Nipple pain
There are numerous causes for painful nipples. They can often be triggered by mechanical irritation of the nipple. The reason for such irritation can be items of clothing, especially the bra.
If this is the case, the bra should be changed and you should wait to see if the pain subsides. Both the fabric and the fit of a bra can cause irritation of the breast. Another cause of mechanical irritation of the nipple is breastfeeding the baby.
This is why breastfeeding mothers often suffer from itching, burning or painful nipples. Here, ointments that soothe the skin can often provide relief. Cooling the nipple is also usually good for such complaints.
Another cause of pain in the nipple area can be inflammation of the mammary glands. This disease is called mastitis. It occurs frequently in nursing mothers, but is also becoming increasingly common in non-nursing and non-pregnant women.
In most cases the breast is clearly reddened, overheated, swollen and painful under pressure in a limited area. In addition to cooling measures, antibiotics or drugs that inhibit the hormone prolactin, which causes increased milk flow, are used, depending on the cause. If an abscess has already formed during prolonged mastitis, small surgical procedures may be necessary.
Often phases of hormonal changes can also cause breast pain. Especially girls in puberty and women during and after pregnancy but also during menopause are affected. Diseases of the skin can also trigger chest pain.
In this case, however, there are usually additional skin changes and symptoms such as itching or burning. In this case, an appointment with a dermatologist can be useful. It should never be forgotten that breast cancer can manifest itself in a variety of symptoms.
Therefore, one-sided pain in the breast should not be taken lightly. Rather rarely, pain alone is an indication of breast cancer, and there are often other symptoms such as discharge from the nipple, palpable lumps, skin changes in the breast or swelling of the lymph nodes. However, this is not always the case. Therefore, if breast pain persists for more than a few days, a visit to the gynaecologist should always be considered. The gynaecologist can find out whether the pain is due to breast cancer or some other cause by means of a palpation and X-ray examination of the breast (mammography) and possibly further examinations such as blood tests.
Inverted nipple
A retraction of the nipple is called nipple retraction. It can occur on one or both sides and can be congenital or acquired. A harmless cause of nipple retraction is the image of the inverted nipple or inverted nipple.
Here the nipple of one or both breasts is drawn inwards. This usually develops to its full extent during the development of the breast during puberty. Inverted nipples are a purely cosmetic problem, many women with inverted nipples are bothered by the appearance of their breasts.
In addition, after a pregnancy, difficulties can arise during breastfeeding if the infant cannot grasp the nipple properly. There are both conservative and surgical options for treatment. Conservative methods include massage techniques or a nipple former.
In the field of cosmetic surgery, the nipples can be erected by means of minor surgical procedures. A second important cause of nipple retraction and thus an essential differential diagnosis to the nipple is breast cancer (breast carcinoma). In addition to a palpable lump in the breast, a retracted nipple can also be an indication of cancer.
Therefore, a one-sided retraction of the nipple which has not existed before should always be a warning to be more careful. Further possible symptoms of a breast cancer can be orange peel skin in the breast area, one-sided bloody secretion from the nipple and a permanently eczematous changed nipple. If such symptoms occur, a gynaecologist should be consulted as soon as possible. The gynaecologist can draw initial conclusions by inspection and palpation and, if necessary, narrow down the diagnosis by taking an X-ray of the breast (mammography). Even if it turns out to be a harmless finding in the end, healthy caution is never wrong with changes in the breast area.
