Mastitis overview
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Editor-In-Chief: C. Michael Gibson, M.S., M.D. [1]
Overview
Mastitis is the inflammation of the mammalian breast. It is called puerperal mastitis when it occurs to breastfeeding mothers and non-puerperal otherwise. Mastitis can rarely occur in men. Inflammatory breast cancer has symptoms very similar to mastitis and must be ruled out.
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. Chronic cystic mastitis, also called fibrocystic disease, a condition rather than a disease, is characterized by noncancerous lumps in the breast. American usage: here mastitis usually refers to puerperal (occurring to breastfeeding mothers) mastitis with symptoms of systemic infection.
In this WikiDoc article mastitis is used in the original sense of the definition as inflammation of the breast with additional qualifiers where appropriate.
Causes
Mastitis are usually caused by a common bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus) found on normal skin. The bacteria enter through a break or crack in the skin, usually on the nipple. The infection takes place in the fatty tissue of the breast and causes swelling. This swelling pushes on the milk ducts. The result is pain and lumps in the infected breast.
Risk Factors
Mastitis usually occur in women who are breastfeeding. Women who are breastfeeding are at risk for developing mastitis especially if they have sore or cracked nipples or have had mastitis before while breastfeeding another baby. Also, the chances of getting mastitis increases if women use only one position to breastfeed or wear a tight-fitting bra, which may restrict milk flow. Mastitis that are not related to breastfeeding might be a rare form of breast cancer. Women with diabetes, chronic illness, AIDS, or an impaired immune system may be more susceptible to the development of mastitis.