Breast pain or breast tenderness is a common complaint among women. You might describe your breast pain as chronic tenderness, sharp burning or tightness in your breast tissue. The pain may be constant or it may occur only occasionally.
Breast tenderness, in simple terms, means softness in the breast tissues that is accompanied with pain. It is characterized by discomfort, heaviness, soreness and increased sensitivity of the breasts. Females approaching menopause, breast feeding mothers, and those undergoing pregnancy or menstruation often suffer from breast tenderness.
Home remedies for breast tenderness have devised some easy solutions to handle this problem. Breast tenderness is a condition that arises just before menstruation occurs in females. Breast tenderness is accompanied by hormonal fluctuations that are cyclic in nature. The change in the levels of hormones can be attributed to several factors, some of which are mentioned below.
10. Home Remedies For Breast Tenderness
1. Avoid Methylxanthine
If you want to prevent breast tenderness, you should avoid foods that contain methylxanthine. This compound is present in foods such as chocolate, tea, coffee, cheese, pickles and mushrooms. Therefore, you should avoid these foods. You should also avoid peanut butter, cola, wine, mushrooms and banana. Do not take cheese, beer and banana. You can prevent painful breast lumps by avoiding these foods.
2. Cold Pack
If the breast pain is cyclic in nature then it is most probably due to hormonal changes. This is a normal kind of pain, and you can alleviate the pain with some ice pack as and the when the pain gains in intensity. Ice has the ability to constrict the blood vessels. This leads to reduced flow of blood which in turn reduces the speed at which pain sensation is carried to the brain. This will automatically reduce the pain. For this take a few ice cubes in a towel and press over the affected breast for 15 to 20 minutes. You are bound to get some relief.
3. Chaste Berry
Chaste berry is a very good remedy for breast tenderness and cramps. Eat chaste berry daily. You can take tablets that contain liquid and solid extracts of the dry chaste berry. Chaste beery can have an effect on the hormone levels. Therefore, pregnant women should not take chaste berry. The berry is not suitable for women who use birth control pills.
4. Cabbage Leaf
If you want to cure breast tenderness, you should apply raw green cabbage leaves on the breasts. Cover the leaves with a cloth. This compress helps in reducing breast pain and swelling. Cabbage contains many useful compounds that help in dilating and opening blood vessels and capillaries in the breasts, thus improving the blood circulation. This helps in decreasing tissue congestion. Due to this, the body reabsorbs fluid from the breast that is responsible for swelling and tenderness.
5. Soybean
High levels of estrogen may be responsible for breast pain. This is especially true for cyclic breast pain. If you can counter the level of estrogen your breast pain can be alleviated to a great extent. In this perspective you can add more soybean to your food. Soybean contains phytoestrogens which can block excess secretion of estrogen. This can alleviate the symptoms of breast pain.
6. Flax seeds
Flax seed is a very good remedy for breast pain and tenderness. You can mix one-teaspoon flax seed to one glass water and drink this. You can consume flax seeds by mixing it with ice creams and yogurt. You can also add flax seeds to fruit juice and drink it. You should take one-teaspoon flax seeds daily.
7. Evening Primrose Oil
Evening primrose contains essential fatty acids that are needed for reducing pain in the breasts. Take a few drops of this oil and apply it on the breasts gently
8. Lavender oil
Stress can be one of the factors contributing to your breast pain. In that case the smell of lavender oil can be quite beneficial for you. The essential oils in lavender have been found to have an excellent quality. They can relieve much of the mental stress when you breathe in the oil. It has a calming effect on the nerve. So if you are living under stress and that seems to be one of the reasons behind the pain then lavender oil can be the answer. Inhale some original lavender oil to cure your breast pain.
9. Vitamin E
A diet rich in vitamins like vitamin B complex, vitamin C, and especially vitamin E is needed to alleviate the pain in breasts. It is well known that a daily supplement of 200 to 400 International Units of vitamin E is beneficial for this condition.
10. Use Support Bras
Avoid underwire bras. Use support bras instead of that. You should wear bra at night while sleeping. This helps in decreasing the breast jostling at night. If you are wearing a new bra, it should cup the breasts without causing pinching. When you select the new bras that are comfortable, you should not use old bras that are stretched. You should throw away old bras that fail to support the breasts.