Breast Skin and Nipple Changes in Gomti Nagar, Lucknow

Skin and nipple changes are easy to see, which is why people often notice them early. These are the ones doctors ask about:

• Dimpling or puckering, where the skin looks pulled in, like a small dent.
• Skin that looks like orange peel, thickened and finely pitted.
• Redness or warmth over part or all of the breast.
• A rash, scaling, crusting or itching of the nipple or the darker skin around it.
• A nipple that has turned inward or changed its shape or direction.
• A sore that does not heal, or a change in the size or shape of the breast.

A nipple that has been turned inward since puberty is usually normal. It is a new change that matters. If the nipple also leaks fluid, read about nipple discharge. A new lump with any of these changes is covered under breast lump evaluation.

Eczema or contact dermatitis is a very common cause of an itchy, red, scaly nipple or areola. It can follow a new soap, detergent, cream or bra fabric, and it usually affects both sides. A fungal infection in the fold under the breast gives a red, itchy rash there, especially in humid weather.

An infection of the breast, called mastitis, causes a red, hot, tender area, most often in breastfeeding women, and may come with fever. Fat necrosis, a firm area that forms after an injury or surgery, can pull the skin into a dimple. A widened milk duct can draw the nipple inward in some women later in life.

Less often, a skin or nipple change is caused by cancer. Paget disease of the nipple is a rare form that looks like eczema on one nipple, with scaling, crusting or a red patch that does not heal. Inflammatory breast cancer is also rare. It causes a red, swollen, warm breast with orange-peel skin that develops over weeks, often without a distinct lump. Because these look like common conditions, a change that is new, one-sided and lasting should be examined.

The assessment starts with your story: when the change began, whether it is spreading, and whether you have had an injury, infection, breastfeeding, a new product or earlier breast surgery. The breasts, nipples and underarms are examined.

Scans then look beneath the skin. The first scan checks for a lump, a collection of fluid or an abscess, and looks at the underarm glands. In older women, or when the examination calls for it, a mammogram is added to look for a lump, thickening or calcium specks. Scans show what lies under the skin, but they cannot diagnose a skin condition on their own.

If a scan shows a lump, the area may be sampled with a needle, for example by breast FNAC or a breast biopsy. A nipple rash that does not clear with simple treatment may need a small sample of skin, and your doctor will advise how that is arranged. A skin or nipple change with a normal scan is still reviewed in person.