Symptoms of gynecomastia help in identifying and diagnosing this embarrassing condition at an early stage. Read on to know the various symptoms and what can be done to deal with this condition.
In ideal conditions, males are said to have flat chests. This is because males have mostly muscles present on their chest and a very little amount of fats. However, at times, due to hormonal imbalances in the body, some men may develop what are known as ‘man boobs’ or breasts. This condition is known as gynecomastia. It is quite an embarrassing condition for males and they tend to avoid talking about it. The symptoms of this condition can be brought on by several causes, which are mentioned below:
Causes
As mentioned earlier, one of the most common causes of gynecomastia is hormonal changes in the body. In both males and females, there are androgens and estrogens, i.e., male and female hormones respectively. These hormones tend to bring about many changes in the body but they strike a balance, so as to ensure that there are more estrogens in females and more androgens in males. However, if the estrogen levels in a male shoot up, then he begins to develop feminine features; breast development being one of them. Sometimes, the causes also include side effects of some medicines. Also, the condition may develop while the person is recovering from any malnutrition disease.
Symptoms
In simple words, the term ‘gynecomastia’ means development of breasts in males. Hence, one of the most glaring symptoms that will be seen, is the development of breasts instead of a flat chest. There are different forms of this condition, hence the symptoms slightly vary in nature. Due to excess fat deposition around the areola, the nipples appear puffy, which, in turn, shows breast enlargement.
If the condition arises due to imbalance in the sex hormones, the other effects of estrogen may be seen, like, development of female secondary sexual characteristics. They include, a slightly high pitched voice instead of a deep voice and sparse body hair.
Sometimes, the symptoms may appear due to excessive workout or by taking in too many anabolic steroids. In such cases, it is more of a case of false gynecomastia, as there is no deposition of fat in the chest area, but merely the hypertrophy of chest muscles. In such cases, gynecomastia can be ruled out by doing some tests and checking to see, if there is uniformity in the hypertrophy of other muscles, that are being worked on, or not. Sometimes, there may even be false gynecomastia seen in cases of boys who are obese. This is because, as the fat is deposited in the body, it may settle in the region of the chest, making it look like the boy has man boobs. However, this is merely a case of false gynecomastia.
At times, the symptoms may be more embarrassing than usual, when there is unilateral gynecomastia, i.e., the development of only one breast, which makes it even more difficult to hide or camouflage the condition.
results.
This condition, as mentioned earlier, can be brought on by various other conditions and disorders. Thus, the treatment will also vary accordingly. If the cause of the condition is hormonal imbalance, then with the help of hormonal therapy, the condition can be dealt with easily. Most cases of gynecomastia do not even require treatment and often resolve on their own. However, in the meantime, the person can do certain breast reduction exercises, which may give variable results. However, if all fails, then he may need to go in for breast reduction surgery. The surgery cost may be a slight hindrance, but if it means that the person can get relief from this embarrassing condition, then it is worth it. Before deciding on how to get rid of gynecomastia in your case, always consult a doctor, so that he can suggest all the options and help you deal with the condition to get better results.
