Why do the nipples hurt?
Last reviewed: 19.11.2021
All iLive content is medically reviewed or fact checked to ensure as much factual accuracy as possible.
We have strict sourcing guidelines and only link to reputable media sites, academic research institutions and, whenever possible, medically peer reviewed studies. Note that the numbers in parentheses ([1], [2], etc.) are clickable links to these studies.
If you feel that any of our content is inaccurate, out-of-date, or otherwise questionable, please select it and press Ctrl + Enter.
We somehow got used to the fact that the breast is an attribute of a woman and sometimes we are surprised if some problems with it arise in the representatives of the strong half of humanity. In this article, let's try to understand: why do the nipples hurt? What causes this symptomatology can occur in men, what are they in women?
Why do women have nipples?
According to statistics, most representatives of the beautiful half of humanity are dissatisfied with the size and shape of their breasts, but this fact fades into the background when problems arise in this area of the body.
To understand how to most effectively quit the discomfort, you should know the reasons why nipples hurt women? The answer to this question can be of a household, physiological, and pathological nature.
- Such discomfort can cause an incorrectly selected bra. After all, it's no secret that primarily a woman chooses underwear by her eyes and not always comes to assessing its comfort and safety.
- The cause of the pain can be an ordinary toilet soap, which we use several times a day. On the shelves of modern shops this product of cosmetology is represented by such a wide choice that it is simply that "the eyes are scattered", and the choice presents a difficulty. In this case, not always this cosmetic product meets the necessary requirements of use and safety. After all, the fragrance and good foaming is not all. The chemical compounds entering into its composition can cause an allergic reaction on the skin: burning, irritation, redness, pain.
- Skin problems. If it is prone to dryness, improper care for it or a complete lack of hygienic care can lead to drying out and the appearance of microcracks on the dermis and nipples.
- Provoke a painful sensation and interrupted sexual intercourse. Many respondents consider this a myth, but it only reassures that discomfortable symptoms will not last long.
- Low quality bathroom accessories. It can be a stiff washcloth or a towel.
- Not properly selected cosmetics for skin care. Allergic reaction to shower gel, cream and so on.
- Continuous contact with poor-quality water: an open reservoir, chlorinated pool water.
- The cause of pain can be a microtrauma. It can even lead to a poorly successful and somewhat more intense scratching of the skin area near the nipple.
- Injury. Even a minor blow can in time manifest itself in the form of pain symptoms and its attendant factors.
- Wrong feeding technique. After all, the kid, after he ate, can and just play with the nipple, which causes the young mother discomfort, and in the chest appears soreness. Therefore, you should know when the chest needs to be taken away from the baby.
- Strong compression of the chest, pressure. This is akin to trauma. The pain may not appear immediately, but even after a few days, when the woman has already forgotten about the incident.
- The body loves purity. If it is not washed, or on a clean chest, to wear long-worn laundry, then this kind of sloppiness can cause the symptomatology considered in this article.
- For some reason, the skin of the nipple has coarsened, and since the skin on it has increased sensitivity, the response of the organism also does not linger.
- Sunburn "topless" is so fashionable among modern girls. Solarium.
- Taking antidepressants and some other groups of drugs.
- Prolonged use of hormonal contraceptives.
But the reason for this symptomatology may be the problem associated with human physiology:
- Clothes not according to weather can lead to catarrhal manifestations.
- Nervous exhaustion, frequent stressful conditions.
- Lack of vitamins and minerals in the body. Avitaminosis can be compensated by adjusting the diet or the passed course of vitamin-mineral complex intake.
- Individual hypersensitivity of nipples.
- Meteopathy - the body's response to a sharp change of weather.
- The process of breast growth in young girls.
Provoke soreness is also capable of pathological changes taking place in the human body:
- Mastitis is an inflammation of the mammary gland with the formation of pus in the ducts. Especially the pain intensifies if the young mother during this period still feeds the baby with the breast.
- Cyst or polycystosis. Development of neoplasm of any kind and quality (benign and malignant tumors).
- Vascular spasm.
- The consequence of surgical treatment, which was carried out in the field of secondary sexual characteristics of women.
- Psoriasis is a noninfectious disease that affects the skin of a person - scaly lichen.
- Fungal skin lesions.
- Period of ovulation, cyclic mastodonia (symptom of premenstrual syndrome).
- Period of pregnancy.
- Lactation - too high a rate of production of breastmilk.
- Lactostasis - stagnation of breast milk.
- The increase in the level of hormones prolactin and progesterone in the blood.
- The appearance of stagnant phenomena in the chest area.
- Non-cyclic mastalgia, which develops as a result of a malfunction in the normal functioning of the kidneys, pituitary gland, adrenal gland, thyroid gland.
- Inflammation of any genesis, localized in the chest.
- Intercostal neuralgia.
- Pathological changes affecting the central nervous system.
- Reflex pain.
- Diabetes.
If a woman begins to feel uncomfortable, it is first worth revising one's lifestyle, clothes, diet and cosmetics, perhaps changing a minor detail to make the pain disappear. But pain can also be accompanied by other symptoms. For example:
- Discharge from the nipple. Especially should be alerted and forced to seek help from a doctor purulent, bloody - sutural secretions.
- Appearance of puffiness, burning sensation, hyperemia.
- Visually observed changes that affect the shape of the breast, a color shade of the areola.
- Violation of the integrity of the skin: ulcers, erosion, cracks, abrasions and so on.
- The appearance of a hematoma.
- The constant nature of the pain, the exciting and axillary region. The intensity of the pain syndrome is increasing.
The appearance of these factors combined with the uncomfortable sensations experienced by a woman should force her to make an appointment for a consultation with a specialist: a gynecologist or mammologist.
Why do the nipples hurt?
In some cases, a woman begins to feel quite a noticeable pain in the area of areola. Why do the nipples hurt? The reason can be different.
At the onset of pregnancy, the body of the future mother is rebuilt to a new status, which requires changes in the hormonal sphere of the woman. It is in the early period after conception that a pregnant woman may be disturbed by severe chest pains.
Provoke an intensive pain syndrome is capable of tumor formations that are localized in the chest zone.
Pain can also occur under the influence of an external stimulus, for example, feeding a baby with a breast in which the teeth are climbing.
To cause acute pain can infectious lesions of milk ducts or other tissues. After all, an inflammatory process that occurs with the presence of a pathogenic microflora or a virus, can cause suppuration and the formation of an abscess.
In any case, it will not be superfluous to appear to a qualified specialist, who will help to solve the problem effectively.
Why do my nipples and stomach ache?
Quite rarely, pathological symptoms are manifested alone, usually it is accompanied by a number of other pathological manifestations. It is their combination and allows the doctor to guess the cause and narrow the focus of the diagnostic study. Why do my nipples and stomach ache? This combination is most often found in two cases: during pregnancy and in premenstrual syndrome.
During pregnancy, if such a combination is seen in later terms, the pain in the lower abdomen may indicate the preparation of the organism of the future mother for childbirth, and discomfort in the breast to prepare the mammary glands for the process of feeding the newborn. This combination is quite natural and justified by the physiological processes taking place in the female body.
Pain in the abdomen and nipples in the early stages of pregnancy can be caused by several other reasons. Discomfort in the chest, as we have already said, is associated with hormonal changes in the body, while the pulling pain in the lower abdomen is due to the growth of the fetus and the need to stretch the tissues of the uterus, which can be partially stopped by wearing a bandage or lying down.
This combination of the two symptoms can appear in non-pregnant women, mainly already in women giving birth. Mostly in those who have passed through cesarean section.
But the pathology can provoke a similar symptomatology. For example, ectopic pregnancy.
Why do nipples hurt during pregnancy?
We have already partially answered the question of why nipples hurt during pregnancy. But it will not be superfluous to voice it again and to disassemble the situation in more detail.
- During pregnancy, a woman's body is prepared not only for obstetric care, but also for lactation. After all, after the appearance of the baby, only the mother's milk is so balanced that it gives the newborn the entire set of substances, so necessary for it to fully develop and grow. It is this fact that forces the female hormonal background to rebuild. During this period, the size of the breast increases and often the invading nerve fibers just do not keep up with this growth, which causes pain.
- In the first weeks after conception, Montgomery's tubercles may appear in the areola of the nipple. Their inflammation and can cause increased soreness of the chest. In this situation, you should inform the obstetrician - the gynecologist who is leading the pregnancy, and in no case to engage in self-medication.
- Against the background of the ongoing pregnancy, from the papillary courses there may be a discharge. They are often associated with the frequent use of soap, which has an increased alkalinity index of ph, which dries the skin excessively, causing microcracks. Isolation is just a natural lubrication of the body. If they are transparent, then this can be attributed to the norm, whereas changing the shade and / or the appearance of an unpleasant odor may indicate the course of the pathological process, the coping of which requires immediate medical attention.
- In the process of preparing for feeding, the female breast increases in volume and if the future mother does not take care of a new bra - this can cause painful nipples.
Why do the nipples hurt and swell?
If a woman first encounters, with any deviation from the normal state, this picture can be alarming. If there is a problem and doubt, then it is correct to ask for an explanation to a specialist. Some representatives of the weaker half experience discomfort in the state of the body, when the nipples of the breast swell and become painful. So why are the nipples sore and swollen? Is it a variant of the physiological norm or a sign of the disease?
An unambiguous answer to this question can not be given, because to find out the reason, it is necessary to seek help from a doctor, as several factors can provoke such a reaction of the body:
- Pregnancy due to the restructuring of the body.
- On the last stages of pregnancy - the preparation of the mammary glands for the period of lactation.
- This may be one of the tandem symptoms of premenstrual syndrome.
- Such a discomfort can also be caused by a disease, for example, dyshormonal mastopathy, mastitis, gynecomastia, oncology.
- This reaction can cause a cold. As they say in the people - "somewhere blown".
- The period of puberty or the approach of menopause, when the hormonal background remains unstable. It should be remembered that this fact is not only the prerogative of women. Rarely, but there are cases of diagnosing similar symptoms in men.
- Low-quality and not comfortable clothes. Clothes, especially underwear should be worn only in size, while choosing models that are ideally suited to a particular shape, especially for a bra. The fabric of the laundry must be made of natural materials. In this case, you can reduce the risk of allergic reaction to the material.
- Swelling of the nipples and the appearance of minor soreness occurs also at the moment of sexual intimacy, which is absolutely normal and physiologically explainable.
Why do my nipples hurt before menstruation?
In medical circles, the situation when before the onset of menstruation women begin to feel soreness in the nipples, is called mastodinia. Answering the question why nipples hurt before menstruation, we can say that the source of this clinical picture, in this case is the hormone progesterone. On the eve of monthly, the level of this hormone increases, which accounts for the second phase of the cycle. During this period, the sensitivity of the nipple increases, which leads to his temporary soreness.
Such discomfort delivers a lot of unpleasant minutes for a woman, but this is a variant of the norm and can be explained physiologically. Therefore, it is worthwhile to endure, will pass monthly and the condition will be normalized.
Why do my nipples hurt after menstruation?
The menstruation has passed, and the painful sensation in the nipples is gone. Why do my nipples hurt after menstruation? There are many reasons for this. It can be:
- Hormonal failure in the body.
- Presence in the anamnesis of a woman of anatomical pathology or a disease that can affect the level of hormones in the blood or directly to the work of the breast and breast as a whole.
- Lack of sexual relations.
- Indiscriminateness in connections, pulling a high risk of contracting a sexually transmitted disease, which is transmitted sexually.
- Perhaps in this cycle there was conception.
- Mastopathy. A fairly common disease.
- Presence of cystic formations, a tumor of both benign and malignant nature.
It is worth analyzing your lifestyle, and if necessary, seek the help of a qualified specialist.
Why do my nipples hurt before my period?
In one of the subsections outlined above in this article, we already answered the question of why the nipples hurt before the menstrual period. "But repetition is the mother of teaching!" Therefore, it is not superfluous to recall that in most cases this discomfort symptomatology is physiologically justified. Monthly, pain will stop.
But one should not yet dismiss the emerging symptoms, it is not superfluous to analyze the frequency and phase nature of their appearances, the attendant factors. Perhaps - this is not a simple discomfort, but a manifestation of a disease. If a person has even the slightest doubt about the natural nature of the symptomatology, it is worthwhile, "without delay," to come to see a doctor.
It is better if it is a false alarm, than to miss the early stage of development of any disease.
Why do teenage nipples hurt?
The phrase "pain in the nipples" in most people is associated with the female breast, but there are cases when this problem affects even children of transitional age. Let's try to understand why the nipples hurt a teenager? What sources can cause such discomfort?
The causes of soreness can be as follows:
- The period of puberty, both in girls and boys. Most of the pain appears when touched. Temporary discomfort.
- Infection of the wound. Abscess, other purulent processes.
- Injury: cut, bruise, stroke.
- Allergic reaction to any external or internal stimulus: taking medicines, contacting the animal if the child has an allergy to the coat.
- Gynecomastia is a pathology, the source of which is a malfunction in the endocrine system, accompanied by augmentation of the breast. The disease can be true and false. True - is caused by hormonal imbalance, false, mainly, is the accumulation of adipose tissue in the chest area against obesity.
- Violation of the adrenal gland or kidney.
- The consequence of surgical treatment.
- Disease affecting the pituitary gland.
- Pathological lesion of testicles (in boys) or ovaries (in a girl).
- Malignant tumor of the breast. Rare, but very dangerous disease.
- Stopping the use of anabolic steroids. These chemical compounds, in the vast majority - substances, testosterone analogs. Their effect makes it possible to activate anabolic processes in the body. These compounds catalyze the formation and renewal of structural sections of cells, muscles and tissue structures. At the same time, against the background of taking artificial testosterone, the production of natural testosterone is suppressed.
- Diabetes. How unfortunate it sounds, but this disease is "rejuvenated" and occurs in children of different ages.
Why does the left nipple hurt?
Nipples belong to the most sensitive areas of the human body. That is why even a small impact can cause pleasant sensations or, on the contrary, discomfort, pain. The nipples are a paired organ, but it does not mean that if the pain appeared on one side, it must necessarily appear on the other. So why does the left nipple hurt?
The reasons for this discomfort can be several:
- This may be a consequence of a bruise or stroke, a violation of the integrity of the skin in the nipple area.
- Nerve damage.
- Disease affecting the mammary gland, ducts and adjacent tissues.
- Neoplasm of both benign and malignant nature, localized in the left side of the breast.
- Gynecomastia. More often it affects both breasts, but it also happens to be one-sided.
- The consequence of surgical intervention.
Why does the right nipple hurt?
Similar causes can cause pain in the right half of the chest. Therefore, the question of why the right nipple hurts? The answer is already known.
Causes of pain in the right nipple:
- Injury.
- Inflammatory process in the right breast.
- Damage to nerve endings.
- Disease affecting the mammary gland, ducts and adjacent tissues. For example, mastopathy.
- A tumor localized on the right side of the chest. Can have both benign and malignant character.
- Gynecomastia of the right breast.
- The consequence of surgical intervention.
Why do the nipples hurt and itch?
A number of people experience painful itching in the chest area, the cause of this and the attendant itching factors may be different. So why are the nipples hurt and scratched and how dangerous is it to the human body?
Causes of itching and subsequent pain:
- Incorrect breast hygiene, the use of highly alkaline toilet soap, which dries the skin, leading to cracks. Dryness and exfoliation of the dead skin areas leads to the desire to scratch, and small cracks cause pain. Such a situation, if not taken, can have an unpleasant continuation. The ranks can be infected. Further development of the situation: edema, hyperemia, suppuration, abscess. And this will lead to increased itching and pain intensity.
- Substandard bed linen. Allergic reaction to the material.
- Wrong choice of clothes: size, model and material. Everything should be just right and made of natural fabrics.
- Proper body hygiene.
- Use of quality cosmetics. Possible allergy to cosmetics: shower gel, body cream and so on.
- A stiff washcloth or towel can irritate sensitive breast tissue.
- Possible cause of such symptoms may be food, or rather an allergic reaction to a product.
- Regularly change and wash clothes. Not the first freshness, it can irritate the skin, leading to the desire to scratch.
- Perhaps the catalyst for the problem is one of the diseases. It can be:
- Atopic dermatitis.
- Thrush.
- Eczema.
- And others.
- Premenstrual period in women.
- Pregnancy.
By themselves, these symptoms are not dangerous, but may indicate the presence in a person's history of a hidden pathology. Therefore, inspection, examination and consultation of a specialist will not be superfluous.
Why do my nipples hurt after ovulation?
Ovulation - the release of the egg from the ovary into the abdominal cavity as a result of rupture of the mature follicle. Some girls and women in the period of supposed ovulation (approximately 12 to 14 days of the 28-day menstrual cycle) begin to feel discomfort in the nipple. The intensity of pain in different women can be different. Let's try to understand the reasons for this, and answer the question, why do the nipples hurt after ovulation?
Such symptomatology is explained by fluctuations of the hormonal profile during one menstrual cycle. This is a normal physiological process, but it is he who becomes the cause, considered in this article, manifestations.
Like all tissues of the internal organs, the cellular structure of the mammary glands, under the influence of female sex hormones (estrogens) and progesterone, undergo changes within a single cycle. The duration of such a cycle is on average 28 days (but this indicator is individual and can vary). The highest level of estrogen in the first half of the cycle. It is he who "prepares" the ovum for ovulation.
The hormone progesterone also helps the already impregnated cell to penetrate the mucous membrane of the uterus. During the passage of this phase of the natural process, there is no complete stretching of the tissues, this provokes the squeezing of the blood vessels and nerve endings, which causes a painful sensation.
Gynecologists believe that the appearance of pain in this phase of the menstrual cycle, in most cases, can indicate that ovulation has occurred.
Why do the nipples hurt in the middle of the cycle?
As observations show, some soreness of this part of the breast can appear in the middle of the menstrual cycle (that is, several days before and after the 14th day of the 28th and the menstrual cycle). Why do the nipples hurt in the middle of the cycle? This has already been said in the previous subsection. It is for this period that ovulation occurs. It is during these several days, if you take a blood test, there is a maximum content of estrogens and progesterone that prepare the egg for ovulation and after fertilization is "placed" in the uterine mucosa. This is a normal, physiologically sound process.
Couples who plan to conceive a child should remember that if a woman has this painful sensation in the nipples, the likelihood that the conception has occurred is great. During this period, additional effects on them should be avoided: affection and stimulation. Such rashness in actions can cause contractile activity of the uterus, which can provoke the rejection of the egg that was not well established there, and, consequently, the pregnancy will fail.
But one should not dismiss other causes of this symptomatology, which have been repeatedly voiced above, and the time interval from the maximum manifestation can be explained both by chance and by binding to fluctuations in the hormonal status.
Why do the nipples hurt men?
This problem was not avoided by the male half of humanity. But the causes of pathological manifestations are different from the female ones, although a number of them, concerning everyday and a number of physiological factors, are common to them. So why are the nipples hurt in men? Let's try to understand.
- The first, and most often manifested factor, which catalyzes the discomfort state - the period of male puberty.
- The second place is given to the violation of the hormonal background, related both to the restructuring of the organism (puberty, the onset of male menopause), and with more serious problems. If there is a failure and the body has reduced the volume or stopped producing male hormone (testosterone), a balance disorder occurs and in the blood of a representative of a strong state, female hormones (estrogens) begin to predominate. This pathology - gynecomastia - provokes an increase in the size of the mammary glands and an increase in the sensitivity of the nipples. Such a disease is extremely rarely diagnosed in adulthood, mostly gynecomastia develops during adolescence during puberty.
- As similar symptomatology can cause hormonal drugs based on female hormones, which had to be drunk to a person to stop another pathology.
- To lead to such symptoms is overweight, obesity, causing false gynecomastia - the accumulation of excess fat cells in the zone of interest to us.
- Disease of testicles, adrenals, pituitary gland.
- Endocrine pathology.
- Neoplasms, both benign and malignant.
In order to determine the exact cause, you should seek the help of a specialist. It is very important to make this step as quickly as possible.
A beautiful female breast is the pride of any woman. It attracts the views of men, it is she who brought up all of humanity. But the attitude changes when this attribute of femininity begins to bring discomfort. Pain, burning, itching - where to get away from it? But in order not to hurt yourself, any person will not need to know why the nipples hurt, in which case the situation should be let go of it, and when it is necessary to sound an alarm, immediately contact a qualified specialist. In any case, self-medication should not be dealt with!
Who to contact?