Sore nipples are a common symptom throughout the menstrual cycle. Sometimes they indicate a person is pregnant or about to ovulate. They may also signal a health problem or mean nothing at all.
There can be several reasons your nipples are sensitive to touch other than pregnancy. If you're not pregnant, other causes could be hormonal shifts due to menstruation or birth control, trauma or infection.
Breast tenderness is one of the first (and most common) symptoms of pregnancy, starting as early as weeks 4 to 7 and lasting through the first trimester.
During early pregnancy (one to two weeks after conception) your breasts might feel sore, tender to the touch, and heavy. A sign that it might be early pregnancy versus PMS? Many women notice their nipples are very sensitive (and even painful at times) in the early weeks of pregnancy.
One of the more common PMS symptoms is breast tenderness or breast pain. This sore and dull ache can begin around two weeks before your period and can be a cause for daily discomfort and unease.
If you feel tenderness in your breasts you may be experiencing a typical side-effect of PMS. Other non-pregnancy sources of tenderness include medical conditions like infection or cysts. You may even be feeling sore from wearing an ill-fitting bra or pulling a muscle around the chest wall.
It appears shortly after the embryo attaches to the wall of the uterus. If you are pregnant, this hormone increases very rapidly. If you have a 28 day menstrual cycle, you can detect hCG in your urine 12-15 days after ovulation.
There's only one way to find out for sure if you're pregnant: take a pregnancy test.
Fungal Infection
You may be wondering, “why are my nipples sore when I'm not pregnant or on my period?”, “Should you be concerned when you have sore nipples, but you're not pregnant?” You may have a fungal infection if you have sore nipples, but you're not pregnant.
A pregnancy test can tell whether you're pregnant by checking a sample of your urine (pee) or blood for a specific hormone. The hormone is called human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG). High levels of hCG are a sign of pregnancy.
Take a home pregnancy test
The cheapest, easiest, most accessible way to confirm you're pregnant is with a home pregnancy test. This form of testing can identify a positive pregnancy result as early as two weeks after fertilization, making it one of the fastest ways to learn more about your situation.
Can Too Much Pee on a Pregnancy Test Make It Negative? Urinating too much on a urine pregnancy test should not cause a false negative result. But diluted urine, or urine with a higher water content, can impact a pregnancy test by skewing results.
Symptoms of rising hCG levels can include fatigue, nausea/vomiting (aka morning sickness), dizziness or light-headedness, breast tenderness, and feeling emotionally sensitive.
You can carry out most pregnancy tests from the first day of a missed period. If you don't know when your next period is due, do the test at least 21 days after you last had unprotected sex. Some very sensitive pregnancy tests can be used even before you miss a period.
Nipple tenderness in women of all ages can be caused by dry skin, injury, or friction. Breast tenderness can also be an early symptom of pregnancy. If your period is late and you've had unprotected sex, you should take a pregnancy test.
First-trimester changes
In the first trimester (weeks 1 to 13): Your breasts may start to feel swollen and tender. Your nipples may stick out more than usual. Some women find that their breasts start to get bigger during this time.
Your nipples may start to darken in color, become more erect and be extremely sensitive. These symptoms are due to increasing amount of HCG hormone that begins at implantation.
Very early signs of pregnancy include a missed period and implantation bleeding (light spotting resulting from the egg implanting in the uterus). You may notice these signs during the first month of pregnancy, and you may also notice some gas, bloating, fatigue, and moodiness.
Breast tenderness is often one of the earliest symptoms of pregnancy. According to the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development , breasts may become sore, heavy, or tingly as early as 1–2 weeks after conception. The nipples may also feel sensitive or even painful to touch.
Tenderness and tingling in the breast is often experienced as part of your menstrual cycle or when breastfeeding, as you say. But what usually causes these sensations are hormones - specifically, changes in hormone levels. Your breasts are sensitive, and your endocrine system (which controls your hormones) is complex.
SORE, SWOLLEN AND TENDER BREASTS: If you experience that your breasts are becoming extra sensitive to any type of touch, it's a sign of pregnancy. This is due to the reason that during early stage of pregnancy, blood flow to your breasts increases, making the breast tissues more sensitive and swollen.
Nipples are sensitive, and they can hurt for lots of reasons. Tight clothes, rashes, and infections can all irritate the tender skin. For women, sore nipples are common during periods, pregnancy, and breastfeeding. Any pain in your nipples can make you wonder if you have breast cancer.