Sometimes a woman's breast makes milk even though she is not breast feeding a baby. This is called galactorrhea (say: "gal-act-tor-ee-ah"). The milk may come from one or both breasts. It may leak with no stimulation or it may leak only when the breasts are touched.
Men can have galactorrhea, too, but it is less common.
Causes
Galactorrhea has many causes. Here are some of them:
Medicines such as hormones, antidepressants, blood pressure medicines and others
Herbs such as nettle, fennel, blessed thistle, anise and fenugreek seed
Street drugs such as marijuana and opiates
Hormone imbalance
Tumors (usually benign), especially tumors of the pituitary (say: "pit-too-it-terry") gland, which is in the brain.
Pregnancy
Clothing that irritates the breasts (like scratchy wool shirts or bras that don't fit well)
Doing very frequent breast self-exams (daily exams)
Stimulation of the breast during sexual activity
Sometimes the cause can't be found.
Galactorrhea produces a white fluid. If the fluid coming from your breast is reddish, your doctor will check you for cancer.
Signs
Tell your doctor if you have any of these signs:
No menstrual periods or periods that are not regular
Headaches or trouble seeing
Less interest in having sex
Increase in hair growth on your chin or chest
Acne
Test
Your doctor might order blood tests to check your hormone levels and to see if you are pregnant. Or, your doctor might want you to have an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan of your head to see if you have a tumor.
Tests are not always needed if you and your doctor can figure out what caused your galactorrhea.
Treatment
Most tumors that cause galactorrhea are not cancer. They can be treated with medicine or surgery.
In many cases, there is no treatment, and the breast milk goes away with time. Until it goes away, here are some things you can do to help:
Avoid stimulating your breasts.
Avoid touching your nipples during sexual activity.
Don't do breast self-exams more than one time a month
Adapted from American Academy of Family Physicians
Men can have galactorrhea, too, but it is less common.
Causes
Galactorrhea has many causes. Here are some of them:
Medicines such as hormones, antidepressants, blood pressure medicines and others
Herbs such as nettle, fennel, blessed thistle, anise and fenugreek seed
Street drugs such as marijuana and opiates
Hormone imbalance
Tumors (usually benign), especially tumors of the pituitary (say: "pit-too-it-terry") gland, which is in the brain.
Pregnancy
Clothing that irritates the breasts (like scratchy wool shirts or bras that don't fit well)
Doing very frequent breast self-exams (daily exams)
Stimulation of the breast during sexual activity
Sometimes the cause can't be found.
Galactorrhea produces a white fluid. If the fluid coming from your breast is reddish, your doctor will check you for cancer.
Signs
Tell your doctor if you have any of these signs:
No menstrual periods or periods that are not regular
Headaches or trouble seeing
Less interest in having sex
Increase in hair growth on your chin or chest
Acne
Test
Your doctor might order blood tests to check your hormone levels and to see if you are pregnant. Or, your doctor might want you to have an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) scan of your head to see if you have a tumor.
Tests are not always needed if you and your doctor can figure out what caused your galactorrhea.
Treatment
Most tumors that cause galactorrhea are not cancer. They can be treated with medicine or surgery.
In many cases, there is no treatment, and the breast milk goes away with time. Until it goes away, here are some things you can do to help:
Avoid stimulating your breasts.
Avoid touching your nipples during sexual activity.
Don't do breast self-exams more than one time a month
Adapted from American Academy of Family Physicians
