White fluid from the mammary glands. Why does a clear liquid come out of the nipple
A woman can detect discharge from the mammary glands by chance. They appear when pressed and can leave barely noticeable spots on the linen.
If a woman does not feed a baby at this time or she did not have to give birth at all, you should definitely be wary. Allocations are not necessarily associated with pathology, however, the breast is very vulnerable and it is necessary to check its health.
Physiological causes of discharge
Like most phenomena, discharge from the chest with pressure can occur for reasons:
- physiological;
- pathological.
Physiological features explain the discharge:
- During pregnancy. In the female breast, preparations are made for the birth of the baby and its feeding. The glands are trained to make milk and excrete it. Similar processes occur in the third, final trimester. The increased tone of the uterus stimulates the release of a cloudy white or yellowish liquid from both mammary glands.
- Some time after the end of feeding. Allocations can be observed for the next two or three years. It depends on the age of the woman and the number of pregnancies.
- After an abortion. The presence of secretions and their duration are determined by the period at which the artificial termination of pregnancy occurred. They can disturb a woman from several days to a month.
- When using contraceptives. Oral contraceptives contain hormones that stimulate lactation. Allocations should disappear after the abolition of contraceptives. They should be replaced with a different kind. But it is wise to do this only on the advice of a doctor.
The allocation of a small amount of clear liquid is possible during the treatment with hormonal drugs, the use of antidepressants. The reason can be too tight bra, and physical overload.
Pathological causes of discharge from the chest
The main reasons for the discharge are:
- Ductectasia- an ailment, which is characterized by a pathological expansion of the ducts, called subareolar canals. The disease is typical for women after 40, since its main cause is age-related changes. The disease does not pose a danger to health, but only if timely treatment is provided. Otherwise, serious consequences are not excluded.
- chest injury(blows, bruises). If this happened without violating the integrity of the skin, then within two days bloody fluid can be easily squeezed out of the nipple.
- Intraductal papilloma- papillary benign tumor. It appears in the duct near the nipple. Due to the development of the tumor, a thick liquid is released, in which blood impurities are sometimes present.
- Mastitis and abscess. Ailments either occur during lactation, or are the result of penetration of an infected object. With mastitis, the area of the gland becomes inflamed. The cause is a bacterial infection, in most cases Staphylococcus aureus. With an abscess, pus accumulates in the tissues of the chest, the affected area is limited from the healthy area.
- Galactorrhea- discharge from the nipples of milk or colostrum, not associated with breastfeeding. The most common cause is an increase in the hormone prolactin in the blood (hyperprolactinemia) or an increase in estrogen levels.
- Fibrocystic mastopathy- the appearance of compacted areas of tissue in the mammary gland. The condition is dangerous because it can degenerate into cancer.
- Malignant neoplasm (breast cancer)- a tumor that forms imperceptibly due to uncontrolled cell division. Allocations appear with pressure from both mammary glands or from only one.
- Paget's disease- a malignant tumor that has engulfed the nipple or areola. The disease is extremely dangerous and needs prompt diagnosis and treatment.
The cause of discharge from the chest can be diseases of the genitourinary organs:
- vaginitis;
- cystitis;
- syphilis.
Sometimes pathological changes in the pituitary and hypothalamus, malfunctions of the thyroid gland can also be responsible for secretion from the mammary glands.
Whatever the cause of the discharge, it should be identified as soon as possible.
Discharge color and causes
The secretions that appear from the mammary glands when pressed differ in color and consistency.
If they transparent or have a white, yellow color, most likely, the reason lies in the physiological imbalance.
Here is the secret with blood impurities, brown or green - a harbinger of a serious illness.
Slight transparent highlights are the result of:
- stress;
- hormonal disruptions;
- taking contraceptives (containing hormones).
White discharge is a frequent and safe guest during the period of bearing a baby and for several years after stopping breastfeeding. They can also accompany galactorrhea caused by excessive production of prolactin and estrogen.
Discharge from the chest light milky yellow secretion often accompanies pregnancy. Perhaps after a bruise or a more serious external injury to the mammary glands. In this case, yellowish discharge indicates that the healing process is going well.
With mastopathy, secretion appears Green colour, thick and slimy in consistency.
brown discharge occur with bleeding in the milk ducts. Damage to the vessels occurs due to the growth of a malignant neoplasm or cystic mastopathy. Dark to black color is formed due to the presence of blood.
Bloody issues most serious, because they appear with the development of a tumor or papilloma. But sometimes they are present after injury to the mammary glands.
Purulent discharge is observed when inflammatory and infectious processes occur in the chest.
How to diagnose pathology
When a woman finds that there is a discharge when pressing on her chest, you should make an appointment with a mammologist. The doctor will direct her to the passage:
- mammography;
- Ultrasound of the mammary glands;
- galactography (a type of mammography) - an x-ray examination of the milk ducts, involving the introduction of a contrast agent into them.
Also appointed:
- blood test for prolactin, sex and thyroid hormones;
- cytological examination of discharge from the chest.
Summarizing the results will help the doctor determine the diagnosis and further therapeutic actions.
Treatment of causes of discharge from the chest
Timely treatment will contribute to the appearance of positive results. Depending on the diagnosis, it can be conservative, but surgery is not excluded.
Pathologies such as mastitis and abscess are cured with antibiotics and opening of purulent cavities.
Ductectasia will require surgery. In its process, the affected duct in the mammary gland is removed.
Surgical intervention is also necessary in case of detection of intraductal papilloma. The diseased area of the skin should be removed. The removed particles are subjected to histological examination to exclude the malignant nature of the papilloma.
In case of Paget's disease, a mastectomy is prescribed - the removal of the affected mammary gland. Next, chemotherapy sessions are scheduled.
Having found discharge from the mammary glands with pressure, it is not necessary to fall into a panic state. There are many factors that led to this phenomenon.
Regardless of the color and smell of the secretion, whether there are other unpleasant symptoms, you should immediately consult a doctor. After conducting the necessary tests, he will select an individual therapy. Surgical intervention is not excluded.
The mammary gland is designed to produce and secrete fluid, but you can often find green mucus when pressing on the chest. What can it say? What is the danger behind these secretions? When do you need to urgently contact a specialist?
Normally, contents are secreted from the mammary gland during pregnancy and lactation. Transparent discharge from the nipples, which often become a cause for concern, is also not a pathology. The nature and color of the secret can be completely different, whether it is released when pressed or spontaneously, accompanied by other symptoms or not.
In some cases, discharge is a signal that pathological changes are occurring in a woman's body, diseases are developing or progressing. In this case, you need to act quickly, contact a specialist so that he can help determine the cause and prescribe treatment.
There are many factors that can provoke secretion from the mammary glands. Of course, it is difficult to determine the true cause on your own if you are not a mammologist. But your health largely depends on the timeliness of diagnosis and treatment. The fluid is released not only during pregnancy, after the end of lactation, but also in case of serious pathologies, such as cancer, mastopathy, mastitis, diseases of hormone-producing organs.
The main causes of discharge from the chest:
- oncological disease;
- mastopathy, mastitis;
- mammary gland injury;
- hormonal disruptions;
- stress, depression, lack of sleep;
- diseases of the pituitary gland, thyroid gland;
- diseases of the hypothalamus;
- lack of a normal sexual life.
Other factors can stimulate the appearance of secretions. For example, after lactation, a woman secretes a white secret for a certain period, but this is no longer milk. Even if the discharge does not cause discomfort and there are no other manifestations, you still need to go to the mammologist to be sure that everything is in order. If a disease is diagnosed, it can be treated very quickly, without complications.
Green discharge with mastopathy
A serious cause for concern is the appearance of yellow-green discharge from the mammary glands. The most common cause (96% of cases) is mastopathy.
The effectiveness of treatment depends on how advanced the pathology is. If you turn to the doctor immediately after the onset of the first symptoms, you can cope with the disease quickly and without much effort and risk.
In the body of a woman, two hormones are responsible for reproductive function: estrogen and progesterone. They regulate the menstrual cycle, cause changes in the mammary glands during ovulation, before and after menstruation. If the balance of these hormones is disturbed, tissue proliferation occurs, and this is mastopathy.
The disease occurs in one of two forms. With nodular mastopathy, a single formation is formed, with diffuse mastopathy, multiple nodules of small size appear. Seals can form from connective, glandular, or cystic tissue.
Why do they appear?
The main reason for the appearance of green discharge during mastopathy is that the secret that each woman produces in different quantities, not being able to stand out in time due to seals, stagnates, changes color, can become yellow-green or even brown-green if the disease launched. In rare cases, the fluid flows out spontaneously, more often it appears with light pressure on the chest.
Before starting treatment, you should find the cause of the development of mastopathy.
The main provoking factors include:
- infectious and inflammatory diseases and tumor neoplasms in the ovaries;
- pathology of the pituitary gland, thyroid gland, adrenal glands;
- problems of the nervous system (frequent stress, prolonged depression);
- genetic predisposition;
- injuries and microtraumas of the mammary glands;
- smoking, regular consumption of alcoholic beverages;
- irregular sex life;
- abortions.
In addition to estrogen and progesterone, a woman's body produces another hormone that affects the condition of the mammary glands. It's prolactin. Usually, it is produced in a woman in the last trimester of pregnancy and during lactation and is responsible for the production of milk by the body. With an excess of this hormone, failures also occur, which lead to the formation of formations in the breast tissues.
Mastopathy affects women of reproductive age. Patients aged 30-45 years are at risk. During this period, structural changes occur most intensively in the breast, and various factors contribute to the development of the disease.
Associated symptoms
Green discharge is not the only sign of the disease. In different cases, the symptoms are expressed in different ways. Someone else at the initial stage has such signs that cause a lot of inconvenience, others begin to suspect that they have mastopathy when the pathology is already running. It all depends on the individual characteristics of the body. The clinical picture differs with nodular and diffuse mastopathy. Often, women confuse this disease with the symptoms of premenstrual syndrome.
The main manifestations of mastopathy include:
- green discharge from the mammary glands;
- spotting (at an advanced stage);
- dull, aching pain before menstruation;
- breast swelling;
- tissue swelling;
- seals that are found on palpation;
- swollen lymph nodes.
In order to start treatment on time and not start the disease, you should carefully examine the mammary glands for the presence of neoplasms. It is recommended to do this every month at the same time, after the end of menstruation. It is also necessary to regularly undergo a comprehensive examination. Simple preventive measures will help prevent the disease. To do this, you need to put your sex life in order, adjust your daily diet, go in for sports, or at least do exercises in the morning.
How to get rid of green secretions?
There is only one way to get rid of green secretions - to cure the underlying disease. Treatment of mastopathy is prescribed only by a doctor; in no case should you buy pills and use them without prior consultation with a specialist. In the initial stages, the pathology is treated with medication. Drugs are prescribed depending on the cause of the development of mastopathy.
If it is hypovitaminosis, it is advisable to take vitamin-mineral complexes, for problems with the thyroid gland - iodine preparations, as well as homeopathic remedies, herbal medicine, enzyme medicines.
Treatment of mastopathy with the use of hormonal drugs is necessary if hormonal imbalances are observed. In some cases, the doctor may decide to perform an operation to remove the tumors. This happens if there is a risk of their transformation into malignant tumors or there is a tendency to increase.
Traditional medicine has its own secrets that contribute to a faster cure. Home remedies include, first of all, diet therapy. It is necessary to completely abandon the use of alcohol and smoking, limit coffee, fatty foods, chocolate. An effective and quick cure is possible only if the patient consults a doctor in time and adheres to all his recommendations.
Today we will talk about a very delicate topic, familiar to a fairly large number of women. Discharge from the mammary glands can be a sign of a serious abnormality, or it can be a natural phenomenon. On your own, you are unlikely to be able to accurately determine which option your case belongs to, so it is better to trust the experts. They will simply reassure someone, assuring that this is normal, while others will select the treatment that they will need.
Discharges from the chest are different in appearance and consistency, they can ooze from one nipple or both at once, appear with or without pressure.
Let's try to figure out what to relate to.
The most common reasons why a discharge may appear from the mammary glands when pressed:
Such a state as pregnancy is full of surprises and surprises. Let's start with the fact that this is a serious restructuring of the female body, both its external and internal structures. We will not be able to talk about all the changes today, but we will learn everything in detail about the changes in the mammary glands.
The female breast is an organ that is one of the first to undergo modification. The first signs of pregnancy include breast enlargement and increased sensitivity. A little further, the appearance of the nipples changes, they darken and also become larger. Somewhere after reaching sixteen weeks, expectant mothers may notice the appearance of discharge from the mammary glands. This is natural if they have a thickish structure and a white, yellow or transparent color. It looks like colostrum, which is later converted into full-fledged milk.
But even in the state of pregnancy, some girls may have a pathology of the mammary glands.
Pathological discharge looks like this: 
- They ooze from only one nipple;
- Have a bloody color;
- In addition to the discharge, the woman feels unwell, her chest hurts and she has a fever;
- In addition to discharge, one breast is deformed, bumps or depressions may appear;
- Colostrum is not pale in color, but bright yellow.
The above signs are a serious signal that needs to be studied by a professional.
Green discharge from the mammary glands
If clear or white discharge from the mammary glands looks less intimidating, then green usually puts women in shock. If you had to deal with such a symptom, then you must understand the danger, and do not postpone the visit to the mammologist even for a minute.
Green color is a sign of pus that can form in the tissues of the breast with mastitis, ectasia, and 
other diseases. But the worst thing is the chest abscess. This is an inflammatory process that breastfeeding women are more susceptible to than others. At the time of feeding, an infection can get inside through microcracks on the nipple, leading to the accumulation of pus. Green discharge is accompanied by several more unpleasant symptoms:
- swelling of the chest;
- Hardening of the mammary glands;
- Soreness in them;
- An increase in body temperature;
- The skin of the chest becomes hot and pinkish.
As a preventive measure, to prevent any kind of mammological diseases, all women of childbearing age should follow elementary rules. Naturally, daily hygiene of the whole body is the most important condition. After a shower or bath, you should examine your mammary glands, and also feel them, making sure that no nodules or other neoplasms have formed in the breast tissue. 
Inspection should take place in front of a mirror. First, just standing with a straight back, then raising your hands up. It is very important to evaluate the appearance of the breast from both sides. When you start feeling, remember that pressing and any movements should be weak and smooth. It is best to do this with the three middle fingers of the hand towards the edges. Gently squeeze the nipple and check if any discharge has leaked out of it.
Then you need to move to a bed or any other flat surface, and take a lying position. Again, walk with three fingers along each quarter of the mammary gland, alternately put your hands behind your head and feel for the lymph nodes in the armpit.
If you do not experience any suspicious or painful sensations during self-diagnosis, then you should not worry. This examination should be carried out monthly, it is best to do this a week after menstruation.
You can avoid inflammatory processes if you do not injure the tissues of the mammary glands and prevent hypothermia of the organ.
And most importantly, if you have even the slightest suspicion of breast disease or even just a slight malaise, you should immediately contact a specialized institution with qualified specialists.
Discharge from the nipples of the mammary glands can be both in nulliparous, very young girls, and in aged women. In some cases, this may be the norm, in others, the appearance of fluid indicates a pathology that requires immediate treatment.
Discharge from the nipples - when not to worry
Any of the women in a certain period of life may appear from the nipples of a discharge of different colors and intensity. They are divided into physiological and pathological.
| Physiological causes of discharge | Peculiarities |
| Pregnancy | In the last months of pregnancy, a restructuring takes place in the mammary glands and throughout the body, preparing the woman's breasts for milk production. This leads to the intermittent or constant appearance of fluid, the color of such discharge is white or slightly yellowish. |
| Abortion | Especially often, discharge is noted in those women who had an abortion for a long time. |
| Post-lactation period | Arbitrarily or with pressure, fluid from the mammary gland comes out for several months, and sometimes for the first two years after stopping breastfeeding. |
| Treatment with a number of medications | Transparent or whitish discharge may be due to the use of antidepressants, hormonal drugs. |
Very often, healthy women of reproductive age record discharge from the nipples two to three days before the onset of menstruation. If they are transparent or white, then there is no need to worry.
Wearing tight bras, intense physical activity can provoke the appearance of fluid in the ducts of the mammary glands and, accordingly, their exit to the outside.
A chest injury can also cause spotting. A bruise leads to ruptures of small capillaries, which provokes the appearance of bloody discharge for two to three days.
Discharges indicating pathology
Physiological discharge from the mammary gland when pressed should not cause any discomfort. In color, they are light, transparent, liquid, odorless and streaked with blood. If the secret from the mammary glands is due to pregnancy, abortion, post-lactation period, then there is no reason to panic.
But women should always record all changes in the work of the mammary glands.
It is imperative to consult a doctor if the color of a transparent secret changes, seals or pains appear in the mammary glands.
Not always appearing discharge from the mammary glands can be regarded as a variant of the norm. Sometimes secretion indicates diseases, some of which are dangerous for their complications. Why liquid appears from the nipples, and what treatment is necessary can only be established by a doctor after a thorough examination. Pathologies are described below, in which the release of fluid of a different nature from the nipples can be one of the main symptoms of the disease.
Mastitis
One of the most common lesions of the mammary glands during lactation. It is an infectious lesion of the internal tissues of the mammary glands that occurs when bacteria get inside through the cracks. The development of mastopathy indicates:
Discharges due to a purulent process in the mammary gland become green, they are quite thick in consistency. The disease is dangerous by the development of an internal abscess, the elimination of which requires surgical intervention. Early treatment is with antibiotics.
ectasia
The term ectasia refers to the pathological expansion of the milk ducts, which occurs mainly in women who are in the menopause, that is, after 40 years. Deforming changes cause inflammation of the ducts, in connection with which discharge appears, they can be:
The excreted secret is sticky, thick. You can feel a lump around the nipple. Ectasia is not considered a dangerous disease, but with one caveat - the treatment must be carried out in a timely manner and it is necessary for the woman to prescribe tests that exclude a malignant lesion.
fibrocystosis
Otherwise, the pathology is called fibrocystic mastopathy. It is characterized by the formation of fluid-filled cysts in the breast tissue. The main cause of mastopathy is a hormonal imbalance. Symptoms of pathology:
The shade of fluid from the nipples with mastopathy is often greenish or brown. Treatment of fibrocystosis is carried out by therapeutic methods. With the development of the disease, constant monitoring is necessary, since there is a risk of its degeneration into a cancerous tumor.
Early examination will allow time to establish pathological changes.
Galactorrhea
The term galactorrhea refers to a copious secretion from the chest. The usual color of such secretions is whitish, but sometimes they can be yellow and brownish. Galactorrhea is a symptom that indicates a malfunction in the production of hormones in the body, leading to the production of excessive amounts of prolactin.
Galactorrhea is noted not only in women, fluid from the nipples with hormonal imbalance can be released in both men and children.
To cope with galactorrhea, it is necessary first of all to establish the cause of failures in the production of hormones. After a thorough diagnosis and diagnosis, the appropriate treatment is selected.
Papilloma in the ducts
Papilloma in one of the milk ducts is formed most often in women over 35 years of age. The exact cause of the formation of intraductal papillomas has not been established. Typical symptoms of pathology are:
Intraductal papillomas are benign formations. Sometimes they become infected, as indicated by a change in the color of the secret to green and yellowish, pain, swelling of the gland. Treatment at the initial stage is hormonal, if it is ineffective, the papilloma is removed surgically.
Women are a rather alarming sign of the development of various serious diseases. Therefore, it is very important to visit a specialist to conduct a series of studies, the results of which will identify the existing pathology and prescribe appropriate treatment.
As a rule, a comprehensive examination includes: blood tests, MRI, ultrasound of the mammary glands or mammography, cytological examination of secretions, ductogram with the introduction of a contrast agent. The most common causes leading to discharge from the mammary glands include: lactiferous ducts, mastopathy, galactorrhea, acute or chronic diseases of the pelvic organs, a condition after or spontaneous miscarriage, purulent diseases of the mammary gland, closed breast trauma, mastitis, breast cancer, intraductal, as well as Paget's disease.
