Words: Dr Joette CALABRESE
Q: This is a woman-to-woman thing. Many of us would have at times avoided a nice, warm hug from a loved one, simply because our breasts were too tender — the diagnosis being mastalgia. Please let us know how homeopathy can help us to treat the problem — safely and gently.
— LM, Jaipur
A: To most, medical terms like mastalgia induce a natural feeling of fright. In actuality, mastalgia is just a fifty-cent word for breast pain — the Greek mastos, meaning breast and algia, meaning pain. And, who among us hasn’t had sore, tender, or downright painful breasts during our lives?
Mastalgia may be the result of many conditions: breast development during puberty, premenstrual syndrome [PMS], pregnancy, nursing, hormonal shifts during menopause, or even injury.
I want to say right here at the outset of our conversation that if breast pain is severe, or odd, a therapeutic diagnosis would be prudent. We certainly don’t ignore important signs.
However, I’m suggesting the pyramid be flipped — before running off to the conventional doctor, it’s often smart to consider the inexpensive, self-directed approach of homeopathy. Indeed, a diagnosis can actually help pinpoint the most precise homeopathic remedy to choose.
If mastalgia presents as tenderness, perhaps, from menses, pregnancy, or nursing, Bryonia alba 30C, twice a day is an effective SoS. And, you know what I mean by an SoS, right? An SoS remedy is used only until the pain is gone; it is stopped after that.
So, is this like popping an Advil every month when you have pain? No. Homeopathy is not simply a symptom reliever; it works more deeply than that.
To explain, let’s look at exactly how Jean uprooted her breast pain — for good.
Jean’s menses was always ushered in by breast tenderness. Her mastalgia was like her own personal bat signal. She used to just ignore it [When breasts are just slightly tender, there is no need to treat]. But, as the years went by, the pain had become disruptive. It was disturbing her sleep and made it too difficult to work out as she normally did.
Jean chose Bryonia 30C and within a few days, her breast pain was back down to a simmer rather than a full boil. The following month, she used Bryonia again, and the pain was much less. By the next month, it was gone. For good. Bryonia had uprooted the cause of her breast pain, and it no longer bothered her.
That is the beauty of homeopathy.
But, let’s say the breast pain is resulting from an injury — perhaps, a seatbelt injury from a car accident [This happens to women much more often than we realise]. In such a situation, I would use Bellis perennis 200C, every 3-12 hours, as determined by the severity of pain. However, if the pain is from an infection, then it is most likely mastitis — inflammation.
I’ve been asked, “How do I know if the pain is from an infection?” That’s easy. If the breast is red, hot and swollen [especially, if it is only one breast that is affected], or accompanied by fever and chills, then it is most likely an infection. Mastitis also most often occurs during nursing, so the timing would be another big clue for your diagnosis.
Ladies, we don’t have to stoically ‘grin and bear it,’ but we can instead take control of our health and uproot our issues with homeopathy — returning us to our happy and pain-free selves, as we resume our delightfully busy lives of taking care of our families.
