Itchy left nipple on a 19 year old male!

Lissy19 · April 2018

Hi

First things first, I have to say I'm a 19 year old male who is suffering from various symptoms and I'm really worried that it might turn out to be breast cancer. Let me tell my story. When I was 14 years old, back in 2013, I went to a family trip to the beach. The first afternoon I went into the ocean, I started to notice a wild rash in my left nipple that wouldn't go away. I atributed it to the fact tht the salt water had simply caused an irritation on my skin and then decided to put on some band-aids over the affected nipple. When I removed them, I found out my nipple's appareance had changed because it seemed a little bit swollen. The allergic reaction to the salt water continued and I decided to stop swimming in the ocean. I noticed that soap also made my nipple itch. When I was back home, I went to the doctor and she said she hadn't found anything. Nonetheless, she prescribed me a cream that made my nipple itch once again. The symptoms appeared on July 2013 and they dissapeared in less than a month. I thought the problem was completely gone as it went away for six months. The situation resumed to a much lower degree in December 2013 but was soon gone again.

Fast forward to October 2014, my problem had returned again. Only this time not only the nipple was itchy, but also my arm pit. I started to feel a weird sensation of electricity shocking down my arm, burning pain in my nipple, pain on the breast itself, and pain on the armpit. I was sent for an ultrasound which results came out clear. The symptoms went away for one month and a half, and then they returned in December of the same year. This time the symptoms lasted for a whole month and I was very insecure about going to the doctor again as I had gone just 2 months before and they would tell me not to bother with my problem. The problem went completely away in January 2015 and was gone for the rest of the year, 2016 came by and the problem seemed to be gone, and 8 months into 2017 seemed to prove that my problem had appearently been a puberty situation. I guess I was wrong, because the situation returned in September 2017, nearly 3 years after being completely gone. I believed that I couldn't get breast cancer because I did not have a lump in the breast, however I was always fearing of it.

This time, the problem began when I noticed very small crustings on my left nipple. However, some even smaller crustings were also present on my right nipple. I went to my dermatologist and she checked my nipples. She decided to sent me clobetasol, and it worked for both nipples. However, I started to feel the itchiness in my armpit, and I started to suffer paresthesia on the skin of my forearm along with elbow pain. I started to get really worried about my health as I didn't know if there was a correlation between the two situations. This time I discovered on the internet that there was this disease called paget's disease of the nipple and some of my symptoms matched. I broke completely down with this discoveryI was fearing I had breast cancer that had metastized to my elbow and wrist and damaged my nerves. Once again I went to 2 doctors who once again checked my chest in search for lumps and found nothing. They touched my nipples and the texture of the skin and said everything seemed normal. I was sent for an ultrasound once again and nothing was found once again. An alternative doctor checked me and said he could not find anything. Once again, my problem was gone in a matter of weeks.

Seven months went by and right now I found I'm experiencing this situation once again. The itchiness of my nipple has come back once again and has appeared along the arm symptoms it presented with previously. The muscles of my arm started to hurt as if I done any excercise and the forearm skin paresthesia appeared once again. I went to the doctor once again and through the physical exam they found nothing. Even the appareance of my nipple was fine. I'm terrified that this might turn out to be paget's disease of the nipple and I fear nobody is paying attention to the symptoms. No doctor has suggested a skin biopsy or even a MRI. I'm in a deep depresive state because I can't believe nearly no male teens get breast cancer and neither paget's disease. I need help please. Most of the doctors, family and friends tell me that my situation might only be stressed related and might be a somatization. The situation has only happened in drastic changes of my family's life and that is the only alternative explanation I find. I don't know where to go for help.

Egads007 · April 2018

Hey Lissy, first things first...cancer doesn’t come and go...it starts and gets worse. If I were you I’d get a consult with a dermatologist. Be sure to mention that it seems to be triggered by stress. Trust me, stress can trigger all sorts of problems in the body as it lowers the immune system which in turn can cause all sorts of skin conditions. You also could be experiencing allergic reactions to soap, laundry soap, aftershaves. It could be yeast infection or eczema as well. Breathe easy, the odds of you having Pagets at your age is essentially zero. I sincerely think it’s a skin condition triggered by stress. Def get it checked out, always get changes checked until you get answers and relief.Let us know what happens please!

Traveltext · April 2018

Good on you for posting such a detailed listing of your recent medical history Lissey. First, you are sensible for seeking medical attention along the way since it means you are taking your situation seriously. Second, the average age men get this disease is 65 and it’s very, very rare for a guy your age to get bc. Third, I’m a guy with the disease and I’ve answered many queries from young people like you over the years and never have any of them had breast cancer. I certainly hope you can find out what the problem is and do let us know when you find out

DATNY · April 2018

I concur it is likely triggered by stress. There might be a bacteria or fungus living in the folds of the skin that takes any opportunity given to create havoc. Not only stress, but high humidity and heat can aslo provide a good environment for it. Try athlete foot cream next time it appears. I used to use it on my intermittent nipple itching and it provided relief.

Also see if you can get your doctor to prescribe you vitamin D blood test. If you live in northern hemisphere and spend too much time indoor might not have appropriate levels of vitamin D even if you are young. Make sure your levels are in the middle of the normal range. The lack of Vitamin D does both lower the immune system function and can give you muscle pain.

If the doctor doesn't want to test you for vitamin D, then take some over the counter supplements (vitamin D3, 2000 ui) for one month and see if it makes a difference. I give this to my son ( also 19) during winter months.

Edited to add that I posted by mistake the same thing twice so I deleted the second post.

DATNY · April 2018

I concur it is likely triggered by stress. There might be a bacteria or fungus living in the folds of the skin that takes any opportunity given to create havoc. Not only stress, but high humidity and heat can aslo provide a good environment for it. Try athlete foot cream next time it appears. I used to use it on my intermittent nipple itching and it provided relief.

Also see if you can get your doctor to prescribe you vitamin D blood test. If you live in northern hemisphere and spend too much time indoor might not have appropriate levels of vitamin D even if you are young. Make sure your levels are in the middle of the normal range. The lack of Vitamin D does both lower the immune system function and can give you muscle pain.

If the doctor doesn't want to test you for vitamin D, then take some over the counter supplements (vitamin D3, 2000 ui) for one month and see if it makes a difference. I give this to my son ( also 19) during winter months.

MBPooch · April 2018

Make an appointment with a Dermatologist and demand a punch biopsy of the most affected part of the nipple. The ONLY way to test for Pagets is with a biopsy. I tend to think your symptoms are stress related but the only way to know for sure is with a biopsy if you are wanting to rule out Pagets. If anything it will give you piece of mind. Keep us posted!

Recap · April 2018

https://www.skincancer.org/prevention/sun-protection/sunscreen/the-skin-cancer-foundations-guide-to-sunscreens

age 14 2013 dr

2014 ultrasound

2017 dr

2017 2 drs

2017 ultrasound

2017/2018 two drs

Keep a symptoms diary including documenting exposures to sun, creams, lotions, meds, known allergens, etc. Usually a causal relationship will become clear. I assume your dermatologist did allergy testing? Anything applied topically to the breasts is going to sink down into the tissue-I think breast research has a long way to go when it comes to topical exposures.

Your comment of the beach reminded me of my spring break trip to Florida at age 21. I bought the new sunscreen which had just been developed, put it on, went out into the Florida sun/heat/humidity, and broke out in a massive allergy of incredibly painful lesions, on the skin that was exposed to both the sun and the sunscreen. Skin under clothes had no reaction. Hard to stay out of the sun on spring break at Daytona and Disney World sigh... Paraben was the new ingredient of the times.

https://www.fda.gov/cosmetics/productsingredients/ingredients/ucm128042.htm

Lissy19 · April 2018

Thank you all for your amazing responses. I am definetely relieved by the fact that my chances of getting paget's disease are very low and definetely hope the situation is triggered by stress. Thanks for clarifing to me the age ranges in which the disease is common and supporting my decision of going to the doctor. I will definetely take into account a greater consumption of vitamin D on a daily basis because my doctor said it that I may not have proper levels of vitamins in my system and that my weight is low for my height. And definetely I will be going to the dermatologist next week to suggest her to do an allergy test of my nipple and definetely I will suggest her to the punch biopsy. I will be publishing here as soon as I go to the dermatologist, get my exams and results. Once again thank you all very much!!!!!!!!

Lissy19 · June 2018

Hello everyone again!!!

I would like to give you an update on my situation. After going again to two of the doctors who had checked my breast in previous occassions, I decided to go again to the dermatologist as MBPooch suggested. I went and she told me she perceived that my left breast was bigger than my right breast, and she said my mammary gland seemed to be inflamed. She sent me to the breast surgeon as the situation was out of her speciality and she said that the eczema in the nipple was too little to make anything with it like a biopsy. I totally forgot to tell you that aside the rash I had since July 2013, I also perceived that my left breast became bigger than the right one as if new tissue had grown overnight in the zone after swimming in the ocean and covering my nipple with band aids. At the same time a brown two inch "beauty mark" appeared next to my left nipple. This facts made me suspect that I probably had Inflammatory Breast Cancer, especially the bigger left breast, back in September 2017. As my dermatologist is particular doctor, I had to go my family doctor for him to send me to the breast surgeon. However, he told me he only could perceive more tissue on the left breast rather than an inflammation as he had sent blood tests and said nothing in the tests could indicate an inflammatory process. He sent me again to another ultrasound. I don't know what to think right now as the ultrasounds never show a thing and I keep getting pains and rashes in my breast. I ask you: Do you think its possible that a 19 year old guy has inflammatory breast cancer or any kind of breast cancer? I'm really worried and the ultrasound won't happen until July. Thank you for your comprehension and answers.

Traveltext · June 2018

No, I don’t think you have IBC. And by the tests and scans you’ve had I’d suggest you don’t have any other kind of breast cancer. Of course you should continue your medical investigations to get to the bottom of your problems. Keep us posted.

Itchy left nipple on a 19 year old male!

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