A woman's body is very delicate and should be delicately handled. These are things you have to know about your breasts.
Have you ever looked at your nipples
and wondered if they’re normal? It turns out, they come in all different
shapes and sizes. What’s more, they can bring you incredible pleasure,
help feed a baby, and even tip you off to some potentially serious
health problems. Seriously, they’re amazing. After reading this, we
promise you’ll have newfound respect for this body part. Here,
everything you need to know about your nipples.
1. They Can Span Several Inches
The size of a woman’s nipples and
areolas can be as wide as a half-dollar or smaller than a dime, and
either way is totally normal, says Alyssa Dweck, M.D., ob-gyn in
Westchester, New York and coauthor of V Is for V*gina. Gain weight or
get pregnant, and they can balloon even bigger, she says.
2. They Come in a Range of Colors
Pale pink, brick red, dark brown:
Nipple pigment has to do with a woman’s ethnic background and the hue of
the rest of her skin. Just as nipple size changes when you have a baby,
so does nipple color, and that shift in shade is often permanent. “It’s
the result of hormone surges during pregnancy,” says Dweck.
3. They’re Capable of Mucho Pleasure
Nipples are an erogenous zone for many
women, and a 2011 study from the Journal of Sexual Medicine backs this
up. Researchers using MRI imaging found that when nipples are
stimulated, a pleasure center inside the brain lights up the same way it
lights up after stimulation of the clitoris and vagina.
4. Nipple Orgasms are Not Fiction
The same 2011 study that showed a link
between nipple stimulation and the pleasure center of the brain also
raised the possibility that nipple stimulation alone could result in
orgasm, something s*x researchers previously estimated that only a
“small number” of women could experience.
5. They Sometimes Come in Threes
It’s not uncommon for a man or a woman
to be born with three nipples (or four, or five, or seven, as one 2012
study details). These extra nipples, known as “supernumerary nipples,”
resemble a mole or mark. They never develop into actual breasts, and
they can show up anywhere on the body, according to the National
Institutes of Health.
6. Nipples Are Supposed to Be Bumpy
Look closely at your nipples and the
surrounding areolas; they kind of resemble the bumpy, crater-filled
surface of the moon. “Those bumps on the areola can be hair follicles,
ducts, or oil glands that produce lubricating fluid,” says Dweck. “It’s
totally normal to have them.”
7. But Sometimes a Bump Is Bad News
A rare form of breast cancer called
Paget’s disease can present itself as a red bump or rash on the nipple
or areola, says Dweck. “It’ll look like an angry skin change that
doesn’t go away,” she says. If you spot this and it persists for a few
weeks, have your doctor take a look.
8. They Don’t Love the Gym
Working out is super-healthy for your
body as a whole, but it can be rough on your nipples, which often get
dry, chafed, and even bloody as they rub back and forth against your
sports bra, says Dweck. Dabbing on some petroleum jelly before a
treadmill session will soothe irritated skin.
9. Nursing Can Do a Number on Them
Soreness, pain, cracking,
bleeding—these are just some of the consequences of having a hungry
newborn attached to your nipples several times a day, says Dweck. These
symptoms tend to disappear as a new mom gets the hang of it, but if your
nipples continue to suffer, get an assist from your pediatrician or a
lactation consultant.
10. They Can Leak Milk
Nursing moms, you might want to keep
an extra blouse in your purse or glove compartment. It’s a totally
freaky phenomenon, but many breastfeeding women have found themselves
suddenly leaking milk as soon as they hear the cry of a random infant or
baby nearby, says Dweck.
11. Discharge Can Be a Warning Sign
A little discharge that comes out
after you’ve squeezed your nipple is probably no big deal. “But a white,
creamy discharge that’s released on its own could be a sign of a
non-cancerous growth in the brain,” says Dweck. Green or black discharge
can tip you off to a benign duct problem. And bloody discharge might
mean breast cancer. If you experience the latter, bring it to your
doctor’s attention.
- Women'sHealth
