• Cons of large breasts
• How to deal with it?
• When is surgery necessary?
While small breasts may cause aesthetic discomfort due to perceived failure to achieve certain beauty standards, large breasts cause serious health problems. Enlarged breasts in females are called macromastia and in males ginecomastia. Men usually suffer from ginecomastia because of very difficult health disorders such as obesity, pituitary gland (a gland in the brain producing hormones regulating organism functions) tumor and hyperprolactinemia (increased hormone concentration in blood, which in females is important for breast – feeding), whereas women may have larger breasts without any systemic pathology.
Usually women complain about backache, pain in the neck, migraine (headache), chafing (a skin condition caused by skin rubbing), heat rash, limited physical activity, yeast infections, striae (scar – like streaks) and bad emotional condition.
Different kinds of pain appear because of poor posture and chronic nerve problems. The weight of breasts damages the spine structure and leads to nerve compression. Subsequently, various types of pain appear. Pain can be reduced with drugs but they do not eliminate the main problem and damage. Non – steroidal anti inflammatory drugs such as ibuprofen, diclofenac, ketorolac and other may be temporarily useful.
Also, skin is often damaged. Rubbing, warmth and sweating make skin more vulnerable to injuries, therefore large breasts are much more susceptible to infections, irritation and chafing. Moreover, fast growth of breasts results in striae. Skin is elastic but if growth is very intensive it tears apart leaving scar – like streaks. Skin is also damaged by deep grooves on the shoulders from a bra strap pressure.
Although women are usually anxious to have large breasts, those who have often experience emotional discomfort. They find it difficult to find fitting clothes and they may feel uncomfortable because of the sweating, rashes and limitations to exercise freely. The lack of physical activity itself causes weight gain, bad physical condition and health problems. Teenagers in such circumstances are especially vulnerable to teasing which may lead to poor emotional condition.
First of all, a woman should learn to appreciate and love her body and the way she looks. Sometimes the help of psychologist or psychotherapist may be required. In order to achieve the best physical appearance women may have to undergo kinesitherapy (therapy through physical activity). It will teach them to improve their posture and do exercises specially adapted for them. If pain originates because of spinal injury, neurologist consultation for further treatment should be considered. To prevent skin from lesions some powders and emollients are useful to avoid sweating and rubbing. Also, rashes must be treated immediately to avoid infections. The last but not the least are appropriate comfortable bras of adequate size (not too small) and made from natural materials.
If none of the methods work then a woman may consider a surgery. The breast reduction operation is called reduction mammoplasty. It is performed if women have low – hanging breasts and striae, chronic pain, rashes or skin irritation, deep groves on the shoulders, limited activity, poor self – confidence and difficulty in fitting clothes. However, teenagers cannot undergo this operation because breasts must be fully developed. Also, the operation is not recommended if a woman is planning on having a baby. Breast – feeding after the operation may be complicated because milk ducts are damaged during the procedure. During reduction mammoplasty a surgeon removes excess fat tissue and skin from the breasts.
Women with enlarged body mass index have worse post–operative results and more complications than women who maintain healthy weight. The losses of nipples and areola, asymmetry, allergies are the most common complications of this intervention. Operation is done under general anesthesia and only in hospitals.
Women always desire to look perfect but it must be noticed that every intervention has its own risks and complications. So, surgery has to be performed only when other methods are helpless.