The female breasts are well supplied with sweat glands and ducts,
and any of the types of miliaria may affect the skin of the breast,
causing pain and discomfort.
The many milk ducts leading to the nipples of the female breasts
are formed at puberty and remain throughout life. These ducts
are modified sweat gland ducts, and are havards. About 24 to 48
hours after childbirth, under hormonal influence, a copious flow
of human milk is available when required at the nipple. In the
same manner as when there is a copious flow of sweat in sweat
ducts, sodium and chloride are actively removed from the milk
by the ducts. As a result the milk at the breast contains little
sodium and chloride.
However female breasts have some degree of fluid secretion from
milk glands at any time during adult life, and not just when lactating.
Milk output can be due to natural or prescribed hormones, to mechanical
stimulation of the nipple from fondling, or from clothing rubbing
during exercise. At this lower level of output, similar to the
insensible perspiration of sweat ducts, the milk is moving slowly
through the ducts and normally much less sodium and chloride is
being reabsorbed.
At this level of reabsorption, the proportion of sodium and chloride
in the breast milk is within the narrow range necessary for the
effectiveness of the anti-microbial peptide in the breast milk.
If, however, there is a little more stimulation to the milk production
the increase in speed of the milk in the duct causes more sodium
and chloride to be reabsorbed from the milk. If stimulation continues
over time then this excess reabsorption becomes fixed by adverse
habituation.
When the milk gland ducts are in a state of adverse habituation,
the anti-microbial peptides are no longer effective and microbes
can enter the ducts. The immune reaction to the presence of the
microbes then blocks the milk ducts. This has the effect of preventing
further entry of microbes, but as more milk is produced below
the blockage, the duct is ruptured and the milk exudes into the
surrounding area. This is a cause of breast pain, breast inflammation
and breast lumps.
Treatment and prevention is aimed at changing the adverse habituation
of the ducts to original habituation, so that the over reabsorption
of sodium and chloride does not occur, and the breast is protected
by effective anti-microbial peptide. We can signal to the body
the presence of sodium in the environment so that the excess reabsorption
is switched off.
This is done by ActivSignalTM Sodium, which can be
taken as tablets or pills. ActivSignalTM
medicines are not absorbed into the body, and so have no side
effects.
The first commercial ActivSignal product is now under development.
It has been noted that 90 per cent of breast cancers are found
located in the milk gland ducts.
