What is Gynecomastia?
Are you afraid of gynecomastia? If you are committed in building some serious muscles, then you probably know this type of men’s breast disorder that are commonly caused by taking steroidal drugs.
But this disease is not just caused by steroids, it can also caused by too much body fat and hormone imbalance. As such, men of all ages (even young boys) can be affected by this disease.
Gynecomastia is not completely a serious condition but if ignored, it can also lead to severe complications or may worsen an existing health condition. Read on and learn more how you can prevent this condition and how you can safely build up muscles fast without the risk of developing gynecomastia.
What is Gynecomastia?
Gynecomastia is a breast swelling tissue in boys or men, and is also called “male breast enlargement” or “man boobs“.
As aforementioned above, the most common causes of this disorder is steroidal drug abuse (in the bodybuilding industry) and hormonal imbalance.
This disorder can affect one or both breasts and sometimes, develops an unevenly mass tissue swelling revealing a very disfigured chest area.
Since hormonal imbalance is one of the main cause, newborns, boy going through puberty and older men can develop this disorder.
Gynecomastia may go away on its own if the levels of hormones are stable. But if you are a lifter or an athlete, gynecomastia may persist especially if the cause is performance drugs.
Generally not a health-threatening condition, gynecomastia can lead to emotional and mental distress due to the embarrassment having an abnormal female chest-like appearance.
This condition can also inflict pain in the affected breast.
Gynecomastia Symptoms
Symptoms and signs of Gynecomastia are similar to each other regardless of its cause. It includes the following conditions:
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- Swollen breast gland tissue
- Tenderness of the breast
- Breast pain
- Nipple discharge in one or both breasts
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Causes and Risk Factors of Gynecomastia
Gynecomastia is generally caused by a decrease in the amount of male hormone testosterone while its female hormone counterpart increases.
This bodily phenomenon occurs when your body naturally changes hormones, medications, street drugs and alcohol, a particular medical condition or herbal products.
Natural hormone changes are usual phases of life and is important for the maintenance of sexual characteristics in both men and women.
Men’s testosterone leads to better growth management (muscle mass, bone density, hair, etc.). While men does have low amounts of estrogen, sometimes this becomes unstable which leads to gynecomastia.
Medications such as anti-androgen (for prostate enlargement, cancer and other conditions) can also cause male breast enlargement.
Anabolic steroidal drugs, androgens, chemotherapy, highly antiretroviral therapy (HAART for HIV patients), anxiety drugs, antidepressants and some antibiotics can all cause gynecomastia.
Street drugs such as amphetamines, marijuana, heroin, methadone and alcohol abuse can also cause male breast enlargement.
Health conditions such as kidney failure, hypogonadisum, hyperthyroidism, malnutrition, aging and liver failure are also risk factors.
Other risk factors include aging, adolescence, anabolic steroid use, performance enhancing drugs, hormonally active tumors, and plant oil extracts (herbal tea tree or lavander) that are used in most soaps and shampoos.
How to Diagnose a Suspected Gynecomastia?
The simplest way to diagnose Gynecomastia is by physical examination of your breast tissue, abdomen and genitals. This can be done by blood tests and mammograms.
Gynecomastia has few physical complications, but it can cause psychological or emotional problems caused by appearance.
Depending on your initial test result, your doctor may require additional examination such as CT scan, MRI, testicular ultrasound and tissue biopsies.
Gynecomastia Treatment
As aforementioned above, most cases of male breast enlargement regress over time without the need of any treatment. Since gynecomastia can be caused by several underlying conditions stated above, treatment also varies.
If the disorder is caused by medications, it can be treated by just simply stopping your medications.
Surgery is the best way to treat male breast enlargement and it can be done in two ways – liposuction and mastectomy.
You can also take supplement-type anti-gynecomastia products that are made from natural herb extracts.
This type of supplements are mostly formulated with ingredients that can help boost testosterone production, which can help counteract estrogen hormone increase.
One of the bestselling anti-gynecomastia supplement that you can use is Gynectrol of Crazy Bulk.
Conclusion
Gynecomastia is not a serious condition but can be a affect you physically and mentally. Surgery is the best way to reverse severe gynecomastia but this can be an expensive way of treatment.
I suggest that you take Gynectrol or other anti-male breast enlargement pills first before you opt to undergo surgery.
Also, consulting your doctor for the best possible treatment is the best way to resolve gynecomastia.
References:
Gynecomastia.org | MayoClinic | US National Library of Medicine
Images by New Jersey Gynecomastia | WikiPedia