Nipple Discharge? Is it breast Cancer?

Nipple discharge can be a scary experience for all men and for women who are not breast feeding. The biggest concern when a person experience nipple discharge is the possibility of carcinoma. Even though breast carcinomas often present with nipple discharge, all nipple discharges are not due to breast cancer. If you are experiencing nipple discharge, the following information will help you to find out the cause for the nipple discharge. 

So, you are experiencing nipple discharge. The first thing you should clarify when you are having nipple discharge is whether it is from one nipple or from the both. If you have discharges form both your nipples, it is most probably due to a systemic disease more than a local disease, such as carcinoma. 

• Bilateral Nipple Discharge 

If you are having bilateral nipple discharge, you are having one of the following conditions. Bilateral nipple discharge does not indicate breast cancer unless the cancer has spread to the both breasts.

• Lactation
• Pituitary tumor

Out of these, pituitary  tumor should take immediate attention because they should be ablated. Some people with pituitary tumor experience some specific symptoms which can be used as diagnostic tools. Pituitary tumors enlarge  in size and increases the intracranial pressure. As a result, the person experiences early morning headache, nausea and vomiting. The visual pathway runs close to the pituitary gland. Tumors arising from the gland compress the visual pathway. As a result, the affected person looses vision of his both temporal sides. This is called bitemporal hemianopia. If you are having bitemporal hemianopia, when you are looking at something, you will feel like you are looking through a tunnel. This is called tunnel vision. 

• Unilateral Nipple Discharge 

If you are having discharge only from one breast, it is due to a local pathology affecting only that breast. You should also consider your age because carcinomas are very rare in younger ages. If you are in your twenties or early thirties and there is no family history of breast cancer among first degree relatives, there is very low chances for you to develop breast cancer. If you are very young there is nothing to worry about. If you are still anxious, you can consult a doctor. He will also reassure you after doing the triple assesment. Consulting a doctor is important because he can analyse your data decide on the possibility of cancer. 

The next thing you can do to know whether it is due to cancer or not is by looking for a lump. To do this you will have to carry out a self breast examination. A careful self breast examination can detect most of the lumps in the breast, but some breast cancers are very small and therefore, cannot be palpated. If you are more than 40 years of age and have a family history of breast cancer, you should immediately see a doctor even you do not feel any lump.

Then the next thing you should focus on is the color of the discharge. The color of the discharge gives diagnostic clues. As mentioned earlier, breast cancers can give rise to nipple discharge, but not all discharges are due to cancer. There are many benign conditions that can give rise to nipple discharge. These benign conditions are,

• Duct ectasia
• Papilloma of the duct 
• Mammory dyslasia
• Fibrocystic disease (fibroadenosis)
• Infection
• Hypothyroidism
• Pituitary tumor

The nature of the secretion is very important in differentiating each of these condition. Blood stained discharge is suggestive of cancer, but benign conditions such as duct ectasia, papilloma of the duct, fibrocystic disease can also give rise to blood stained nipple discharge. 

The commonest form of nipple discharge is serous discharge. This is commonly physiological and sometimes due to duct papilloma, duct ectasia, mammory dysplasia or fibrocystic disease.

If the discharge is black or green, it is due to duct ectasia. This is a benign condition which does not progress to breast cancer. If the discharge is purulent (pus), it is due to an infection. In infection,   in addition to the discharge you may also experience pain, fever, warmth of the breast. 

Milky discharge is due to lactation, hyperthyroidism or pituitary tumor. One of the commonest pituitary tumors are prolacting secreting tumors. Prolactin stimulates milk production and gives rise to galactorrhea. 

Above mentioned are the possible causes of nipple discharge. According to these information it is vivid that nipple discharge is not always due to breast cancer. There are many benign diseases that can cause nipple discharge. 

Hemifacial Spasms

Are you experiencing spasms in one side of your face? You might be having the disorder called hemifacial spasms. You must know that each and every spasms that occur in your face is not always due to hemifacial spasms. 

Hemifacial spasms is a rare disorder most commonly seen among middle aged females. It is characterized by sudden irregular clonic spasms of the facial muscles. The severity of the spasms can vary from very mild to severe. People with very severe spasms may usually find it very distressing and disfiguring. 

What is the cause for hemifacial spasms? There are several causes, but most of the time it is idiopathic. It means that there are no identifiable cause. Following are some well identified causes for hemifacial spasms.

1. Following Bell's palsy - Bell's palsy is a disorder characterized by sudden onset of facial muscle weakness. People can develop hemifacial spasms after recovering from Bell's palsy. 
2. Acaustic neuroma - Acaustic neuroma is a type of tumor involving the eighth nerve that can also have its effects on the facial nerve as well. As a result, the muscles of the face supplied by the affected nerve can start aving spasms. 
3. Paget's disease withing the skull base
4. Pressure from the vessels in the cerebellopontine angle.

The disorder is treated according to the severity  Mild cases do not require any treatment. Severe disease is managed with botulinum toxin injection. Decompression of the facial nerve at the cerebellopontine angle can also be done. 

What is the difference between isometric and isotonic exercise?

Exercises keep you healthy and strong. Regular exercises increases your circulation and helps to burn excess fat. People engage in exercises for various reasons. Some do it to lose weight. Some do it to stay healthy. Athletes are obligated to do exercises every day. Some do it just for fun. There are many types of exercises. The type of exercises differs according to your goals. Therefore, it is important that you clarify and set your goals before starting exercising. Then you should choose the type of exercise you need. Therefore, it is important to have a basic understanding about the types of exercises.

Exercises are divided into many categories. Strength training exercises are one such category. Strength training exercises are divided in to two. They are isometric exercises and isotonic exercises. Strength training exercises are designed to increase muscle strength. This is achieved by combining both isotonic and isometric exercises. The effects of the exercise are more when it is done against resistance. When the resistance is more the tension within each muscle fiber increases. As a result, with time the muscles become bulkier and stronger.

How to differentiate isometric exercises from isotonic exercises?

The main difference between these two is the movement at the involved joint. Isometric exercises keep the joint immobile while the isotonic exercises involve all the movements of the joint. Now you might wonder how to exercise without moving anything. The following explanation will answer your question.

Isometric Exercises

As mentioned above, isometric exercises do not involve movements at joints. These kinds of exercises increase muscle strength by increasing the tension of the muscle while keeping the muscles at a static level of contraction. How can you do this? It is done by keeping your body in a static posture for a long time. It might seem that staying at the same posture does not require any muscle activity, but it is not true. Maintaining posture involve contraction of opposing muscle groups at an equal intensity. Maintaining the same posture requires a lot of energy. Examples of isometric exercises include pushing or pulling against an immobile object and yoga exercises that maintains a posture for a long time. The disadvantage in this type of exercise is that one should use many postures in order to strengthen each muscel group in the body.

Isotonic Exercises

Unlike isometric exercises, isotonic exercises involves joint movements. The muscles are made to lengthen as well as shorten, but the tone of the muscles is kept static throughout the range of motion. Isotonic exercises include pushups, running, jumping, curls and climbing.

Both isotonic and isometric exercises increase muscle strength as well as endurance. To achieve maximum benefit from your exercise program, you should combine both of these types of exercises.