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Had Pain, Burning And Itching Of Breast. Mammogram And US Normal. Having Redness. Taken Augmentin. Suggest?
Question: I'm 55, menopausal. I started having severe pain, burning & itching of breast with a sensation of pulling inside breast. Had mammo & US which were normal. About a week after this I developed redness of breast, hot, heaviness & now what looks like a bruise. I have no lumps. I have taken a 10 day course of Augmentin (was told it was infection) but it's still red, hurts, etc, as above. Your thoughts? Thank you.
Hello and thank you for sending your question.
Your question is a good one and I will work on providing you with some information and recommendations.
I must admit your symptoms are peculiar and I do have a few thoughts. One possibility is that you had a mild infection under the skin which we refer to as cellulitis. The subsequent mammogram may have caused a mild exacerbation of the cellulitis by compressing the involved breast tissue.
I agree with the course of antibiotics which were prescribed to you. One consideration at this point would be additional antibiotic treatment for perhaps another 10 to 14 days. Your physician might consider continuing Augmentin or possibly a different antibiotic which would be effective for cellulitis or what we call mastitis when it affects the breast.
Lastly if the pain and swelling continues this would be a strong indication for a biopsy of the skin around the affected area. The biopsy would help us understand if this is truly infection or if there's something else going on.
Thank you again for sending your question. Please let me know if you have any additional specific concerns that you would like to discuss.
Sincerely,
Dr. Galamaga
Your question is a good one and I will work on providing you with some information and recommendations.
I must admit your symptoms are peculiar and I do have a few thoughts. One possibility is that you had a mild infection under the skin which we refer to as cellulitis. The subsequent mammogram may have caused a mild exacerbation of the cellulitis by compressing the involved breast tissue.
I agree with the course of antibiotics which were prescribed to you. One consideration at this point would be additional antibiotic treatment for perhaps another 10 to 14 days. Your physician might consider continuing Augmentin or possibly a different antibiotic which would be effective for cellulitis or what we call mastitis when it affects the breast.
Lastly if the pain and swelling continues this would be a strong indication for a biopsy of the skin around the affected area. The biopsy would help us understand if this is truly infection or if there's something else going on.
Thank you again for sending your question. Please let me know if you have any additional specific concerns that you would like to discuss.
Sincerely,
Dr. Galamaga
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Thank you Doctor for your response. I was just wondering if these might be symptoms of inflammatory breast cancer. I do have a family history of cancer, my Mom with breast & colon cancer; my Dad with colon cancer; and one brother with multiple myeloma. I'm a little concerned that waiting another 10 days to do another course of antibiotics may be harmful. Should I ask for a biopsy now, in your opinion? Thank you again.
Hello again.
Asking for the biopsy right now would be reasonable. This would be a very simple procedure and the pathologist can provide you with some results within several days. This will help your doctors provide definitive therapy for what you have been dealing with for quite some time.
I would recommend that you contact your doctor for a brief discussion and advise him of your concern. I think your doctor would certainly consider proceeding with a biopsy as a reasonable approach.
Thank you again for sending a question.
Dr. Galamaga
Asking for the biopsy right now would be reasonable. This would be a very simple procedure and the pathologist can provide you with some results within several days. This will help your doctors provide definitive therapy for what you have been dealing with for quite some time.
I would recommend that you contact your doctor for a brief discussion and advise him of your concern. I think your doctor would certainly consider proceeding with a biopsy as a reasonable approach.
Thank you again for sending a question.
Dr. Galamaga
Note: For further queries related to kidney problems Click here.
Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
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