Breast tenderness is often a symptom with water retention, weight gain, age, diet, pregnancy, during ovulation or due to some hormonal changes. Try to rule out the cause if possible and follow these simple home remedies for breast tenderness:
- Use a heated towel or a heating pad to apply warm compress on the breast for at least 15 minutes. If the tenderness is especially before or after a menstrual period then cold compress (like ice wrapped in a towel and used as a compress) works best to overcome the tenderness.
- Check your bra for its comfort level, if heavily padded or under wired ones are not comfortable during this period then avoid them.
- Enrich your diet with calcium and magnesium in the form of skim milk and milk products, soy beans, sesame seeds, rice flakes, and dark green leafy vegetables. Supplements can be taken after consulting a specialist in the ratio of 2:1 (calcium: magnesium). The isoflavones present in soy and soy products also helps to lessen the breast tenderness.
- To alleviate the pain caused due to tender swollen breasts cover them with raw cabbage leaves. This works well against tender breasts.
- Cutting down the visible salt intake will help to reduce the water retention if any. Also avoid caffeine and products containing caffeine.
answered by Dr S