Gynecomastia or gyneaecomastia (as it is known in Canada and the United Kingdom) is the official term for overdeveloped male breasts. This condition occurs mostly in babies, teenagers and in the elderly. In teenage boys gencomastia is often a source of real embarrassment but usually the condition shrinks within a couple a years. The actual causes of growing male breasts is unknown but it is usually due to an imbalance of sex hormones. Obesity is sometimes, but rarely the cause of breast enlargement in men. Sometimes the breast is not really prominent but appears so because the pectoral tissue is overbuilt. This type of breast tissue is not as bouncy or fleshy as the type produced by obesity or a hormonal imbalance.
The main causes of gycecomastia are increased estrogen, decreased testosterone, defects in the way the body produces androgen, chronic kidney disease, chronic liver disease, HIV and other chronic diseases. Male breasts can also grow as the consequence of brain damage or a spinal cord images. Male breasts have also been known to grow as the result of fasting or starvation. Chances are that your doctor will not know the exact cause of your gycemosastia. One quarter of the cases seem to have no detectable cause.
However sometimes the cures for certain disorders are worse than the condition. Medications are thought to account for about twenty percent of gynecomastia in post-adolescent adults. The types of medications that can cause male breast growth include cimetidine, omeprazole, spironolactone, finasteride and certain antipsychotics. Some of these drugs act directly on the breast tissue, causing it to enlarge while others lead to increased secretion of hormones from the pituitary glance causing the excess breast tissue growth. Medications used in the treatment of prostate cancer, such as antiandrogens and GnRH analogs can also cause gynecomastia.
Studies have also shown that chronic users of marijuana tend to suffer from gynecomastia more than those who don’t indulge. If you are a recreational marijuana user then don’t waste your doctor’s time by asking to be switched to different medications etc. Stop using it and the condition will abate!
Treatment may or may not help with gynecomastia. If you suspect that a medication is the culprit then you should talk with your doctor about replacing any thing that you are taking with a substitute. Patients should talk with their doctor about revising any medications that are found to be causing you might also be prescribed a medication to treat the condition. The most common prescriptions for gynecomastia are selective estrogen receptor modulator medications, such as tamoxifen and clomiphene, or androgens. Letrozoleis another potential treatment option, although it is not universally approved for the treatment of gynecomastia. It is absolutely essential that you get treatment for this condition as quickly as you can. This is because if gynecomastia is not treated promptly the male breasts that grow will not reverse with treatment. If that happens and the breasts harden then only plastic surgery techniques can make your chest look masculine once again.
