Itchy nipples – Itchy nipples
Itchy nipples are a very uncomfortable problem that affects women much more than men. The nipple itch can affect one breast, but it can also exist on both sides. Once the cause has been found and a serious illness has been ruled out, there are effective natural remedies to stop itching and prevent it in the future.
Table of Contents
- Itchy nipples – Itchy nipples
- definition
- Itchy nipples due to hormonal changes
- Skin problems as the cause
- Causes in the area of the mammary gland
- Treatment in naturopathy
- Soothing pads and wraps
- Healing earth and tea tree oil against itchy nipples
- Treat the nipple itch from the inside
definition
Itching on the nipples – especially in society – is difficult to satisfy with simple scratching, as would be the case in many other parts of the body. Many affected women describe the itch with the “feeling they are going insane”. Mostly, the clothing is used to rub to relieve the annoying itch for a while.
Itching in the area of the nipples can be very uncomfortable. To get relief, sufferers often use clothes to rub. (Image: hikdaigaku86 / fotolia.com)
However, the friction can quickly turn into skin irritation and inflammatory processes, which are then accompanied by burning, redness and pain. Sometimes there are other symptoms that can reveal the cause. These include, for example, itchy rash , fluid leakage and changes in the shape of the nipple.
Itchy nipples due to hormonal changes
There can be various causes for the itchy nipples, which do not necessarily have to be of pathological origin. The mammary gland is a skin gland that forms under the influence of female sex hormones during puberty to the female breast. The brown pigmented area of the nipple and nipple atrium contains a large number of sensitive nerve fibers, which makes it very sensitive to touch, cold and heat.
Due to the close functional relationship to the hormone system and the sensitive skin, nipple itchiness occurs more often, especially in phases of hormonal changes, for example during pregnancy and lactation, before menstruation or during puberty. For many young girls, itching is a sign of growing breasts.
Skin problems as the cause
Often there is a predominantly dermatological problem, which means that only the skin and not the breast itself is affected. This is particularly likely if the symptoms on both breasts exist equally.
Irritation can occur if the wearing of coarse, skin-irritating materials or underwear made of natural or plastic fibers is not tolerated. The same applies to cosmetics, detergents or fabric softeners that are not tolerated. If there are atopic dermatitis or other allergies, these will probably show up in the excessive formation of wheals and eczema.
Scratching and rubbing the nipples almost always leads to inflammation, and there may also be a fungal infection .
An old (peasant) wisdom also says that the itching of the nipples predicts snowfall. In fact, many women report itching when the weather changes, possibly because it reinforces an existing tendency to dry skin. Then the itching is often accompanied by dry eczema and flaky skin.
If the nipple itch is caused by mastitis, the symptoms almost always appear on one side only. (Image: pathdoc / fotolia.com)
Causes in the area of the mammary gland
If the mammary gland and tissue are affected, the symptoms are often one-sided. Other notices may include fluid leakage from the nipple, palpable nodules, or visible changes in the shape of the nipple.
If the itching is accompanied or followed by the leakage of milky, brown, watery or bloody liquid from the wart, a specialist examination should be carried out.
Possible causes are hormonal disorders, inflammation of the mammary gland (mastitis), benign tumors (cysts, fibroadenoma) or breast cancer (breast cancer), whereby – mostly one-sided – itching, eczema, redness and sensation of heat can occur (inflammatory carcinoma) and / or typically the nipple inside is pulled (Paget cancer).
Treatment in naturopathy
If serious or even malignant diseases and additional chest pain are excluded by the gynecologist, various home remedies and measures from naturopathy can be used to relieve the itching. For more profound changes in the organism, a naturopath or a naturopathic doctor should be consulted.
If an allergy is the reason for the itchy nipples, the dermatologist can prove this with the so-called prick test. (Image: Andre / fotolia.com)
Intolerances and allergies can either be found out and avoided by trying them out, for example by changing the detergent. Tests (prick test, EAV, kinesiology, blood test) can be consulted in the doctor’s or naturopathic practice. If there is dry, flaky skin, high-quality oils, such as evening primrose oil , can help.
Soothing pads and wraps
With oozing eczema, wheals and other (“hot”) inflammatory processes, women often experience brief improvement through the application of cold-damp washcloths. Pure aloe vera gel has a more lasting effect, which not only cools but also has an anti-inflammatory and wound-healing effect.
Pads and curd wrap can help against inflammation and swelling. Attention: The curd must not be too cold for the application, so please take it out of the fridge and let it warm up a bit.
| Quark topper against itchy nipples
1. Spread the curd approx. 0.5 cm thick on a compress or a cotton pad 2. Place the pad with the coated side directly on the nipple 3. Leave the curd compress on your chest until it is warmed up 4. The remains of the quark are then washed off with warm water Tip: If you don’t want to put the curd directly on the nipple, you can alternatively use it in the form of a packet. For this, put the curd also about 0.5 cm thick on a larger compress, gauze diaper or similar. and fold them in from the sides, so that a package is created. |
Healing earth and tea tree oil against itchy nipples
After the highly acute phase, the application of healing earth has also proven its worth by the fine grains of sand absorbing the itching inflammatory substances. In the case of fungal infection, pure tea tree oil can be added to the healing earth pack. A bath with basic minerals can also reduce the itching.
With the help of a paste made of healing earth and water, the inflammatory substances can be absorbed and the itching relieved. (Image: Heike Rau / fotolia.com)
Treat the nipple itch from the inside
Internally, metabolism-stimulating and drainage-promoting plant drugs should be used, or a general detoxification treatment should be carried out using homeopathic or spagyric agents.
