Chest - an extremely sensitive area of the female body, which, due to its features, requires increased attention. Women who monitor their health should regularly examine their breasts on their own and seek specialist help by finding any alarming symptoms and changes. So, having felt the pain in the nipples, it is necessary to analyze the possible causes of its occurrence and to understand whether to sound the alarm.
Pain in the nipple is most common in women during pregnancy and lactation and is usually a variant of the norm and is temporary. In nonpregnant women who have stopped lactation, such pain most often indicates the development of any pathology. For effective diagnosis, it is important to identify the patterns of their occurrence, which can help specialists determine the diagnosis:
- whether pain is associated with the menstrual cycle;
- what is the nature of the sensations. So, it is possible acute, aching, pulling and stitching pain in the nipple.
Pain in the nipples - causes
Causes of nipple pain can be divided into two groups: pregnancy and lactation, as already mentioned, and disease. Let us consider each of them in detail.
Pain in the nipples during pregnancy and lactation
Pain in the nipples during pregnancy is caused by changes that occur in the body of a woman after a fertilized egg is attached to the wall of the uterus. In the body, the level of the prolactin hormone increases, which provokes active growth of the tissues of the breast and milk ducts. Nerve endings that are in the chest, simply "do not have time" at such a rate and there is pain.
Pain in the nipples during feeding is often caused by mechanical damage, which is especially affected by tender skin at the very beginning of the lactation process. Over time, the skin adapts to new conditions and the pain goes away by itself. But sometimes the problem can be caused by a more serious cause - lactostasis or stagnant milk, which is accompanied by seals and pain in the nipple.
Pain in the nipples - possible diseases
If a woman is not pregnant, the cause of the pain in the nipples may be various diseases. For effective treatment, timely diagnosis is important, so you need to know the signs of possible pathologies.
1. Fibrous-cystic mastopathy is accompanied by:
- pain in the nipples before menstruation;
- seals of a different nature;
- pain and discharge of fluid when pressing the nipple.
2. Mastitis is an infectious-inflammatory disease of the breast, sometimes it is a consequence of lactostasis. Symptoms:
- redness around the nipple and sharp pain;
- swelling and deformity of the breast;
- an increase in body temperature, a general weakness and a painful condition.
3. Burning and pain in the nipples can also be provoked by various skin diseases:
- psoriasis - in this case the pain in the nipples can become one of the first symptoms. Refer to the dermatologist should you find on the chest red spots of irregular shape;
- eczema - non-infectious disease, which is accompanied by itching, burning, the appearance of soaking crusts;
- Candidiasis is a fungal disease that mainly affects the mucous membranes, but sometimes it can manifest itself in the chest region. In addition to pain in the nipples may be accompanied by the appearance of cracks and small bubbles;
- Herpes is a viral disease, the main feature of which is small bubbles filled with fluid that form in the nipple region.
4. Pain with a muscular origin - sometimes occurs with an uncomfortable posture during sleep and fibromyalgia. But in this case, the pain in the nipples when touched is only the result of "reflecting" the pain in the muscles.
It is noteworthy that the pain in the nipples can occur not only in women, but also in men. In this case, it can be a symptom of diabetes, gynecomastia and other serious endocrine disorders.