itchy breasts, some bleeding

[earthling]

my nipples have been itching for the past few weeks or so, and i've been scratching them quite a bit. when i woke up today a little bit of blood in my bra (left side) and when i examined my breast it looked as if the blood was coming from a cut in the skin probably due to my scratching, and not from the opening in my nipple itself, but i'm not too sure. should i see a doctor?

thanks

[BhumikaMD]

Hi,

Nothing can be said without a clinical examination and relevant investigations.

The chances are that this is eczema which resolves spontaneously or with appropriate medications.

Paget's on the other hand, is a progressive condition.

What is your age? Have you noticed any abnormal features on breast self examination?

Let us know what your specialist advises.

You should read up on Paget's disease of the breast at the folowing links -

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paget%27s_disease_of_the_breast

http://www.emedicine.com/derm/topic305.htm

Let us know if you have any other doubts or queries.

Post us about how you are doing.

Regards.

[earthling]

any answer?

[earthling]

Thanks for the replies. I haven't yet seen a doctor in the hopes that it'll go away but I guess I should pretty soon. Now my nipple is constantly dry and flaky and the skin peels off easily. I also saw a bit of rash just outside of my nipple (I have eczema on other parts of my body) and put some cream on it and it went away but the itchiness/dryness is still there (on one breast only)

[Kamal S Saini, MD, MRCP (UK), DM]

Hi,
Blood stained discharge may, of course, be due to dermatitis, as sonu78 has opined.
However, it definitely needs to be investigated further.
Pl seek urgent appointment with your doctor, and he may like to do a few tests like smear cytology of the discharge, as well as a mammogram.
All the best.

[sonu78]

Hi Earthling,
the condition explained by you is not informative. With the available information, it looks like you might be having some type of dermatitis ( a type of skin inflammation/ allergy). It would be better if you could try to avoid scratching at the site of inflammation. kindly do seek advice from your surgeon/dermatologist for confirming the diagnosis. No blood stained discharge from nipple should allay your fears.