Indented nipples

After puberty, girls' nipples are protruding, and they will become bigger and rounder, and look very upright. However, some girls have sunken nipples, which not only makes them look very uncomfortable, but also affects their future lives. It is especially embarrassing to take off underwear when making love with their boyfriend, and it will also affect breastfeeding in the future. What's the matter with sunken nipples?

Although inverted nipples are invisible to outsiders, women feel uncomfortable when they admire themselves. More importantly, inverted nipples (retracted nipples) are themselves a type of breast deformity, and some are even external symptoms of malignant tumors in the breast.

Before puberty, women's breasts do not develop and their nipples are very small. After puberty, as hormone levels in the body change and menstruation comes, breasts begin to develop and nipples gradually grow larger and more prominent. Although the nipples of unmarried women and non-pregnant women are smaller, they all protrude above the areola plane. If they are partially or completely below the areola plane, or even concave inward and sunken under the skin, resulting in a local crater-like appearance, this is called inverted nipple (retracted nipple).

It should be pointed out that some young girls are shy about their breast development, so they wear tight underwear to tighten their chests, or wear bras that are too small too early. The developing breasts will be squeezed and become flat. At the same time, the blood circulation in the compressed breasts is poor and the nutrition supply is insufficient, which affects the normal development of the breasts. The nipples are also squeezed and sunken into the breasts, forming inverted nipples (retracted nipples).

The degree of nipple inversion (retracted nipple) varies. Some cases simply show nipple retraction, while severe cases show nipple depression or even inversion. Clinically, nipple inversion can be divided into 3 types:

Type I: The nipple is partially inverted, and the nipple neck exists. The inverted nipple can be easily squeezed out by hand, and the size of the nipple after squeezing out is similar to that of normal people;

Type II: The nipple is completely sunken in the areola, but can be squeezed out by hand. The nipple is smaller than normal and most of the time there is no nipple neck.

Type III: The nipple is completely buried under the areola, and the inverted nipple cannot be squeezed out. Inverted nipple (retracted nipple) not only affects the beauty of the breasts and hinders breastfeeding function, but also makes the local area difficult to clean. The sunken area is easy to harbor dirt and filth, often causing local infection. The mammary ducts are connected to the sunken area, and the inflammation can spread into the mammary gland and cause mastitis.

Inverted nipple (retracted nipple) is mainly congenital, but can also be caused by trauma or surgery, breast tumors, and fibrous hyperplasia after mastitis. Congenital inverted nipple is caused by poor development of the smooth muscles of the nipple and areola. These muscle fibers are pulled inward, and the lack of supporting tissue under the nipple causes inverted nipple. It usually occurs on both sides at the same time, but it can also occur on one side. If an inverted nipple can be brought back into view with a little squeezing or pulling, it is considered mild inverted nipple. Congenital inverted nipples are more common in women with no history of breastfeeding.

Secondary nipple inversion is common in breast diseases, such as breast cancer, and is often unilateral. Do not take acquired inverted nipple (retracted nipple) lightly. You should go to a specialist hospital for treatment and undergo relevant examinations, such as breast B-ultrasound, breast X-ray, etc., to rule out the possibility of breast cancer. There is another situation: if eczema and itching recur around the nipple and do not heal for a long time, the possibility of Paget's disease should be considered, which is a special type of breast cancer.