• News
  • Life
  • TV & Film
  • Beauty
  • Style
  • Home
  • News
    • Celebrity
    • Entertainment
    • Politics
    • Royal Family
  • Life
    • Animals
    • Food & Drink
    • Women's Health
    • Mental Health
    • Sex & Relationships
    • Travel
    • Real Life
  • TV & Film
    • True Crime
    • Documentaries
    • Netflix
    • BBC
    • ITV
    • Tyla Recommends
  • Beauty
    • Hair
    • Make-up
    • Skincare
  • Style
    • Home
    • Fashion
    • Shopping
  • Advertise
  • Terms
  • Privacy & Cookies
  • LADbible Group
  • LADbible
  • UNILAD
  • SPORTbible
  • GAMINGbible
  • UNILAD Tech
  • FOODbible
  • License Our Content
  • About Us & Contact
  • Jobs
  • Latest
  • Topics A-Z
  • Authors
Facebook
Instagram
X
Threads
TikTok
Submit Your Content
What it means if you have an ‘inverted nipple’ and when to seek medical help

Home> News

Published 11:51 16 Dec 2024 GMT

What it means if you have an ‘inverted nipple’ and when to seek medical help

In some cases, inverted nipples should prompt medical attention

Mia Williams

Mia Williams

Featured Image Credit: Getty stock images

Topics: Health, Women's Health, Advice, NHS

Mia Williams
Mia Williams

Advert

Advert

Advert

Health professionals have explained what inverted nipples are, and when they might actually be a cause for concern.

An inverted nipple is one that points inwards instead of outwards, as the name would suggest.

However, they are slightly more common than you may imagine, as 10-20% of women are born with them.

They usually appear on both sides from birth, but can sometimes appear gradually as a person gets slightly older.

Advert

And while they are usually no cause for concern, there are some instances when inverted nipples could mean something more serious is underlying.

Health experts warn that if they nipples suddenly start to invert - over weeks or months - then it could be time to contact your GP.

Saranya Chumsri, a hematologist-oncologist at the Mayo Clinic in Florida, said: "These patients should go in to see a provider right away."

This is because inverted nipples can be a sign of breast cancer, in both men and women.

Advert

Inverted nipples could be a sign of breast cancer. (Getty stock images)
Inverted nipples could be a sign of breast cancer. (Getty stock images)

When the symptom is caused by cancer, it is usually because there is a tumour causing the structure of the breast to change.

The expert added: "When the mass is getting bigger in the nipple area, it can cause a kind of fibrous band and pull in the nipple."

It can happen in both the early and the later stages of cancer, depending on how close to the surface the tumour starts to grow.

Advert

Paget’s disease makes up about 1-4% of breast cancers, and can also cause the nipple to invert.

It develops in the nipple or the surrounding areola, and causes symptoms such as crusty, red skin on the nipple or areola, burning or itching, and bloody or yellow nipple discharge.

However, there are other reasons why nipples may become inverted out of nowhere, that are non-cancerous.

Health professionals are warning people about the unknown symptom. (Getty stock images)
Health professionals are warning people about the unknown symptom. (Getty stock images)

Advert

These include an infection in your milk duct, injury, for example scarred milk ducts from breastfeeding, shortening and widening of milk ducts as a person approaches menopause, breast sagging that occurs naturally with age, and sudden weight loss.

There is a grading system that determines how inverted the nipples actually are.

Grade one are known as 'shy nipples' - they can be pulled out using fingers and will stay pointed outward for a few minutes before going back in.

Grade two are nipples that can be pulled out but retrieve straight back inwards.

Advert

Grade three inverted nipples cannot be pulled out at all.

And whilst breastfeeding is still possible with those for grade one and two nipples, somebody with a grade three case would struggle, according to experts.




Choose your content:

12 hours ago
13 hours ago
  • 12 hours ago

    Camp Mystic security guard issues emotional statement after using mattresses in heroic act to rescue girls from deadly floods

    In total, at least 82 people are confirmed to have lost their lives following the flash floods in Texas on Friday (4 July)

    News
  • 12 hours ago

    Meghan Markle fans spot ‘creepy’ detail in newly shared photos with her and Prince Harry

    The Duchess of Sussex shared a new Instagram post to celebrate the Fourth of July

    News
  • 13 hours ago

    Kate Middleton ignited major debate after breaking decades-old Wimbledon 'rule'

    Both Kate Middleton and Meghan Markle broke the exact same rule - but they received very different treatment for the fashion faux pas

    News
  • 13 hours ago

    Paramedic jailed after secretly giving pregnant woman abortion pill

    Stephen Doohan has been sentenced to 10 years and six months in prison

    News
  • What it means if you can blur your own vision and when to be concerned
  • What it actually means if one of your fingers turns white when it’s cold
  • Reason why you feel sick after eating and when to seek help
  • Reason why you have no energy at the minute and what you can do to fight it