Gynecomastia is a very common problem amongst the males. Almost two-third of the males suffer from it at some point or other. Gynecomastia is different from pseudogynecomastia. Minor gynecomastia can have several symptoms, one of them being puffy nipples. Young men suffering from mild gynecomastia can also suffer from low self-esteem as a result of embarrassment caused by this disease. It can be dealt with by a surgery. People planning to undergo surgery should always look for board certified surgeons. Mild gynecomastia is also caused by hormonal disorder. As all breast tissues respond to hormone levels, any disorder can lead to mild or sever gynecomastia.

Symptoms

Mild gynecomastia is when the swelling in the breast is relatively small and found just behind the nipple. Mild gynecomastiasi the first stage when a person starts noticing the difference. For a lot of men, gynecomastia stops here and there is no further enlargement but for some this may not be the case. It continues to enlarge and the condition progresses. Mild gynecomastia is quite visible as the breast area juts out of the chest wall. It results in nipple becoming more prominent. The swelling can be firm or rubbery. Some of the symptoms of mild gynecomastia include itching of the nipple and underarm, swelling behind the nipples, prominent or nipple jutting out, occasional fluid discharge from the nipples and aching or breast tenderness.

Sometimes mild gynecomastia has no symptoms. Itching may occur in some cases before any kind of swelling is noticed. The first symptom which is noted by most men is the nipples jutting out. Then nipples and areola swell. Most of the patients do not have pain but they can feel breast tenderness.

Causes

Most common time for a man to experience gynecomastia is the time of puberty. Almost 70 percent of teenagers experience some kind of breast enlargement. There is surge in all kinds of hormones during puberty leading to change in estrogen and testosterone levels. It can make the breasts grow leading to mild gynecomastia. It is also common in babies who are exposed to their mother’s estrogen or older males with falling testosterone levels. Some other common causes of mild gynecomastia are side effects of some medications such as ulcer or anxiety drugs, use of recreational drugs like marijuana, certain food containing high level of soy protein, kidney or liver diseases, genetic disorders and hormone producing tumours.