Nipple hurts in the middle of the cycle: physiology or pathology

Nipples are among the most sensitive parts of the female body. They react sharply to all internal and external influences.

Menstruation, pregnancy, childbirth, lactation period. These are natural processes. Often when they occur, the nipple begins to hurt. Each girl has her own physiological characteristics, so the reactions from the body also differ.

Before going to the hospital, study the possible factors affecting the condition of your nipples. Painful sensations do not always indicate illness.

Can nipples hurt before menstruation?

Almost every woman experiences discomfort with the onset of her period. The breast is considered the most involved organ, capable of responding to changes and hormonal imbalances. Sensitive nipples before menstruation are not uncommon. It is considered normal if there are no additional signs of other pathologies.

Attention! The most common cause of this symptom is increased production of estrogen, which causes discomfort.

This can also include diseases of the thyroid gland and mammary glands, but such a diagnosis can only be made by a doctor based on a carefully planned diagnosis.

Prevention

Rules for effective prevention:

1. Visit your mammologist and gynecologist regularly. Visits every six months are recommended.
2. Lead a healthy life without stress and bad habits. Eat a balanced diet.
3. Treat any diseases in a timely manner, and begin therapy after consulting a doctor at the first alarming symptoms. Don’t delay and take care of your health!
4. Perform self-examinations periodically.
5. Take vitamins that are beneficial for the female body: E, groups B, C and A.

Knowing the peculiarities of the functioning of the mammary glands and finding out why the nipples hurt, you can eliminate the causes and forget about the discomfort. Health to you and your breasts!

Causes of pain

Estrogen produced by the body increases in the blood with the onset of menstruation. The breasts become dense, swell a little, and the nipples react to every touch. There are several reasons for nipple pain: depending on the stage of the menstrual cycle, the feeling of discomfort can be caused by various factors.

Sore nipples two weeks before period

Characteristic pain can occur as early as 2 weeks before the expected menstruation. In this case, not only the nipple hurts, but the entire breast. It swells and becomes harder. The woman experiences discomfort at the moment of touch, as well as after removing the bra. The causes of this symptom may be:

• hormonal disorders;
• fibrocystic mastopathy.

To eliminate the problem, you need to visit a gynecologist and mammologist. You need to make an appointment with the specified doctors on days 5-7 of the menstrual cycle. The gynecologist will perform an examination, conduct an oral consultation and still refer you to a mammologist. This doctor will do an ultrasound: if it shows the presence of small cysts, drug treatment will be prescribed in the future.

Sore nipples a week before period

About 10 days before the start of their period, women's nipples may become sensitive. During this period, the mammary glands are influenced by the work of the hormones prolactin and estrogen. Under the influence of estrogen, adipose tissue increases, which can cause painful sensations in the nipples.

Under the influence of prolactin, sensitive nipples are observed a week before menstruation. This is due to the fact that prolactin acts on the glandular epithelium, causing pain. The expanded epithelium retains more water in the canals, so it may seem that the breasts are swollen, fuller and heavier. In addition, blood vessels enlarge, causing pain. Such phenomena are considered normal in isolated cases. When they recur frequently, you should consult a doctor.

Why do nipples hurt during menstruation?

Sore nipples during menstruation are often not considered a pathology. This is an individual feature of a girl’s menstruation. But if the pain is severe and frequently recurring, you should not hesitate: this phenomenon can cause pathology. There are several more prerequisites for the appearance of this symptom:

• lack of proper breast hygiene;
• taking antibacterial drugs;
• wearing poor quality underwear.

Warning! When using certain types of medications, your nipples may not only hurt, but also itch.

This will be a signal of an allergy and a hint to stop taking the medication. Low-quality synthetic underwear causes cracks in the nipples, so it is better to give preference to trusted manufacturers. Also, do not forget about daily breast hygiene.

Why do nipples hurt after menstruation?

If your nipples itch before your period, this is not a pathology. Another thing is the manifestation of pain in the nipples after the end of menstruation. The reasons for this phenomenon are:

1. Rare sexual intercourse. If a woman rarely has sex, the hormone estrogen accumulates in the body and lingers in the mammary glands, affecting adipose tissue. In this case, both nipples begin to hurt in the period after menstruation.
2. Hormonal imbalances. Any change in health is fraught with hormonal disruption, which must be constantly monitored, especially in adulthood.
3. Endocrine disorders. Some pathologies of the thyroid gland provoke increased production of hormones.

If you notice these symptoms repeating several times, it is recommended to seek advice. The doctor will order a hormone test and then recommend medications to eliminate the discomfort.

Why do my nipples hurt mid-cycle?

Pain in the nipples in the middle of the cycle is also considered normal. Sensitivity of the papillae in women before menstruation is noted on average 2.5 weeks. This sign is not considered a pathology, as it signals ovulation. What happens in the body:

1. Release of the egg.
2. Increased blood flow to the mammary glands.
3. Feeling of heaviness in the chest and discomfort in the nipples.
4. Painful reactions to touch.

These signs occur at the end of the second week of the menstrual cycle, if its duration is no more than 28 days. A small hormonal surge will not bring negative consequences.

Delayed periods and sore nipples

Often women complain of the following symptoms: no periods, a negative test and sore nipples. This indicates minor changes in the state of the body. The reasons for this phenomenon are:

• change of climate zone;
• recent stress or strong experience;
• there are various chronic diseases;
• the woman recently underwent surgery;
• taking hormonal medications;
• there is a sharp weight loss.

Due to such reasons, delayed pain in the nipples may occur. In this case, the delay lasts no more than 2 weeks, but menstruation still comes. If your period does not come, you should visit a gynecologist to diagnose a possible pregnancy.

Breast diseases

If chest pain is constant and does not depend on the menstrual cycle, the cause of the pain is different. The reason is a possible illness.

There are many breast diseases. One of the most common is mastopathy. These are benign tissue growths. As they grow, severe pain appears. One of its manifestations is discharge in the nipple area.

During menstruation, the breasts do not swell for a long time. With mastopathy, it constantly swells and exhibits swelling and mastodynia.

There may be other reasons for the appearance of pain. Inflammation of tissues, damage to the endocrine or urinary systems. The most critical reason is cancer. No matter what age the girl is, you should not hesitate to go to the doctor.

How to eliminate pain

When the cause of the discomfort is determined, you can begin to alleviate the painful condition. If there are serious pathologies, the doctor will prescribe appropriate medications; it would be useful to take additional measures:

• buy a comfortable bra without seams;
• Swelling under the nipple before menstruation can be relieved by applying a warm heating pad to the breast before bed;
• taking baths with the addition of aromatic oils;
• normalization of diet;
• No-shpa and Ibuprofen tablets will help reduce pain.

You should not wash your nipples with soap - this will make them dry and contribute to cracks.

Possible pathologies

Most of these reasons are not pathologies, but when the nipples are very sore before menstruation every time, the following pathologies may be the prerequisites:

1. Hormonal imbalance - any changes in the amount of hormones lead to irregularities in the menstrual cycle.
2. Malfunctions of the nervous and endocrine systems: intercostal neuralgia and adrenal dysfunction are the most serious problems with this symptom.
3. Taking hormonal pills. If the prescribed contraceptives are not suitable, it is recommended to stop taking them and replace the medications with others as prescribed by the doctor.
4. Stress. Nervous disorders are directly related to hormones.
5. Bruises. Even a minor injury to the mammary gland has negative consequences.

A serious pathology that causes pain in the nipples before menstruation is a breast tumor. She is accompanied by certain symptoms that require an urgent appointment with a doctor.

During pregnancy

The situation becomes doubly exciting when the breasts and nipples begin to hurt, and there is an obvious delay according to the menstrual calendar. In this case, this phenomenon may well be one of the early signs of pregnancy. When a woman is pregnant, her breasts begin to actively prepare for the upcoming lactation in 9 months. The glands swell noticeably, the nipple enlarges and darkens. Almost all women experienced breast pain to one degree or another in the first trimester.

Changes in breast condition during pregnancy are associated with the same hormones. One of them, prolactin, is the main one in the lactation process. Tissues, increasing in volume under its influence, grow faster than nervous tissue. Tension occurs in the fibers, which is accompanied by increased sensitivity of the nipple, soreness, itching and a feeling of heaviness. Sometimes the pain can reach such an extent that a woman experiences severe discomfort with the slightest touch.

When faced with such a situation, it is better not to guess, and certainly not to self-medicate. You should immediately take a pregnancy test or, for a more reliable result, donate blood for hCG.

When to see a doctor

A few additional symptoms that indicate that there is a serious problem in the body:

• nipple discharge;
• changing its color and shape;
• discomfort and nagging pain in the armpit;
• seals detected during self-diagnosis;
• pain is observed only in one of the mammary glands.

The listed signs may indicate the presence of a tumor, so contacting a doctor immediately will help you gain time.

You can learn more about pain in the mammary glands from the video:

Pain relief

If, after an examination by a gynecologist and mammologist, it was determined that nipple soreness is one of the manifestations of PMS, a woman can slightly ease the discomfort. Possible medications:

They should be taken one-time, and not on an ongoing basis, and only if the pain causes real inconvenience.

The following may also help relieve PMS symptoms:

• Warm (not hot!) bath with sea salt or essential oils. This procedure has a relaxing effect on the entire body and calms it down. It is especially effective to take a bath at night if you immediately go to bed after it.
• If a long water procedure is not to your liking, you can limit yourself to a warm shower. It creates a massage effect and accelerates blood flow, including in the chest area.
• Various herbal teas have a beneficial effect. A decoction of chamomile, lemon balm, and thyme not only eases pain, but also has a calming effect on the nervous system.
• By observing at what point before menstruation pain in the nipples occurs, a woman can prepare in advance for the next time the pain will be weaker. To achieve this, you need to try to avoid tension and stress, do not neglect sleep, and eat more fresh vegetables and fruits.
• It is important to protect the mammary glands from hypothermia. In general, any physical stimuli become doubly potent during this period.
• Giving up bad habits will help to gradually reduce the level of soreness in the nipples and breasts before menstruation. The pain is a consequence of hormonal instability, and smoking and alcohol have a detrimental effect on its condition.