Why Do My Nipples Hurt

Your breasts and nipples will also swell. They may leak fluid as you get closer to delivery.

Why Do My Nipples Hurt?

Nipples are sensitive, and they can hurt for lots of reasons. Tight clothes, rashes, and infections can all irritate the tender skin. For women, sore nipples are common during periods, pregnancy, and breastfeeding.

Any pain in your nipples can make you wonder if you have breast cancer. It’s rare for it to be the main symptom of the disease, but you should still see your doctor to have nipple pain checked out if it doesn’t go away.

Here are some of the most common causes of nipple soreness and how to treat them.

Poorly Fitting Clothes

A loose shirt or bra can rub against your nipples and irritate your skin, especially with repeated motion like long-distance running. Too much friction could make your nipples bleed.

Avoid this problem by wearing tops and bras that fit you well. Before you run, cover your nipples with waterproof bandages or nipple guards to protect them.

When chafing causes soreness, apply an antibiotic ointment. Then cover the nipple with sterile gauze.

Skin Conditions

Soreness plus an itchy rash and swelling around your nipple could be signs of skin irritation called dermatitis. Allergies and irritants in your environment cause this common condition.

Eczema, also called atopic dermatitis, happens because of dry skin, genetics, and problems with the immune system.
Contact dermatitis starts when something touches your skin and irritates it, like a chemical in perfume, soap, or jewelry.

Treating eczema will ease any soreness it causes. Your doctor might give you:

Steroid creams
Creams or lotions that calm your immune system
Light therapy (phototherapy)

If your dermatitis is caused by an allergy or irritant, your doctor may suggest antihistamine pills, moisturizer, and a corticosteroid cream for your skin. An oatmeal bath can ease soreness, too.

Call your doctor if your symptoms don’t get better in a couple of weeks or if they get worse. Also call if you have these signs of an infection in your nipple:

Fever
Pus
Severe pain
Redness that doesn’t get better

Menstrual Periods

Sore nipples and breasts can be signs that your period is coming. Rising estrogen levels cause breast tissue to swell. The pain should stop once you get your period or shortly afterward.

Pregnancy

Hormone changes also cause nipple tenderness during pregnancy. But the main signs that you’re pregnant include:

Missed periods
Nausea and vomiting
Feeling tired
Peeing more often than usual

Your breasts and nipples will also swell. They may leak fluid as you get closer to delivery.

Choose a maternity bra that fits well. If your breasts really hurt, ask your doctor which pain relievers are safe for you to take during pregnancy.

Breastfeeding

As your baby latches onto your breast, you may feel a short burst of pain in your nipple. The pain should stop after a few seconds.

If your baby doesn’t latch on correctly, the pain could last through the whole feeding. It might feel like a sharp pinch. Your nipples can also crack and bleed.

Your symptoms should get better as your baby gets the hang of feeding. But there are a few ways you can ease soreness:

Gently squeeze out a few drops of milk and rub them over your nipples to soften them before you nurse.
Put a balm or ointment, such as lanolin, on your nipples.
Let your nipples air dry after each feeding. Change your breast pads often to keep them dry.
Wear a comfortable cotton nursing bra. Make sure it fits well so it doesn’t rub against your nipples.
Try different feeding positions until you find one that’s comfortable.

If you’re having trouble getting a good, non-painful latch, your doctor or a lactation consultant can help you and your baby make some adjustments to make you more comfortable.

Infections

Intense pain in your nipple could be a sign of an infection.

Mastitis is an infection of the milk ducts. It happens when bacteria grow inside blocked ducts. It’s most common during breastfeeding, but women can get it during other times of life. Men can sometimes have mastitis, too.

Other symptoms are:

A fever of 101 F or higher
Chills
Redness or red streaks on the breast
Warmth or burning in the breast
Swollen breasts

You’ll need antibiotics to treat the infection. Make sure to take the whole dose your doctor prescribes, even if you start to feel better.

Thrush is a yeast infection of the breast and nipple that can happen when you’re breastfeeding, especially if you have cracks in your nipple. You can also get it after you’ve taken antibiotics.

Pain from thrush feels like a stabbing, shooting, or burning in your nipples. You might also see:

Redness on your nipples or breast
Dry or flaky skin around the nipple

Your baby can catch thrush while breastfeeding, or they can pass it to you. It can look like a white coating on their tongue and cheeks.

Breast Cancer

Any pain in your breast could make you worry about breast cancer. Although nipple pain can be a sign of the condition, it’s rarely the main symptom. You’re much more likely to have a painless lump in your breast.

A nipple that turns inward
Redness or scaling of the skin over the breast or nipple
Discharge from the nipple that isn’t breast milk
Swollen lymph nodes under your arm

Call your doctor if you notice any changes like these in your breasts. Men should stay alert too, because they can also get breast cancer.

Surgery
Chemotherapy drugs
Radiation
Hormone therapy
Targeted therapy
Immunotherapy

Paget’s Disease

The odds of nipple pain being Paget’s disease are very low. This rare cancer affects only 1% to 4% of people with breast cancer.

Paget’s usually affects only one breast. It looks a lot like dermatitis, with red, flaky, and itchy skin around the nipple. It may also cause symptoms like:

A flat or turned-in nipple
Yellow or bloody discharge from the nipple
A lump in the breast
Thickened skin over the breast

See your doctor for symptoms like these. Men can get Paget’s too, and they should also ask the doctor about nipple changes.

Doctors treat this cancer with surgery to remove the nipple and the colored area around it, called the areola, along with part or all of the breast. Radiation or chemotherapy afterward kills any cancer cells that are left behind.

Show Sources

American Academy of Dermatology: “What is eczema?” “Contact dermatitis.”

American Cancer Society: “Breast Cancer Signs and Symptoms.”

Australian Breastfeeding Association: “Sore/cracked nipples.”

Breast Cancer Care: “Breast changes during and after pregnancy.”

Cancer.Net: “Breast Cancer: Treatment Options.”

CDC: “How Is Breast Cancer Treated?”

Cleveland Clinic: “Thrush.”

KidsHealth: “Breastfeeding FAQs: Pain and Discomfort.”

Mayo Clinic: “Contact dermatitis: Symptoms & causes,” “Dermatitis: Diagnosis & treatment,” “Dermatitis: Symptoms & Causes,” “Mastitis: Diagnosis & treatment,” “Mastitis: Symptoms and Causes,” “Paget’s disease of the breast: Diagnosis & treatment,” “Paget’s disease of the breast: Symptoms & causes,” “Symptoms of pregnancy: What happens first.”

National Cancer Institute: “Paget Disease of the Breast.”

NHS: “Breastfeeding and thrush,” “Sore or cracked nipples when breastfeeding.”

Ochsner Clinic Foundation: “How to Avoid Nipple Chafing While Running.”

Susan G. Komen: “Warning Signs of Breast Cancer.”

The Royal Women’s Hospital: “Breast & nipple thrush.” “Breast soreness.”

UpToDate: “Common breastfeeding problems.”

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Why Do My Nipples Hurt? Causes, Treatment, When to see a Doctor

December 8, 2016

Have you been experiencing nipple tenderness? If such symptom is not an ordinary part of your menstrual cycle, you may be wondering what’s going on with your body.

Sore or tender nipples range from unpleasant to straight out painful. And even if your symptoms are on the milder side of the spectrum, they can be worrisome. Below are 10 of the most common causes of nipple tenderness and what you can do about it.

10 Causes of Nipple Pain and How to Remedy

1. Menstrual Cycles

Many women experience sore breasts or nipples during their menstrual cycle. This is because the fluctuation in hormones cause so many changes within the breasts: mammary glands swell, which may also make your breasts feel heavy and dense.

Home Remedy: While the feelings will subside within a couple of days, there are several things you can do to reduce discomfort: limit caffeine, sodium, and alcohol intake and consume nutrient-dense foods, such as spinach, avocados, bananas, and carrots. Wearing a sports bra also provides better support than wearing a regular bra, which helps with the feeling of heaviness.

Check out this diagram from BBC on what your body is doing in your menstrual cycle.

BBC- Hormones in the menstrual cycle

2. Pregnancy

When you become pregnant, your hormones tend to go a little crazy, and the breast tissue is very sensitive to hormones. This is why pregnancy tends to make your breasts and nipples feel fuller and more tender. At around eight weeks of pregnancy, the areolas become bigger, darker, and more sensitive.

Breast tenderness is one of the most common symptoms of pregnancy. In fact, it’s one of the first signs a woman notices right before finding out she’s expecting a baby. This is due to hormones called estrogen and progesterone.

Estrogen helps prime milk-making ducts for breastfeeding, while progesterone forms a thick lining around the uterus and also stimulates the growth of breast tissue. Therefore, tenderness and soreness come with the territory.

That being said, there are certain things you can do to alleviate the discomfort.

How to Treat:

To minimize the pain, try these tips:

You may want to invest in a soft pregnancy bra.
Drink plenty of water to flush your body of excess fluids and hormones.
Apply a warm compress. The heat from the compress can ease the discomfort of the affected area.
You can massage your sore nipples with olive oil, coconut oil or sweet almond oil. This can help moisturize your nipples and keep them from becoming too dry.
You can also wrap an ice cube in a cloth and massage that over your sore nipples as well.

3. Sensitive Nipples Breastfeeding

If you are breastfeeding, that is most likely the reason you have sore nipples. Sore nipples do not always occur during breastfeeding, but it is most likely to happen when the baby does not latch on properly.

How to Treat: There are several things you can do to help reduce the pain. Start feeding your baby on the side that is not as sore. When you are done breastfeeding, use your small finger to break the suction of your baby’s month instead of just pulling him back.

4. Mastitis

Mastitis is the medical term for inflammation of the breast tissue due to blocked milk ducts, and it’s common in breastfeeding mothers. The symptoms include tenderness, swelling, and a burning sensation when lactating. The skin may also feel warm to the touch, become bright red, and you may also develop a fever.

How to Treat: To prevent flare-ups, make sure your baby drinks all the milk in one breast before switching him or her to the other one. This will allow the ducts to become fully drained. Also make sure to wear a comfortable bra, since wearing one that’s too tight will aggravate the condition.

A warm damp washcloth applied to the nipple and ibuprofen can help soothe the pain. However, you should see a healthcare provider if the symptoms do not improve in 24 hours.

5. Friction

If you like to work out, you are fully aware that even when you go out there with the best of intentions, friction can cause certain areas of your body to become tender.

How to Treat: If you’re a runner, invest in anti-chafe sports bras and on and sticks and creams to prevent this issue. If you run out of Body Glide or Gold Bond but have a baby around the house, know that using anti-diaper rash ointment works as well.

6. Allergic Reaction

There are several factors that could contribute to allergic reactions on your chest: If you have larger breasts and live in a humid or warm environment, they may be prone to heat rash. This happens when the sweat glands under your girls become blocked.

Other types of rashes in this sensitive area include eczema or psoriasis, both of which cause redness, itching, and a rough texture.

How to Treat: They can be caused by genetics, stress, infection, or vitamin deficiency and can be treated with topical ointments and moisturizers. Also use mild soaps, since these tend to strip away less natural oils from your skin.

7. Infection

Sore nipples could also be a sign of infection. Infections can be caused from breastfeeding, and can also be the result of a weak immune system. Contact your doctor if you are curious about potential breast infections, symptoms or remedies.

8. Fibrocystic Breast Disease

Fibrocystic breast disease is a condition that causes non-cancerous lumps to form on breasts. Their texture is very similar to a rope. While some women don’t experience any symptoms, others experience heightened breast tenderness when they’re premenstrual.

How to Treat: There are several ways to eliminate the pain and discomfort, such as heating pads, taking oral contraceptives, over the counter pain relievers, or by having your doctor drain the liquid from the lumps.

9. Breast Cancer

Ok. We’re starting this section to state that just because you read on the internet that a symptom may be a sign of breast cancer, it doesn’t necessarily mean that you have breast cancer. That being said, if the tenderness and soreness are accompanied by pain, and you’ve noticed lumps in your breasts, it’s essential to seek medical assistance as soon as possible.

To keep your peace of mind, make sure to schedule annual mammograms. After all, early detection is crucial to beat breast cancer if you do have it.

10. Puberty

Being a preteen comes with a long list of new experiences. In addition to dealing with peer pressure, getting periods for the first time, and body image, there’s also all the related physical changes. And when breasts first start to develop, even before a girl notices any changes, she can feel soreness and tenderness around her nipples. It’s also common to feel small lumps around the area as well. These are called breast buds and are perfectly normal during puberty.

How to Treat: If the tenderness and soreness are too uncomfortable, the girl can hold a heating pad on her chest while at home, and wear a sports bra and soft fabrics when at school.

Contact OB-GYN Women’s Centre in Lakewood for Nipple Pain Treatment

At OB-GYN Women’s Centre, we are dedicated to providing comprehensive gynecological services for all women. From puberty to menopause, we are there for you! Call us at (941) 907-3008 and find out how one of our experienced healthcare professionals can help you.

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