Women's Health

Left breast pain

02/27/2007

Question:

Hi. I am 25 years old and have been having left breast pain for about 3 days now. It is a constent throbbing pain, with sharp stabs every few minutes. When I felt around for lumps, I felt none, but came across a very tender spot. I have not had any injuries to the breast. Can anyone help me out in someway? Should I see my doctor? Please help!

Answer:

There are many things that can cause breast pain. One common one is a bra that doesn’t fit well or going without a bra, especially if you have medium to large breasts. Another is not wearing the correct sports bra when you are exercising. That often causes one sided shooting pain as you described.

If you don’t have any lumps, (that’s good that you checked), you might also check for redness or heat over the area that’s causing the discomfort. If you see anything unusual, including a change in the contour of your breast, a change in the texture or color of the skin of your breast or any discharge from your nipple, you should contact your health care provider immediately.

Since you found a very tender spot on your breast, it’s important to get that examined. It could be an infection, especially if you are pregnant or nursing. You could try some Tylenol or ibuprofen to see if it helps the discomfort, but don’t let the sore spot stay without a professional examination for more than a week.

Hope this helps.

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Response by:

Elizabeth R. Barker, PhD, APRN, BC, FAANP,CHE
Associate Professor
Director, Family Nurse Practitioner Program
College of Nursing
The Ohio State University