Pain in the breast …

Breast pain (mastalgia) is a common complaint among women. You might describe your breast pain as chronic tenderness, sharp burning or tightness in your breast tissue. The pain may be constant or it may occur only occasionally.

Some women have severe breast pain, occurring more than five days a month, Severe breast pain may even persist throughout the menstrual cycle. Postmenopausal women sometimes have breast pain, but the symptom is more common in younger, premenopausal women and perimenopausal women.

Most times, breast pain signals a noncancerous (benign) breast condition and rarely signifies breast cancer. Still, unexplained breast pain that doesn't go away after your next menstrual cycle or that persists after menopause needs to be evaluated by your doctor.

Most cases of breast pain are classified as either cyclic or noncyclic. Each type of breast pain has distinct characteristics.

Breast pain characteristics
Cyclic breast pain	Noncyclic breast pain
·         Clearly related to the menstrual cycle ·         Described as dull, heavy or aching ·         Often accompanied by breast swelling or lumpiness ·         Usually affects both breasts, particularly the upper, outer portions, and can radiate to the underarm ·         Intensifies during the two weeks leading up to the start of your period, then eases up afterward ·         Usually affects premenopausal women in their 20s and 30s and perimenopausal women in their 40s	·         Unrelated to the menstrual cycle ·         Described as tight, burning or sore ·         Constant or intermittent ·         Usually affects one breast, in a localized area, but may spread more diffusely across the breast ·         Usually affects postmenopausal women

Extramammary breast pain
Extramammary breast pain feels like it originates in the breast, but its source is actually somewhere else. Pulling a muscle in your chest, for example, can cause pain in your chest wall or rib cage.

When to see a doctor
Make an appointment with your doctor if:

·         You have breast pain that persists daily for more than a couple of weeks

·         Your breast pain is localized to one specific area of your breast

·         Your breast pain seems to be getting worse over time

·         Your breast pain interferes with daily activities

Although it's not a common symptom of breast cancer, localized breast pain is associated with breast cancer in a small percentage of women.

Most of the time, it's not possible to identify the exact cause of breast pain. Likely contributors are:

·         Reproductive hormones. Cyclic breast pain appears to have a strong link to hormones and your menstrual cycle. Cyclic breast pain often decreases or disappears with pregnancy or menopause so experts theorize that hormones play a role. However, no studies have identified a particular hormonal abnormality as a contributor to cyclic breast pain.

·         Anatomical factors. The cause of noncyclic breast pain is likely to be anatomical rather than hormonal, triggered by breast cysts, breast trauma, prior breast surgery or other factors localized to the breast. Noncyclic breast pain may also originate outside the breast — in the chest wall, muscles, joints or heart, for example — and radiate to the breast.

·         Fatty acid imbalance. An imbalance of fatty acids within the cells may affect the sensitivity of breast tissue to circulating hormones. This theory provides the rationale for taking evening primrose oil capsules as a remedy for breast pain. Evening primrose oil contains gamma-linolenic acid (GLA), a type of fatty acid. GLA is thought to restore the fatty acid balance and decrease the sensitivity of breast tissue to circulating hormone levels.

Breast size. Women with large breasts may have noncyclic breast pain related primarily to the size of their breasts. This type of breast discomfort is typically accompanied by neck, shoulder and back pain. Some studies have shown that breast reduction surgery sometimes reduces these symptoms. Breast surgery itself, however, also causes pain, which may linger after the incisions have healed.

Love me? Then give me your password!

Gen-i has a new test for intimacy - sharing passwords. Damned if you do, and damned if you don't!

A recent survey claims that 30% of teenagers who use the internet have shared at least one personal online password with a friend or a significant other. The study also says that girls are twice as likely as boys to give away their secret codes. Strange as it may sound, it is beginning to be considered as a sign of trust and intimacy among youngsters.

BFFs share everything
That girlie bonding between two BFFs ( Best Friends Forever) has now extended to sharing passwords. "My best friend and I share everything, and never keep a secret from each other, then why not our passwords? She checks my social networking page and informs me immediately if my crush comments on my picture, and I can check her mails and see which forward mail in her inbox I'd like for myself, etc. It's just fun," says Shweta Pahujani, 19, a fashion designing student.

Some have a serious reason too. "Ever since that b**ch in my class blocked me from her Facebook list, I took my best friend's password to check her account for that girl's updates. She got clicked with my boyfriend... &%*#$..." details a livid Aakriti Menon, 16, a class XI student. Another curious case is of photographer Ayesha Sharma, 22, who feels that sharing passwords with her friend is important. Otherwise, who will keep her account active when she, ahem, dies? "I mean, people can refer to my account even after I am gone," she explains, "I share it with my best friend and I know she can be trusted. That way, maybe, I'd never die, at least not for my loved ones."

Do you love me? Then give me your password.
According to the study, passwords are being compared to sex in terms of intimacy and vulnerability. So, people need to share them to show that they trust their partner. More often than not, girls urge their boyfriends to share their passwords so that they can check if they're cheating on them, etc. The insecure ones even check their BFs' chat records to know 'woh us ladki se kya baat kar raha tha?'

"We know each other's passwords and I love to scan every single chat of his. Somehow, it gives me peace of mind to know that he is loyal to me. Surprisingly, he does not even talk about me with his friends, something I thought he did," discloses Manjari Malhotra, 23, a content writer. But as researchers warn, password-sharing can have dangerous implications. "My girlfriend demanded my password, scanned my chats, and later broke up with me, 'coz she was upset that I complimented my female classmate. I'm not doing this ever again in a relationship," rues Shivam Singh, 20, a law student.

Can't share your password? I'm breaking up
However, some people might suffer a breakup only because they did not share their passwords. Ruchi Anand, 22, recalls, "My boyfriend wanted my Facebook password, and I didn't want to give it. I wasn't comfortable with letting him read my and my best friend's girlie conversations. Eventually, we broke up."

What do they do with passwords?
- "When I found out that my best friend was dating the guy I had a crush on, I forwarded the two's online conversation to my friend's mom. She got the lesson of her life."

- "I learnt that my boyfriend was dating multiple girls. So I used his password and sent a hate mail to all those girls. They dumped him, I dumped him too. My revenge was over."

- I sent a love letter to our class teacher from my ex's account. He still doesn't know who did it."

Facebook buddies not really 'friends in need'

An average young adult has around 237 Facebook friends, but out of that only two can be turned to for real support in times of crisis, a survey has found.

The survey, of 1,000 people between the ages of 18 and 35, which was conducted by Macmillan Cancer Support, found that two-third of respondents said they had two or fewer really close friends.

It also found that one in eight respondents admitted they did not even have single person they considered to be good enough to rely on, if life got very hard.

The survey also revealed that men (16 per cent) were more likely than women (12 per cent) to have no one to turn to.

“It is surprising and concerning that people confide in such a small number of friends and family - and more so that others may not confide in anyone,” Jeannie Wilkinson, a Relate counsellor funded by the cancer charity said.

“It is important that, when going through something tough, like a cancer diagnosis and treatment, you can speak openly about what you’re going through to ensure you get the right support you need.

“We meet a lot of patients and people caring for someone with cancer who feel like they need to be ‘strong’ and bottle up their emotions. This causes great strain on relationships,” she said.

3 cups of black tea a day may cut blood pressure

Three cups of black tea a day may considerably reduce blood pressure, a new study has revealed.

Scientists at The University of Western Australia and Unilever based their findings on drinking black tea and the effect of drinking tea with milk is not known.

“There is already mounting evidence that tea is good for your heart health, but this is an important discovery because it demonstrates a link between tea and a major risk factor for heart disease,” the Daily Mail quoted lead author Research Professor Jonathan Hodgson as saying.

Blood pressure measurement comprises two numbers. The first is the systolic and measures blood pressure when the heart beats, or contracts to push blood through the body. The second number is the diastolic and measures the amount of pressure in between beats, when the heart is at rest.

In the study, 95 Australian participants aged between 35 and 75 were asked to drink either three cups of black tea or a placebo with the same flavour and caffeine content, but not derived from tea.

The researchers recorded their readings after six months and found that as compared to the placebo group, participants who drank black tea had a lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure of between 2 and 3 mmHg (millimetres of mercury).

The authors consider that a 2 to 3mmHg drop in blood pressure across the board would lead to a 10 per cent drop in the number of people with hypertension and heart disease.

“A large proportion of the general population has blood pressure within the range included in this trial, making results of the trial applicable to individuals at increased risk of hypertension,” Dr Hodgson said.

The study has been published in the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Feeling fat? Try the GI diet

The celebrations are over and its time to feel those guilt pangs for the excesses done during the year-end. High calorie grub and, of course, copious amounts of liquor made weightloss regimes go for a toss.

It's finally time to settle on a diet plan. With increasing instances of obesity and other related diseases like diabetes, the low Glycemic Index (GI) diet seems to be a popular trend in food habit. Celebs like Kylie Minogue and Sharon stone swear by it! But before you get started on it, here's decoding what the GI diet is.

GI is a ranking of carbohydrates based on the extent to which they raise blood sugar l eve l s after eating. While high GI foods induce an immediate rise in the blood sugar levels, low GI food causes a relatively gradual rise in blood sugar. "There is a conception that having rice is bad for those looking to lose weight. But rice actually has fewer calories than an equal amount of wheat. The problem is that it does not have enough fibre in it. But rice with low GI is a very good option," says Paromita Das Dutta, joint secretary of the Indian Dietetic Association's National Executive Committee. She says it's perfect for people who want to lose weight, but don't want to change food habits. "We are suggesting this diet to patients, especially those who don't want to deviate from their lifestyle. The trend is catching up a lot and the health conscious lot is going for it," she adds. Some Indian dishes like sambhar is a low GI food, but is extremely healthy. Rajma and chana are other staples that have a low GI index. "Although the GI of polished rice is 60-69%, brown rice and specially produced low GI rice have a glycemic index of 40-49%. This allows people with diabetes to enjoy rice without throwing their diabetes out of control," says Dr Hemraj B Chandalia, endocrinologist and diabetologist.

Dietitians suggest consuming lots of fruits and vegetables since they have a low GI and avoiding high GI food like white bread and cornflakes. "We advise that people should go for food with low GI since a rise in the calorie intake gives rise to obesity. Low GI rice, which is actually rice with more fibre is a healthy option," says Babita Hazarika, chief dietitian, Apollo Gleneagles. She concedes that a low GI diet is fast catching up. So, need to lose sleep over that perfect diet plan. Just keep in mind the glycemic index of your food so you can have your cake and eat it too!

Diets that are in vogue- Atkins diet: Created by Robert Atkins, this diet is also known as Atkins Nutritional Approach. It's a low carb diet, popularized by a series of books. It started in 1972 with Dr Atkins's Diet Revolution. This diet stresses on limited consumption of carbohydrates to step up the body's metabolism and convert stored body fat to energy.

General motors or GM diet: Exclusively developed for the employees of General Motors, this diet is apparently effective since the food eaten burns more calories than it gives to the body. This is a seven day plan and helps flush the system of impurities.

South beach diet:This is a popular diet plan designed by cardiologist Arthur Agatston and dietitian Marie Almon. The diet is relatively simple and it replaces bad carbs and bad fats with good carbs and good fats.

Mayo clinic diet: The diet prescribes eating a healthy breakfast everyday that consists of egg whites or low sugar cereals and having at least four servings of fruits and vegetables in a day. It also stresses on the inclusion of whole grains in the meal.

The zone diet: The diet emphasizes that all meals should be arranged according to this fixed ratio: 40 per cent carbohydrates, 30 per cent fat and 30 per cent protein as this is what it takes to lose weight.