Please note: This information was current at the time of publication. But medical information is always changing, and some information given here may be out of date. For regularly updated information on a variety of health topics, please visit familydoctor.org, the AAFP patient education website.
Information from Your Family Doctor
Galactorrhea
Am Fam Physician. ;().
What is galactorrhea?
Sometimes a woman's breast makes milk even though she is not breast-feeding a baby. This is called galactorrhea (say: gal-act-tor-ee-ah). The milk may come from one or both breasts. It may leak with no stimulation or it may leak only when the breasts are touched.
Men can have galactorrhea, too, but it is less common.
What causes galactorrhea?
Galactorrhea has many causes. Here are some of them:
Medicines, like hormones, antidepressants and blood pressure medicines
Herbs, such as nettle, fennel, blessed thistle, anise and fenugreek seed
Street drugs, like marijuana and opiates
Hormone imbalance
Tumors (usually benign), especially tumors of the pituitary gland (say: pit-too-it-tarry), which is in the brain
Pregnancy
Clothing that irritates the breasts (like scratchy wool shirts or bras that don't fit well)
Doing very frequent breast self-exams (daily exams)
Stimulation of the breast during sexual activity
Sometimes the cause can't be found.
Galactorrhea is a white fluid. If the fluid coming from your breast is reddish, your doctor will check you for cancer.
What other signs should I tell my doctor about?
Tell your doctor if you have any of these signs:
No menstrual periods or periods that are not regular
Headaches or trouble seeing
Less interest in having sex
Increase in hair growth on your chin or chest
Acne
What tests might my doctor order?
Your doctor might order blood tests to find out your hormone levels and to see if you are pregnant. Or, your doctor might want you to have an MRI scan of your head to see if you have a tumor.
Tests are not always needed if you and your doctor can figure out what caused your galactorrhea.
How is galactorrhea treated?
Most tumors that cause galactorrhea are not cancer. They can be treated with medicine or surgery.
In many cases, there is no treatment, and the breast milk goes away with time. Until it goes away, here are some things you can do to help:
Avoid stimulating your breasts.
Avoid touching your nipples during sexual activity.
Don't do breast self-exams more than one time a month.
This handout is provided to you by your family doctor and the American Academy of Family Physicians. Other health-related information is available from the AAFP online at http://familydoctor.org.
This information provides a general overview and may not apply to everyone. Talk to your family doctor to find out if this information applies to you and to get more information on this subject.
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