Contents:
- Medical Video: Milky Discharge Medical Course
- What causes black nipples?
- Puberty
- Menstruation
- Take birth control pills
- Pregnancy
- Breastfeeding
- Hair around the nipple
- Cancer
- Diabetes
Medical Video: Milky Discharge Medical Course
The body will continue to change from time to time, not to mention your breasts. Breasts can change shape, size, and color. Quite often some people have black nipples. Is this normal? What causes black nipples?
What causes black nipples?
The nipples themselves cannot change color, the ones that can change color. The areola is a dark area of skin around the nipple. There are several things that can make the areola and nipple black. Most of the causes are changes in body hormones.
Puberty
Puberty can make the areola and nipples black because at this time the ovary has begun to produce the hormone estrogen. High estrogen levels in the body will make the breasts grow and the nipples lift. Areola will also darken the color when compared to puberty.
Menstruation
Towards and during menstruation, some women complain about the color of their nipples rather darker than usual. Again, hormonal changes are responsible for this. When the ovary releases egg cells during ovulation, estrogen and progesterone levels in the body will increase.
Take birth control pills
Birth control pills contain progestin hormone, a synthetic version of estrogen and progesterone. Both of these hormones regulate the menstrual cycle so that pregnancy does not occur, and the way it works is similar to natural hormones in your body.
This can make the area around the nipple darker, but this will disappear after you stop taking birth control pills. In addition, birth control pills can also cause melasma, which is the appearance of brown or gray spots around the nipples.
Pregnancy
When the fetus grows in the womb, the breast begins to produce milk for the baby to be born by adding more estrogen and progesterone. This increase in pregnancy hormone makes the breast feel painful, swollen, and more sensitive. Areola also becomes darker.
Black nipples during pregnancy are only temporary. After pregnancy and breastfeeding, the color of your nipples will return to normal.
Breastfeeding
As with pregnancy, hormonal changes that help produce milk also tend to cause discoloration of your nipples.
In addition, according to black nipple scientists can also help newborns to find the mother's nipple for breastfeeding. Newborns do not have good eyesight, but most babies can distinguish between dark and light.
The color of the nipple will return as before with time, after the breastfeeding period is over.
Hair around the nipple
Some women may have fine hairs that grow around their milk nipples. This fine hair may be darker than some of the other hair on your body.
Dark hair growth can make the nipples look darker, especially if the hair grows near the nipple.
Cancer
Paget's disease is a rare type of breast cancer whose development begins in the nipple area. Early symptoms of Paget's disease include black nipples, flattened nipples, skin around the nipples peeling or crusting, and itching and tingling around the nipples.
Generally, this disease can occur in everyone after puberty. However, this is more common in older adults. If you have these signs or symptoms, consult a doctor immediately.
Diabetes
Black nipples may be a possible symptom of diabetes, as the body's response to insulin resistance. This skin discoloration is specifically called acanthosis nigricans, and often occurs in the folds of the skin around the armpits, groin, neck, and limbs. The areola can become darker and form a wound or plaque.
There are no specific treatments for this symptom. However, maintaining normal blood sugar levels can help your skin return to normal color and texture.
