Contents:
- Medical Video: What Can Cause Male Breast Growth?
- Various causes of male breast growth
- 1. Obesity
- 2. Testosterone therapy
- 3. Steroid side effects
- 4. Massage with essential oils
- 5. Drug side effects
- 6. Severe liver and kidney disease
- 7. There is a tumor that is not detected
- 8. Age
- 9. Other causes
- When should I see a doctor if I have gynecomastia?
Medical Video: What Can Cause Male Breast Growth?
Some men can have big breasts like women's breasts. In the medical world, this condition is called gynecomastia. Maybe you've heard people call it "man boobs"Aka male breasts. Gynecomastia is the growth of additional breast tissue caused by an imbalance of the hormones estrogen and testosterone.
Although it can make inferior, large-breasted men in general do not need to worry about his condition. In most cases, large breasts due to gynecomastia will disappear on their own. On the other hand, male breast growth can be a sign of a more serious health problem. What are they?
Various causes of male breast growth
1. Obesity
Men who are very obese (obesity) can have a buildup of fat in the chest, causing their breasts to look bigger like a woman's breasts. On the other hand, obesity also increases levels of estrogen in the blood and suppresses testosterone production, which results in the growth of extra breast tissue.
Male breasts caused by pure gynecomastia tend to be dense, while obesity will cause a man's chest to feel very soft when touched because most of his breast tissue is filled with fat. Breasts of obese men will also sway following movements when walking or running, similar to how a woman's breasts move.
2. Testosterone therapy
When the amount of estrogen in a man's body increases compared to his testosterone levels, this can cause breast tissue to swell. But the same thing can also happen as a side effect of testosterone therapy.
This is due to the presence of an aromatase enzyme that can convert excess testosterone to estrogen. That's why when you undergo testosterone therapy, estrogen levels will also increase indirectly.
But you don't need to worry, because usually male breast growth is only temporary and can shrink in a few weeks. If the breast does not go away, the doctor will stop treatment for one or two months to normalize hormone levels in the body so that breast tissue returns to normal.
3. Steroid side effects
Anabolic steroid doping, which is usually done illegally by athletes and bodybuilders to improve exercise performance, can result in male breast growth. This happens with the same mechanism as the side effects of testosterone therapy. Aromatase enzymes can convert excess testosterone to estrogen.
It should be noted that the side effects of steroid doping are higher than ordinary testosterone treatments.
4. Massage with essential oils
Tea tree oil or lavender oil can increase male breast size. Some of these essential oils contain natural estrogen which can interfere with your body's normal hormone levels. Applying tea tree oil or lavender throughout the body will make it seep into the skin and flow through the bloodstream and then to the breast tissue.
That's why essential oils are not recommended for long-term use. If you use certain oils and feel changes in the size of your breasts, stop using them.
5. Drug side effects
A report from Expert Opinion on Drug Safety journal found that a number of certain drugs can cause male breast growth as a potential side effect, although it is quite rare.
Medicines which are included are antipyretic drugs such as finasteride (Propecia) which are used to treat male baldness; certain antibiotics; heart disease medication; anxiety disorder medication; HIV / AIDS drugs; tricyclic antidepressants; chemotherapy drugs; and anti-testosterone spironalactone.
Other drugs that have been cited as triggers for gynecomastia include anti-androgens used to treat prostate cancer and calcium channel blockers. Some drugs to treat the symptoms of ulcers, such as tagamet (cimetidine), are even reported to increase the risk of gynecomastia by up to 25 percent.
This is because the ingredients in certain drugs can interfere with hormonal balance, enough to fill your breast tissue. Even so, the side effects of this drug are rare. Even if it happens only temporarily and will stop once the dose is stopped.
6. Severe liver and kidney disease
Any serious illness can cause a decrease in testosterone production, because your brain gets a signal that this is not the right time to reproduce. But severe or advanced liver disease, such as cirrhosis, is strongly associated with hormonal disorders.
Liver disease tends to cause the protein breaking process to be disrupted. This buildup of proteins, one of which is a protein called the sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG), can bind testosterone. This causes a decrease in testosterone levels in the body.
Advanced kidney disease can also have a risk of gynecomastia up to two times higher than cirrhosis. But before man boobs really grows, you will usually experience a change in urine color, ankle or foot swelling, skin rash, back pain, to nausea and vomiting.
7. There is a tumor that is not detected
Some types of tumors, such as testicular tumors and pituitary tumors, can affect hormone production. This tumor produces the hormone HCG which acts to stimulate testosterone production from the testes, while converting excess testosterone to estrogen,
If your body doesn't produce enough testosterone or too much estrogen, this hormonal imbalance can cause a man's breasts to grow.
8. Age
Gynecomastia can occur at any age, but often occurs in puberty. Seventy percent of boys have this condition during puberty, according toWebMD. In addition to puberty boys, gynecomastia is also seen in newborn boys (due to exposure to estrogen from their mothers) and is more common in older men (over 50 years). The aging process ruffles the levels of normal estrogen and testosterone.
9. Other causes
Sometimes, large breasts in men can be a side effect of other health problems other than obesity, such as hyperactive thyroid disorders (hyperthyroidism); lipoma (benign tumor in body fat tissue); mastitis (inflammation of breast tissue); breast cancer (although rarely causes gynecomastia); hematoma; and fat necrosis (lumps due to damage to breast fat tissue).
When should I see a doctor if I have gynecomastia?
Most cases of gynecomastia can heal on their own. Enlarged male breasts due to side effects of drugs or therapy can shrink again over time after use is stopped. Fat deposits in the breast due to obesity can be trimmed by living a healthy lifestyle and exercising more to get a healthy weight.
Even so, immediately consult a doctor if your breasts do not go down and cause some of the following symptoms:
- Unreasonable swelling in the breast
- The breast hurts
- There is discomfort in the nipples
This can be a sign of male breast cancer, although it is classified as rare. Early detection is needed to determine the best treatment what needs to be done. Therefore, consult further with the doctor for more information.
