This reaction is called contact dermatitis. When it comes to itchy nipples, it's usually caused by something that comes in direct contact with the nipple, like a nipple cream. But other products you use may also cause nipple itching, like your detergent, body lotion, or fabric softener.
Reactions to skin irritants like detergents, soaps, perfume or lotions are a common cause of nipple soreness or itching skin. If the pain is accompanied by blisters, scaly patches or redness on your nipple area, it could be a skin condition called dermatitis.
Lots of things can make your nipples itchy. They're sensitive in general. They also stick out, and they can get irritated from friction, eczema, breastfeeding, or pregnancy. Rarely, itchy nipples can be a sign of a more serious condition.
In most cases, itchy nipples are caused by hormonal shifts, breastfeeding, or exposure to an irritant or allergen. Sometimes itchy nipples can be traced to a skin condition like eczema or an inflammatory condition like mastitis. In rare instances, itchy nipples could be a symptom of breast cancer.
The weather is dry
The dry weather deprives the skin of essential oils, hamper the outer skin layer, and lead to dehydration and inflammation. If dryness is the cause of itchy nipples, then your nipples may look chafed or raw.
It appears as a red, scaly rash on the skin of the nipple and areola. The affected skin is often sore and inflamed, and it can be itchy or cause a burning sensation. The nipple can sometimes be ulcerated. The rash is often similar in appearance to other skin conditions, such as eczema or psoriasis.
Mammary Paget's disease exhibits a gradual onset that evolves over months to years and usually affects the breast unilaterally. The disease starts from the nipple area and gradually extends to the areola and to the surrounding skin in more advanced cases.
“Some women experience itchy nipples due to a hormonal influx of estrogen prior to their periods,” explains Thaïs Aliabadi, MD, an ob-gyn and co-founder of Trimly. “The breasts are very sensitive to estrogen levels, which can lead some women to have itchy nipples when they have PMS.”
Changing hormone levels can leave your skin more sensitive, so you might feel itchier than usual as your period approaches and begins — even if you don't change anything about your usual routine.
Shortly after ovulation, estrogen levels drop, and progesterone levels rise. In some people, these shifts in progesterone may trigger breast pain or sore nipples. If a person becomes pregnant, progesterone levels will continue to rise. This causes breast tissue changes that can make the nipples or breasts sore.
The breasts are quite responsive to estrogen levels because breast tissue has many estrogen-receptor sites. During menopause, the level of these hormones begins to change, and this can have an impact throughout the body—as well as in the breasts—causing breast tenderness, discomfort, and even itchiness.
Beginning in early pregnancy, as your breasts grow, the sensitive skin in this area stretches, which can trigger persistently itchy nipples and breasts. Changing hormones and increased blood flow to this area may also contribute to the nipple and breast itch.
Paget's disease most often affects older people, occurring in approximately 2 to 3% of the population over the age of 55.
The most important one for diagnosing Paget's disease is a blood test for alkaline phosphatase, an enzyme made by bone. If the level of this enzyme is high, your doctor will want to do other tests. You might also need other tests, such as an MRI or a CT scan.
a mammogram. an ultrasound scan, which is the first line of investigation used in younger women, and those who are pregnant or lactating. a skin biopsy will be carried out if Paget's disease is suspected (a punch biopsy of the skin of the nipple and/or areola)
Three phases of Paget disease have been described: lytic, mixed lytic and blastic, and sclerotic. In an individual patient, different skeletal lesions may progress at different rates. Thus, at any one time, multiple stages of the disease may be demonstrated in different skeletal regions.
Scientists suspect a combination of environmental and genetic factors contribute to the disease. Several genes appear to be linked to getting the disease. Some scientists believe Paget's disease of bone is related to a viral infection in your bone cells, but this theory is controversial.
See your health care provider or a skin disease specialist (dermatologist) if the itching: Lasts more than two weeks and doesn't improve with self-care measures. Is severe and distracts you from your daily routines or prevents you from sleeping. Comes on suddenly and can't be easily explained.
A Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center study involving postmenopausal, overweight, and obese women who took 2,000 IUs of vitamin D daily for a year found that those whose vitamin D blood levels increased the most had the greatest reductions in blood estrogens, which are a known risk factor for breast cancer.
When estrogen is too high or too low you may get menstrual cycle changes, dry skin, hot flashes, trouble sleeping, night sweats, vaginal thinning and dryness, low sex drive, mood swings, weight gain, PMS, breast lumps, fatigue, depression and anxiety.
Perimenopause can begin in some women in their 30s, but most often it starts in women ages 40 to 44. It is marked by changes in menstrual flow and in the length of the cycle. There may be sudden surges in estrogen.