrity health supplements. It is three things: "first do screening to eliminate risks, then make targeted adjustments, and don't mess around." There is no one-size-fits-all standard plan. All measures must be determined based on your age, family history, and your own breast status.

A while ago, I treated a 28-year-old Internet operator. She saved up nearly three months’ salary to get a "breast dredging annual card" from a beauty salon. The salesperson said that it can rub open nodules and prevent breast cancer. However, she went to the massage once a week, and after half a year, her breasts hurt so much that she could not even wear underwear. When she went for an ultrasound, it was found that there was edema around the benign nodules of grade 2. She thought she had become malignant, and sat in the clinic crying for almost ten minutes. When it comes to breast massage, there are actually two schools of thought in the academic community: Most Western medicine clinics are clearly opposed to violent breast massage for non-medical purposes, especially for people who have been found to have nodules and cysts. Breast tissue is like a bunch of grapes hanging on the chest. It is easy to crush the acini if ​​the force is too strong. If you happen to encounter an undiscovered malignant nodule, massage may even accelerate the spread of cancer cells. ； However, syndromic massage at a regular traditional Chinese medicine hospital is indeed useful. Many people’s breasts are so swollen that they cannot even touch them before menstruation. Massaging the corresponding acupuncture points with a regular doctor can indeed relieve swelling and pain - but the prerequisite is that you must first undergo a breast screening to eliminate the risk of malignancy. You should find a qualified traditional Chinese medicine doctor, not a technician in a beauty salon who can take up the job after just one week of training.

Many people ask for the most expensive examination as soon as they arrive at the hospital, thinking that the more expensive it is, the more accurate it is, but this is not true. The breast glands of women under 35 years old are relatively dense, and the mammography target is not penetrating enough, so the examination is useless. A breast B-ultrasound once a year is enough. ； If you have a family history of breast cancer, or have previously been diagnosed with grade 4a or above nodules, no matter how old you are, you need to have a reexamination every six months, and if necessary, do a mammography or magnetic resonance imaging. Last month, a 32-year-old girl came for a physical examination. Her mother and aunt both had breast cancer. She thought it was troublesome and did not check it for two years. As a result, a 3cm fibroadenoma was found. Fortunately, it was benign. Now she has set three alarms on her mobile phone to remind herself to check it every six months, which is more punctual than anyone else.

There is really no need to touch in front of the mirror every day. The rumor on the Internet that "if you feel a nodule means you have cancer," I don't know how many little girls have been frightened into tears. The correct time for self-examination is 7-10 days after the end of menstruation. At this time, the estrogen level is stable and the breast glands are the softest. Just touch it twice when you take a shower. Focus on whether there are any hard lumps that you have never touched before, whether the nipples have yellow or bloody discharge for no reason, and whether the shape of the breasts on both sides suddenly appears sunken or asymmetrical. If there are any of these situations, go to the hospital in time. Don't search Baidu to sentence yourself to "death". By the way, there is also the chest pain question that everyone asks the most. Don’t panic. 90% of chest pain is caused by hormone fluctuations or breast hyperplasia. It may be that you have drank too much milk tea recently, stayed up too late, or just had a fight with your partner. It has nothing to do with breast cancer. But if the pain lasts for more than two weeks, or if an obvious hard lump is palpable, you still need to go to the hospital for a checkup, and don't just carry it on.

Don’t believe what is said on the Internet about eating kudzu powder to enlarge breasts and drinking dandelion water to eliminate nodules. I encounter at least three people asking this question a day in the clinic. Currently, there is no research to prove that food has the effect of enlarging breasts or eliminating nodules. On the contrary, many Internet celebrity breast enhancement products secretly add estrogen, and eating too much will stimulate breast lesions. It is better to eat less high-sugar and high-fat foods and avoid supplements with high estrogen content such as royal jelly and snow clams. There are also emotions and routines that many people ignore, which really have a much greater impact on the breast glands than you think. Last year, there was a girl who worked as an auditor. She stayed up for a month in advance of the annual review and went to bed at two or three in the morning every day. Her chest hurt before menstruation so much that it was difficult to even lift her arms. She was found to have multiple cysts. Later, she changed jobs where she didn’t have to stay up late often. She usually went hiking on weekends. After a follow-up examination three months later, most of the cysts were gone. As for underwear, don’t wear underwired underwear that is so tight that you can’t breathe. Don’t wear underwear for more than 12 hours a day. When you get home, change into loose home clothes. Don’t listen to people saying that not wearing underwear will cause sagging. Sagging is caused by gravity and age. It really has nothing to do with whether you wear underwear or not. On the contrary, wearing underwear that is too tight will cause discomfort to the breast glands.

In fact, after all is said and done, breast health management really doesn't have to be so fancy. Don't blindly stuff it with supplements, don't blindly let people rub it, and do the required examinations on time. This is the best protection. After all, our breasts are inherently delicate organs, so less effort will be more effective than any expensive maintenance.