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Conditions

Breast Abscess

Breast abcesses can be painful

Similar to abscesses that form in other areas of the body, a breast abscess can be very painful. They mainly affect women aged 18-50 and are common among those who are breastfeeding, as the nipples can become cracked, allowing bacteria to enter that can cause infection. The inflammation of the breast tissue – called mastitis – is the first stage in the development of an abscess, which has symptoms such as redness, tenderness, and painful localised swelling of the affected breast, which may also feel hot. The infection targets the fatty tissue of the breast, causing swelling just outside the milk ducts, which leads to more discomfort, such as itching, breast lump, green or pus-like nipple discharge, as well as the enlargement of the affected breast. Small abscesses can be drained with a syringe, but larger ones will require a small incision under local anaesthetic. Early treatment and a course of oral antibiotics is the best way to prevent an abscess from developing.

What the Men in White Coats Say

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Im 19 & Its Asthough My Nipples Look Like They Are Cracked Its Like Bits Of Hard Skin, Like The Pips On A Buger?! & They Are REALLY REALLY Sensitive Like When I Put My Bra On It Tickles Them, But Im More Conserned About The Cracked Sort Of Thing? Can You Tell Me What This Is & If Its Normal???!





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am 18 and my breasts haven't really grown iv No brown around the nipple it's embarrassing what would be the Problem!!!





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when me and my boyfriend try to have sex, he can't get his penis up inside my vagina. why is this, what's wrong with me?





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I am 15 and will be turning 16 in Feb. Im about 5ft tall and around 8 stone. My breasts are between a 32 B and C and I am very self concious about my size and I am worried that they have stopped growing. What can I do to increase the size?





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hi im 19 with 3 kids and iv not let my boobs grow and now i feel like a kid in primary school what can i do?? please help!





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im 14 and recentlymy breast have grown rapidly and clear discharge is coming out through both nipplrs, i dnt know what i should do, any help?





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I am 33 and pregnant and the past 2 or so weeks I have had a small reddish lump on one of my breasts, it looks like a boil/spot but there is no head on it and it doesn't feel all that sore, its not near the nipple area but more higher up, should I be worried?





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ive got 5 black little spots around my nipple they are not sore or itchy i just dont know what they are





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This morning I noticed my left breast was score around the nipple. now at midday I have notice a pimple has formed and is painful. SHould I leave it to go by itself like a normal pimple or squeeze it, or go see a doctor?





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im 21 and the past couple of weeks the nipple and area around the nipple is sore and tender i havent had sex for nearly 4 months i have also gone off food that i used to like i been getting more hungery and i been going to the toilet more often and when i do the urine is very strong what do i do?





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Take a pregnancy test just to make sure, could be you are 4 months pregnant and only just getting symptoms. If you went to a GP it would be the first thing that they did.





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It looks like no one else has asked this question, so please fill in the rest of your details below.





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Content supplied by NHS Choices

An abscess is a pus-filled hollow space that can appear on the skin or inside the body. Most abscesses form just under the skin, and are the result of a bacterial infection. The infection causes the immune system to activate white blood cells and chemicals to fight the bacteria. Read More »

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