Chinese medicine for gynecomastia

Gynaecomastia (GYN) is a breast disease characterized by painful lumps or painless progressive enlargement of the breasts in men. Gynecomastia is a clinical disease caused by abnormal development of male breast tissue and abnormal growth of breast connective tissue due to endocrine disorders caused by physiological or pathological factors. In recent years, with the gradual improvement of people’s living standard and the continuous change of lifestyle, the incidence of GYN is increasing year by year. Excessive life stress, abnormal emotions, unreasonable diet structure and certain drug applications are the main causes of male breast development. Drugs that cause gynecomastia, such as Advil, digitalis, cardiac painkillers, reserpine, other narcotic and psychotropic drugs such as Valium and alcohol, and obesity can also induce breast development. The most common psychological abnormalities in gynecomastia patients are depression and anxiety. They are reluctant to participate in group activities for fear of people around them knowing about it, fear of cancer and unsatisfactory results after treatment or recurrence of the disease. Currently, there are two types of treatment for GYN: pharmacological and surgical. The estrogen receptor inhibitor tamoxifen, the androgen preparation methyltestosterone, and testosterone propionate are commonly used to treat GYN, but for patients with painful symptoms or a disease duration of more than two years, where the enlarged gland has been replaced by fibrous tissue and glassy changes, and in patients with GYN where malignancy is suspected, oral medication is not as effective as it should be Surgical treatment should be performed. Gynecomastia belongs to the category of “breast ulcer” in Chinese medicine, and it is also called “breast node”. In the book “Surgical Treatments? It is said in the treatise on canker sores: “Men’s breast joints are slightly different from women’s. Women lose their liver and stomach, while men lose their liver and kidneys, because of excessive anger and lust. The Secret Record of Surgery quotes Master Qi as saying, “Men’s breasts are suddenly swollen like a woman’s, and they are painful to the touch and do not heal after years and months, because the poison of Yangming is also knotted between the breasts. However, this poison is not sore poison, but phlegm poison.” Men’s nipples belong to the liver and breasts belong to the kidneys, if the emotions are out of balance, liver qi is depressed; or old age and physical deficiency, liver and kidney deficiency; or congenital endowment deficiency. If there is an emotional disorder, liver qi stagnation; or old age and weakness, liver and kidney deficiency; or congenital deficiency of endowment. In the treatment of this disease, Chinese medicine should combine the identification of evidence and disease, and adopt the treatment methods of tonifying the kidney, draining the liver, activating blood circulation, and resolving phlegm, and if necessary, combine with western medicine to regulate the dysfunction of the hypothalamus-pituitary-testicular axis, which can significantly alleviate the disease and shorten the course of treatment; taking Chinese medicine before and after surgery can reduce the recurrence rate and significantly improve the systemic symptoms, so Chinese medicine should be used as a better choice for the treatment of gynecomastia. Therefore, Chinese medicine treatment for gynecomastia should be a better choice for patients with this disease.