泌乳是产生母乳的过程。对于怀孕或最近出生的妇女，泌乳是正常的。激素信号乳腺in your body to start producing milk to feed the baby. But it’s also possible for women who have never been pregnant — and even men — to lactate. This is called galactorrhea, and it can happen for a variety of reasons.
Galactorrhea happens to around 20 to 25 percent of women, according to Dr. Sherry Ross, OB/GYN at Providence Saint John’s Health Center.
Galactorrhea’s most common symptom is one or both breasts producing excessive milk. The condition is most common in women, but can also happen to men and newborn babies.
Other symptoms include:
- 从随机发生的乳头泄漏
- enlargement of breast tissue
- missed or irregular periods
- loss of or lowered sex drive
- 恶心
- acne
- abnormal hair growth
- 头痛
- trouble with vision
未怀孕时哺乳的原因
Galactorrhea has a wide variety of different causes, and in some cases, the cause is hard to pinpoint. Reasons for lactating when not recently pregnant can range from hormone imbalances to medication side effects to other health conditions.
母乳产生的最常见原因是大脑中产生的激素的抬高催乳素。催乳素的升高可能是：
- medications
- 潜在的医疗问题
- 一个肿瘤
- overstimulation of the nipples
Other causes include the following.
药物
某些药物可能会导致半乳ha。这些包括：
- antipsychotics
- 抗抑郁药
- birth control
- heart burn medications
- 某些疼痛杀手
- 血压药物
- medications that contain hormones
医疗条件
These conditions may also contribute to lactating when not pregnant:
用药
经常使用某些药物，例如opiates,大麻， 和可卡因，可以触发泌乳，而无需怀孕。重要的是要告诉您的医生是否使用任何药物，并且多久一次。他们在诊断您的alactorrhea时需要考虑这一点。
乳房刺激
For some people, having regular breast stimulation may trigger galactorrhea. This can be stimulation during sexual activity, from frequent breast self-exams, or from clothing that rubs against the nipples.
Mothers who are adopting babies and wish to breast-feed can prepare their breasts and increase prolactin levels with pumping.
Diagnosis for lactating when you’re not pregnant
Treatment for galactorrhea depends on what’s causing it. Your doctor will ask about family history and then may do a few tests to determine the cause. The doctor will also do aphysical breast exam。他们可能会试图在实验室中表达一些出院以进行检查。
Other tests can include:
Treatment for lactating when you’re not pregnant
Once your doctor has confirmed a cause, they’ll recommend treatment. Some things can be done on your own, like avoiding tight clothing and reducing the amount of nipple stimulation during sexual activities.
其他治疗方法需要由您的医生监督，例如更换药物（例如，切换到其他抗抑郁药）或服用其他药物来调节激素。
Stopping antipsychotic medications, cutting back on marijuana, cocaine, and/or opiates, and limiting nipple stimulation are all ways to stop galactorrhea if these things are found to be the cause, according to Dr. Kevin Audlin of the Institute for Gynecologic Care at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore. But he points out that it can take a few months for milk production to stop, even after discontinuing medication.
如果原因是肿瘤或垂体问题，则可能需要手术。您的医生可能会进行更多测试。
Dr. Ross says medication can be given to bring down high prolactin numbers. “Bromocriptine is a medication used to lower the high levels of prolactin in your blood, which helps treat the symptom of lactation.”
Prevention
我们无法控制的许多原因，例如激素失衡，肿瘤或其他医疗状况。但是，您可以在家中做一些事情，以减少未怀孕的哺乳的可能性，包括：
- 避免刺激乳头的胸罩或衣服
- avoiding stimulating breasts too often
- 练习健康的方法来缓解压力
Should I be concerned?
好消息是，Galactorrhea通常要么自行或在医疗之后因其根本原因而消失。但是，如果来自乳头的排放不是乳白色，看起来清晰，血腥或黄色，这引起了人们的关注。这些可能是乳腺癌的迹象。您应该马上去看医生。
Other concerning causes of nipple discharge include:
- abenign (noncancerous) breast growth
- 垂体肿瘤
- a rare form of breast cancer calledPaget’s disease of the nipple
下一步
如果您在六个月内没有怀孕或护理，并且您正在哺乳或从一个或两个乳头上看到任何其他类型的出院，请去看医生。如果严重的是导致出院，最好尽早开始治疗。