Contents:
- Medical Video: 10 Fun Facts About Nipples
- Want men or women, you may not have nipples
- What causes no nipples?
- Poland syndrome
- Ectodermal dysplasia
- Other causes
- Are there any complications that might occur if you don't have nipples?
- What is the treatment for athelia?
Medical Video: 10 Fun Facts About Nipples
Maybe before you have heard that there are people who have nipples that slide inward. Well, what about those who don't have nipples at all? Yes, actually everyone has a pair of nipples, both men and women. So what about someone who doesn't have nipples?
Want men or women, you may not have nipples
Athelia is a condition of a person born without one or both nipples. Although athelia is rare, it is more common in children born with conditions such as Polish syndrome and ectodermal dysplation.
Athelia happens depending on the conditions that cause it. Usually, people with athelia, do not have nipples and aerola. Nipples may disappear on one or both sides of the body.
Athelia is different from amastia and amazia. Amastia is a person who does not have breasts or breasts that do not develop, while amazia is the absence of breast tissue but the nipple is still not lost. However, athelia may occur together with amastia.
A child is more likely to be born with athelia if one parent has a condition that causes it. Poland's syndrome is more common in boys than in girls, but ectodermal dysplasia can affect both men and women.
What causes no nipples?
People who do not have nipples can be caused by conditions such as Poland's syndrome and ectodermal dysplasia.
Poland syndrome
Poland's syndrome affects about 1 in every 20,000 newborns. People with Polish syndrome can be born without all breasts, nipples, and aerola on one side.
Researchers don't know exactly what causes this syndrome. However, this is probably caused by problems with blood flow in the uterus during the sixth week of pregnancy. Poland syndrome is rarely caused by changes in genes inherited through the family
Poland's syndrome can affect arteries that provide blood to the developing baby's chest. It is estimated that a lack of blood can cause the chest to not develop normally.
Children born with this condition usually do not have or develop a chest muscle that is often referred to as the pectoralis major. Where the pectoralis major muscle is where the breast muscles attach. So it results in a condition of absence of breast (amastia) and does not have nipples which are often called athelia.
Other symptoms of Polish syndrome include:
- Loss of ribs or less developed on one side of the body
- Breasts or nipples are missing or less developed on one side of the body
- Webbed fingers in one hand (cutaneous syndactyly)
- Short bones in the forearm
- At least the hair that grows in the armpit
In rare cases, girls with Poland syndrome can experience amastia.
Ectodermal dysplasia
Ectodermal dysplasia is a group of different genetic syndromes. This syndrome affects the development of skin, teeth, hair, nails, sweat glands, and other parts of the body. All of that comes from the ectoderm layer, the layer in the initial embryo development. This condition occurs when the ectoderm layer is not well developed.
People with ectodermal dysplasia may experience symptoms such as:
- Thin hair.
- Abnormal tooth development.
- Cannot sweat (hypohidrosis).
- Impaired vision or hearing.
- Lost or less developed fingers or toes.
- There is a gap in the lips or palate.
- Unusual skin color.
- The nails are thin, brittle, cracked.
- Imperfect breast development.
- Breathless
Genetic mutations cause ectodermal dysplasia. These genes can move from parents to children or can mutate (change) when the baby is in the womb.
Other causes
Other causes a person does not have nipples include:
- Progeria syndrome. This condition causes people to grow old very quickly.
- Varon Yunis Syndrome. Rare congenital conditions affect the face, chest and other body parts.
- Scalp-ear-nipple syndrome. This condition causes patches without hair to form on the scalp, ears that do not develop, and nipples or breasts that are missing on both sides.
- Al-Awadi-Rass-Rothschild Syndrome. A rare and inherited genetic condition occurs when the bone is formed imperfectly.
Are there any complications that might occur if you don't have nipples?
The lack of nipples themselves does not cause complications. However, some conditions that cause athelia can cause health problems. For example, Poland's severe syndrome can affect the lungs, kidneys and other organs.
If you don't have nipples on one or both sides of the breast, you will find it difficult to breastfeed your baby.
What is the treatment for athelia?
You don't need to treat athelia unless the appearance of the missing nipple is bothering you.
If you lose your entire breast, you can undergo reconstructive surgery using tissue from the abdomen, buttocks, or back. Nipples and areola can then be made during another procedure. To make a nipple, your surgeon will form tissue folds in the correct shape.
If desired, you can continue to have an areola shape tattoo on your skin. The new 3-D tattoo procedure uses a pigment-coated social needle to create a more realistic three-dimensional nipple.
