Boils on the nipple | Boils of the breast

Boils on the nipple

The appearance of a furuncle on the nipple is usually limited to the region around the areola. The areola is the hairless, slightly darker region surrounding the nipple. There are usually many hair follicles around the areola.

Since the boil only occurs on hair follicles, the hairy region around the areola is particularly at risk. This applies to both men and women. In men, breast hair is more pronounced, but women also have breast hair, even if it is hardly visible.

If a boil now occurs next to the nipple, the course and treatment options are usually identical to those for other areas of the skin. A boil cannot develop on the nipple itself, as it is not hairy. If an inflammation of the nipple occurs, this is probably related to a small wound and cannot be called a boil. This inflammation of the nipple can be caused by breastfeeding or piercing, for example. However, it is not related to the hair follicles.

Boils on the breast in men

Furuncles can also occur on the male breast. Shaving the chest hair is a major risk factor. If not sufficiently disinfected after shaving, bacteria get into the hair follicles and cause inflammation and furuncles.

With a thorough disinfection, the responsible bacteria are killed and the risk of furuncle is reduced. It could be assumed that men have an increased risk of developing a boil on the chest. The reason for this would be the increased chest hair, which is the point of attack for the bacteria.

However, the chest hair in men is not a new hair formation but a transformation of the existing hair. This means that small hairs are transformed into stronger hairs. For this reason, men and women have a similar number of hair follicles on the breast. Therefore the risk of the formation of a furuncle is similarly high.

How dangerous can a boil on the chest become?

A boil of the breast itself is usually not dangerous. At other body regions the occurrence of a furuncle is more dangerous. For example in the face, the wrong treatment of a boil can have devastating consequences.

In most cases, boils heal spontaneously and do not have any negative consequences for the person affected.However, the boil should still not be pressed on the chest, as the inflammation and spread of the infection can worsen. In addition, bacteria could enter the bloodstream and cause sepsis (blood poisoning). However, this case is very rare. It can therefore be said that there are no dangerous consequences to be feared with proper treatment.