How To Tell If You Have Gynecomastia Or Fat

Patients often come up to our practise wanting treatment for gynecomastia . However, information technology'due south not uncommon for such a patient to get home with the newfound understanding that they don't actually take this condition — they only have backlog fatty in their chest.

Then, how can you know once and for all if it'due south gynecomastia or fat? Let's dive right in.

How to Know if You Have Gynecomastia or Fat

Is gynecomastia just fat?

Not e'er. In fact, gynecomastia is a real medical condition that occurs in at least 30% of males at at least one betoken in their lives. The main deviation between gynecomastia and chest fast is that gynecomastia generally can't be improved past lifestyle changes. This ways that you lot can't exercise abroad gynecomastia.

On the other hand, if underlying medical issues such as disease, medication apply, drug use, or other related problems are causing your gynecomastia, changing or ceasing these things can oft fix the trouble. When that is not the instance, however, gynecomastia requires surgery.

To become a better idea of the divergence between gynecomastia and chest fat (pseudogynecomastia), look up some gynecomastia vs pseudogynecomastia pictures. You'll encounter that truthful gynecomastia is oftentimes an issue for men who have an otherwise physically fit trunk. These men are often chiseled and muscular everywhere else on their trunk aside from their chest.

In contrast, pseudogynecomastia is typically an outcome for men when they are carrying extra body weight. Therefore, losing weight overall tin can sometimes correct pseudogynecomastia in these men.

What Causes Gynecomastia?

Most cases of gynecomastia are caused past low testosterone in comparing to estrogen. This tin can happen in a multitude of scenarios.

For example, newborn baby boys often have gynecomastia because they have a college level of their mothers estrogen. Immature men going through puberty may as well have an imbalance of hormones as they change into a man, which can as well cause gynecomastia. In both of these cases, no action needs to be taken. The effects of gynecomastia commonly go away as the hormones rebalance with age.

In developed males, other factors will influence the presence of gynecomastia, including:

• Health conditions such equally kidney failure, hypogonadism, cirrhosis and liver failure, hyperthyroidism, and others
• Taking certain medications such as anti-anxiety medications, antibiotics, anti-androgens, anabolic steroids, heart medications, ulcer medications, ADHD medications, AIDS medications, and others
• Using illicit drugs, recreational drugs, and alcohol

How Do I Bank check Myself for Gynecomastia?

Unfortunately, in that location is no official gynecomastia exam that uses the patient's blood or other physical markers to determine its presence.

One quick way to know if you accept this condition is to look at your trunk overall. Do you have a high pct of body fat? If and so, it's possible that your enlarged breast tissue is just a symptom of this.

On the other mitt, if you are physically fit with a high muscle mass but you still have excess breast tissue, it is more than likely that gynecomastia is the underlying issue.

To know more than concretely whether you lot have gynecomastia, nosotros recommend having the gynecomastia pinch examination performed or performing it on yourself. Here's how:

How to Know if Y'all Accept Gynecomastia or Fat: The Pinch Test

The gynecomastia pinch test is a elementary examination you tin perform on yourself to notice out whether you lot have bodily gynecomastia or pseudogynecomastia.

Start by taking your shirt off in front of the mirror. Using your thumb and finger tips,  gently compression and palpate the breast tissue below and around the nipple and areola.

You are looking for a small, hard lump. If you cannot find one and the unabridged breast is soft and squishy, yous probably but have fat in your chest.

The presence of a lump (whether combined with excess fatty or non) is associated with gynecomastia. In this case, you'd want to make an appointment with a plastic surgeon who specializes in gynecomastia surgery so that you lot can have the lumps removed.

How to Go Rid of Psuedogynecomastia

Remember that pseudogynecomastia is the term used for excess fatty, or adipose tissue, in the breasts. You won't feel any hard lumps when yous pinch effectually the nipple and areola with pseudogynecomastia.

If you want to know how to get rid of pseudogynecomastia, you should outset by losing weight if you are overweight or obese. This tin go a long way in changing your overall body composition and reducing excess fat in your breasts.

For some patients, still, fat merely accumulates in this area of the trunk easily and sticks around. It's stubborn. In this case, a plastic surgeon tin aid by performing liposuction to remove the excess fat in the breasts.

How to Go Rid of Gynecomastia

If you lot feel small hard lumps below your nipples, with or without excess fat in the area, you'll need to take surgery to remove these hard lumps.

Gynecomastia lumps can be equally small as a walnut or every bit large as an egg. They will need to be excised. Your plastic surgeon will make a small incision in a detached area around the areola. And then, they will advisedly remove the lumps and perform liposuction if necessary.

Finally, they will close incisions. Recovery from gynecomastia surgery is generally quick and painless.

Book a Consultation Appointment With Dr. Smita

If y'all're having problem knowing whether you have gynecomastia or fat on your chest, y'all're not alone. This is a common problem for many men who desire a flatter breast.

Nosotros suggest you try the gynecomastia pinch exam at home to showtime with. If y'all feel a small lump or hard and tender spot beneath the nipple, contact our role. Y'all may take gynecomastia, and we accept solutions that can help y'all treat this condition and regain your confidence.

Give the states a call today to schedule your date and get back to the life you dearest.

References

https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-atmospheric condition/gynecomastia/symptoms-causes/syc-20351793

Source: https://www.drsmita.com/blog/how-to-know-if-you-have-gynecomastia-or-fat/

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