An edematous areola is a swollen and tender
inflammation
Inflammation (from la, wikt:en:inflammatio#Latin, inflammatio) is part of the complex biological response of body tissues to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or Irritation, irritants, and is a protective response involving im ...
of the
areola
The human areola (''areola mammae'', or ) is the pigmented area on the breast around the nipple. Areola, more generally, is a small circular area on the body with a different histology from the surrounding tissue, or other small circular ar ...
of the breast. It can develop after
childbirth
Childbirth, also known as labour and delivery, is the ending of pregnancy where one or more babies exits the internal environment of the mother via vaginal delivery or caesarean section. In 2019, there were about 140.11 million births globall ...
when large amounts of fluids are given intravenously, use of
pitocin
Synthetic oxytocin, sold under the brand name Pitocin among others, is a medication made from the peptide '' oxytocin''. As a medication, it is used to cause contraction of the uterus to start labor, increase the speed of labor, and to stop ...
or fluid retention for other reasons, and may interfere with successful initiation of breastfeeding.
An edematous areola can also develop in women with
preeclampsia
Pre-eclampsia is a disorder of pregnancy characterized by the onset of high blood pressure and often a significant amount of protein in the urine. When it arises, the condition begins after 20 weeks of pregnancy. In severe cases of the disease ...
.
See also
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Breast milk
Breast milk (sometimes spelled as breastmilk) or mother's milk is milk produced by mammary glands located in the breast of a human female. Breast milk is the primary source of nutrition for newborns, containing fat, protein, carbohydrates ( lacto ...
*
Nipple prosthesis
Nipple/Areola prostheses (prostheses is the plural of prosthesis) are made of silicone by breast prosthesis manufacturers and anaplastologists for breast cancer survivors who were treated for breast cancer with a mastectomy. Prostheses can be worn ...
for breast cancer survivors
*
Nipple shield
*
Breastfeeding
Breastfeeding, or nursing, is the process by which human breast milk is fed to a child. Breast milk may be from the breast, or may be expressed by hand or pumped and fed to the infant. The World Health Organization (WHO) recommends that br ...
References
{{women's health stub
Breastfeeding
Body fluids
Midwifery