mastitis
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This site provides you with the information about mastitis, how to prevent, cure mastitis treatments, causes of mastitis, mastitis prevention tips, advice, mastitis remedies, mastitis symptoms, mastitis signs, mastitis medicine, mastitis drugs, recovering from mastitis, acute mastitis, chronic mastitis, and more.
Mastitis is the inflammation of the parenchyma of the mammary gland (breast in primates, udder in other mammals). It is called puerperal mastitis when it occurs in lactating mothers and non-puerperal otherwise. Mastitis can occur in men, albeit rarely. Inflammatory breast cancer has symptoms very similar to mastitis and must be ruled out.
The popular misconception that mastitis in humans is an infection is highly misleading and in many cases incorrect. Infections play only a minor role in the pathogenesis of both puerperal and nonpuerperal mastitis in humans and many cases of mastitis are completely aseptic under normal hygienic conditions. Infection as primary cause of mastitis is presumed to be more prevalent in veterinary mastitis and poor hygienic conditions.
The symptoms are similar for puerperal and nonpuerperal mastitis but predisposing factors and treatment can be very different.
Popular usage of the term mastitis varies by geographic region. Outside the US it is commonly used for puerperal and nonpuerperal cases, in the US the term nonpuerperal mastitis is rarely used and alternative names such as duct ectasia, subareolar abscess and plasma cell mastitis are more frequently used.
Chronic cystic mastitis is a different (older) name for fibrocystic disease.
American usage: mastitis usually refers to puerperal (occurring to breastfeeding mothers) mastitis with symptoms of systemic infection. Lighter cases of puerperal mastitis are often called breast engorgement.
Names for non-puerperal mastitis are not used very consistently and include Mastitis, Subareolar Abscess, Duct Ectasia, Periductal Inflammation, Zuska's Disease and others.
Breast cancer may coincide with or mimic symptoms of mastitis. Only full resolution of symptoms and careful examination are sufficient to exclude the diagnosis of breast cancer.
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