Table of contents:
- Changes in the shape and size of women's breasts as they age
- Abnormal changes in breasts as you age
- Increased risk of breast disease as you age
- How to prevent the breasts from changing drastically
It is said that women's breasts will change with age. Some say that when you get old, your breasts will sag more and shrink. However, is this true? How much does a woman's breasts change as she gets old?
Changes in the shape and size of women's breasts as they age
When aging, women's breasts will experience changes. Usually, what happens to a woman's breasts as she ages is the loss of breast fat, tissue, and mammary glands. This change usually occurs due to the reduction in the hormone estrogen after a woman experiences menopause.
In addition, because the amount of estrogen decreases, the skin becomes more elastic and becomes dehydrated. Eventually, the tissue in the breast glands shrinks, making the breasts smaller and sagging.
When that happens, the shape of the nipple will also change. Stretch marks also appear on the skin around the breasts.
The changes that have been mentioned are normal, so you don't have to worry about experiencing breast changes as you age. However, there are also abnormal changes that you should be aware of.
Abnormal changes in breasts as you age
Normal women's breasts will experience changes as they age, but some abnormal changes occur. Abnormal breast shape changes include:
- Reddish breast
- The skin in the breast area is thickened
- Discharge from the nipple
- Breast pain
- A hard lump in the breast
- One breast looks very different from the other breast
If you experience any of the abnormal changes mentioned above, contact your doctor immediately.
Increased risk of breast disease as you age
Not only the shape and size of the breasts, the changes that occur when you age are also related to various breast diseases that can be experienced by every woman.
As a woman ages, the lump formation in the breast area will get bigger. These lumps can be in the form of cysts, tumors, fibroids and many more. Usually, this lump is not dangerous and is owned by almost all women. However, to find out whether the lump is dangerous or not, you should check with your doctor for this condition.
Lumps that appear on the breasts of women who experience changes with age can be the following conditions.
- Cyst. Usually, the cyst is round with a soft lump. Cyst lumps are usually filled with fluid. However, there are also cysts that contain liquid and solid at the same time.
- Fibroids. Fibroid lumps are usually harmless. Generally, these lumps contain fibrous connective tissue.
- Ductal or Lobular HyperplasiaThese are lumps that appear when the cells lining the mammary glands overgrow.
- Intraductal papillomas, which is one of the benign tumors that appear in the mammary glands. Usually, this condition causes the nipple to bleed.
- Adenosis, which is a lump that appears due to enlargement of the mammary glands.
Apart from lumps in the breast, changes with age can also occur with an increased risk of breast cancer. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), women over 50 years of age are more prone to developing breast cancer than younger women. Symptoms of this disease can include swelling of the breasts, reddish skin in the breast area, discharge from the nipples.
How to prevent the breasts from changing drastically
Although it can't be avoided, you can at least prevent drastic changes in your breasts as you age. That way, the changes that occur will not be too fast and drastic. Of course, this prevention should be done early.
Some things you can do are use a bra that can help firm your breasts, then exercise regularly. In addition, eating a healthy diet with balanced nutrition can also help you avoid drastic changes in your breasts as you age.
Adjusting your body weight to stay awake, using sunscreen when going out, and quitting smoking are also things that can help you prevent excessive breast changes.
x
