clear discharge from breast when squeezed
Doctors believe that the color of the discharge from the nipple alone is not enough to diagnose a normal or dangerous disorder in your breast. Read more if you have nipple or nipple discharge that is causing you anxiety and stress. In this article, we will talk more about the withdrawal of fluids from the nipple as a very common symptom in women's society.
Clear discharge from breast when squeezed.
The color of the discharge from the nipple can be different. Also, the causes of this discharge are various. Nipple discharge may be unilateral or bilateral. Sometimes in some people there is spontaneous discharge from the nipple and in others it is seen only when the breast be squeezed.
What abdominal and pelvic disorders does MRI help to diagnose?
Organs located in the abdomen and pelvis, such as the liver, spleen, pancreas, bladder, and all other parts and details located in the abdomen and pelvis will be examined by MRI.
If you are pregnant, you should tell your doctor before doing MRI.
MRI is limited in examining hollow organs such as the stomach and intestines.
However, the information obtained through MRI of your abdominal and pelvic organs is preferable to the data provided by CT scan.
Fluid leaking from the nipple
Nipple discharges have been part of the normal function of the breast in most of the cases examined, but this does not mean that any secretion can be considered as part of the normal function of the breast.
It is said that there are twenty to fifteen milk ducts in each breast, all of which eventually reach the nipple and are emptied out of the body in the nipple.
Nipple discharge is usually associated with one or two of these ducts
Doctors say that if there is only nipple discharge and there is no mass in the nipple, below the nipple and inside the breast tissue, it is very uncommon for this discharge to be a sign of breast cancer alone.
An overview of the following questions and finding their exact answers is important
Are nipple discharges one-way or two-way?
What are the stimuli and factors that cause fluid to drain from the nipple?
What is the color of the discharges?
Spontaneous and non-spontaneous discharge from the breast
Spontaneous discharge does not require squeezing the nipple or pressure on the breast, and in non-spontaneous cases, the discharge only comes out and becomes visible after squeezing the nipple or pressing on the breast.
In the following, we will take a look at natural breast discharges as well as abnormal fluid outflow from the nipples.
Natural nipple discharge during pregnancy
Familiarize yourself with normal discharge or functional breast discharge.
It is interesting to know that doctors say that if special massage and milking techniques are used with devices called general breast pumps, fifty to seventy percent of all healthy and normal women can drain fluids.
In fact, these are the types of discharges that are called functional breast secretions or physiological and normal breast discharges.
We will now go on to describe the characteristics of these natural discharges or physiological discharges from the nipple.
Doctors say that the presence of physiological discharge from the nipple during pregnancy or breastfeeding will be normal. During pregnancy or lactation, there may be physiological discharge that spontaneously leaves the nipple and does not require pressure on the nipple or breast.
Normal discharge color from the nipple is often:
Normal nipple discharges do not flow spontaneously in most cases, which means that the nipple must be squeezed or pressed to remove the discharge from the nipple.
What are abnormal discharges from the nipple?
Any spontaneous discharge means spontaneous discharge of fluid from the nipple or nipples in a person who is not pregnant and is not breastfeeding will be abnormal and should be checked.
When we say abnormal we do not mean breast cancer, we mean that there is an underlying cause and an abnormal factor in the breast that has caused the clear fluid to come out of the nipple or nipples spontaneously.
Abnormal discharge color from the nipple often:
- Transparent
- Bloody and stained with blood.
If there is a lump or cyst in the breast and the person has discharge from the nipple, they will need to be examined even if the discharge is not spontaneous and bloody, and this discharge can no longer be considered normal or physiological discharge from the breast.
You will also need to be checked if you have a clear, spontaneous discharge or a non-spontaneous discharge with breast mass.
In the following, we will have a look on the factors that can cause clear or spontaneous bloody discharges from the nipple.
Causes of abnormal breast discharge
Factors that can cause abnormal discharge from the nipple include:
- Dilation of the mammary ducts inside the breast:
We said that there are fifteen to twenty milk ducts and they all eventually open out in the nipple. Sometimes it happens that one or more of these ducts just below the nipple become large and dilated. This is a benign complication and there is nothing to worry about if there is discharge. The patient can have surgery to remove the ducts behind the nipple. Such mammary duct secretions can be yellow, brown or green.
Prolactin is a hormone that causes milk to flow into the mother's milk ducts to allow the baby to be fed. Occasionally, prolactin levels rise without a person giving birth and while breastfeeding, causing galactorrhea or milk leaking out of the nipple ducts.
This condition is called galactorrhea, which can occur following an abnormal increase in prolactin due to pituitary adenomas or thyroid disorders.
- OCPs
- Hormone Replacement Therapies
- Some medications are used to treat nausea
- Some drugs used in the field of psychiatry
All of which can increase prolactin levels, resulting in galactorrhea
Only less than five percent of breast cancer cases have nipple discharge
- Simple breast cyst
- Fibrocystic changes in the breast
Breast eczema is accompanied by itching, redness and scaling of the nipple. If the skin becomes infected with eczema or dermatitis, infection therefore discharge can also occur in the breast.
Nipple eczema is treated like skin eczema in other parts of the body.
The disease affects the nipple and is initially itchy, red, and even scaly, which can be confused with nipple eczema. A person with this complication may have been taking anti-eczema medications for a long time to improve their nipple dermatitis. But not only is it not effective, but it also develops with the development of the complication to the skin of the breast. Gradually, nipple ulcers also add to the clinical signs and manifestations. Paget's disease of the breast can be accompanied by spontaneous bloody discharge.
Dangerous symptoms in the breasts
We said that secretions that have clear blood in them (bloody), and in some cases, even completely colorless secretions, can be a manifestation of a breast cancer. Doctors believe that the presence of a mass or cyst in the breast is the most common sign and clinical manifestation of breast cancer. Malignant breast masses are often solitary, immobile, and have adhesions to the tissues around them. In most cases, this mass will be painless.
We emphasize that the presence of spontaneous, clear or bloody secretion, especially in the breast of a person who has a breast mass or cyst, should be carefully examined because it is more likely to be malignant.
But if you have a discharge from the nipple that is clear and just comes out of the nipple by squeezing the nipple, it is probably normal, but it is better to be checked by a specialist for more certainty.
Once again, physiological breast discharge is common in women of reproductive age, even if they are not pregnant or breastfeeding.
Diagnostic methods
Breast ultrasound is very effective in assessing nipple discharge, your doctor may order a breast ultrasound
A mammogram may also be requested, and your doctor may use a type of imaging called a ductogram.
In this diagnostic modality, a dye compound, or dye, is injected into the secretory duct or ducts, and this pigment flows through the duct, creating the shape of the duct clearly in the image, so that your doctor can observe the empty space and evaluate the involved mammary duct.
Appropriate sampling is also performed if necessary.
The final word:
It is best to consult your doctor if you experience any type of discharge from the nipple, especially if the discharge is spontaneous and did not occur during pregnancy and lactation.
In general, both types of breast discharge, normal or abnormal, can be of any color, both yellow, milky, brown, cream, or green.
Both normal and abnormal discharge can be clear, so there is no reliable distinction just by color, but doctors say that the presence of clear blood in the nipple discharge or bloody discharge can indicate that it is abnormal.
Normal breast discharge or physiological breast discharge is often bilateral, and it is necessary to squeeze the nipple or apply pressure to the breast itself to remove such discharge from the nipple.