When you think about the whole issue of having breast pain during your period, you have to consider a lot of things:

• Is it normal for breast to hurt during period?

Knowing what is normal and what is abnormal is important to establish if there’s a true medical problem or not.

• What type of pain in the breast is it?

Is it a sharp pain in the breast? Is it dull? Does it come and go in waves? All these answers will matter to the doctor.

• How long does breast tenderness last during period?

Is it only momentarily or does it last for days? If it lasts for days, the problem is greater than if it is momentary. However, even momentary pain in the breasts should be attended to.

• Is there a lump in the breast?

A lump in the breast can be a cyst or a mass of chemicals (such as from a leaky breast implant). It could also be an infection or a tumor. 

• Do you have a sore breast during your period or is it also occurring outside of your period?

If your breast hurts only during your period, this could be a sign that the issue is hormone related. If it occurs all during your period, then it can be a sign of inflammation that is widespread throughout the body or something more serious.

Really, the method of how to reduce breast pain during the period is dependent on the cause of the situation. If there is widespread inflammation in the body, there could be a magnesium or a vitamin D deficiency. This is best checked out via your doctor, or if your doctor won’t authorize either of these two blood tests, you can order them yourself at the Life Extension Foundation website, at www.lef.org in their lab tests section. They have doctors that can consult with you on the phone about the test results. 

Having a tender breast during your period is not something you should have. Ideally, you will have your period, never feel it coming on, never have any pain or PMS symptoms the whole time you are bleeding, and proceed with life as usual. That’s a healthy period. Having breast changes during your period is not normal.

6 Home Remedies for Breast Pain During Period 

To ease breast pain, try any of the following short term and long term solutions:

1. Assume there’s inflammation in the body.

Pain doesn’t exist without inflammation. A simple magnesium deficiency is a cause of widespread inflammation in the body. To relieve breast pain, start taking 400 mg magnesium daily at least a week before your period starts. Then continue once daily for two full cycles. This is generally enough magnesium to start replenishing the stores of it in your body. Foods high in magnesium are the dark leafy greens. An extra cup of these cooked foods daily may be what you need to get more magnesium daily.

2. Take vitamin D to boost your levels.

A vitamin D deficiency also causes widespread inflammation in your body. If your blood test shows you are less than optimal – around 65 mg/dl, then you need more. Taking 5000 IU vitamin D3 per day is helpful.

3. Rub pumpkin on your breasts.

Pumpkin is very anti-inflammatory. It will decrease the inflammation and then the pain will start to go away instantly. You can use a tablespoon of canned pumpkin for this purpose. Just rub it on your bare breasts. Then wait for the healing.

4. Use warm or cold compresses on your breasts.

If you have no idea why do your breasts hurt during your period, you can always use hot/warm and/or cold compresses on your breasts.  Make sure they aren’t too hot. Always put at least two towel layers on your breast first before laying down any compress or ice / hot pack on top of the skin on the breast first.

5. Take more B vitamins.

B vitamins such as vitamin B6 is a good way to prevent breast pain. Are you taking a B complex daily? This is more of a long-term strategy. Foods that are high in B vitamins are liver, nutritional yeast, and molasses.

6. Take a Period Vitamin.

A Period Vitamin will contain the B vitamins, magnesium and some vitamin D3 that you need daily during your period. You’ll have to check the label though as you may not have the exact right dose of these nutrients and need to make up the difference. 

A period vitamin is taken once daily. It’s easy to do and is a long-term strategy to alleviate breast pain.