Puffy Nipples: Some men often experience the issue of inflamed or puffy nipples. There are a lot of factors that lead to puffy nipples in men including excess body fat, certain exercises and hormonal imbalances.
Although, puffy nipples do not indicate any sort of medical emergency, they can become uncomfortable at times.
If you are one of those suffering from puffy nipples and are looking for a remedy, then you can try changing your dietary pattern along with exercise. Even if there is no help after making these changes, you need to go for surgery to make them return in the normal shape.
The post is about the causes of puffy nipples in men along with some of the ways to reduce their appearance.
Table of Contents
What Are the Causes of Puffy Nipples?
Take a look at some of the possible causes of inflamed or puffy nipples in men
- Having excess body fat
- Certain exercises
- Steroid use
- Hormonal imbalances
Hormonal Imbalances
A normal male or female has two type of sex hormones testosterone and estrogen. Males normally have higher amount of testosterone as compared to females.
However, some people start having higher amount of estrogen as compared to the testosterone, resulting in a medical condition called gynecomastia. Usually, breast and nipple swelling go away after their estrogen levels come back to the normal range.
Steroid Use
There are some categories of steroids like anabolic steroids that can lead to hormonal imbalances. Researchers have found that people who regularly take anabolic steroids often experience the problem of gynecomastia characterized by the swelling of nipples and nearby tissue.
Certain Exercises
Likewise, a person may develop puffy nipples after doing some exercises like running or jogging for a long period of time. Sometimes, it happens that the repetitive running can become the cause of the friction between the skin of the nipple and the fabric of cloth. It can cause chafing, which is otherwise known as “jogger’s nipple.”
Excess Body Fat
Excess body fat can also become the reason of the changed size and shape of nipples. For example, if a man develops excess body fat in the breasts, it may make nipples appear larger than normal.
Also, being overweight can also become the cause of hormonal imbalances in men. As per a research conducted in 2017, it was shown that men having excess body fat lowered down the levels of testosterone and made higher levels of estrogen.
Reducing body fat can help return their hormones back to normal. And so, it will automatically reduce the size and appearance of their nipples to normal.
Exercise Tips to Get Rid of Puffy Nipples In Men
There are certain chest exercises recommended to reduce nipple puffiness and breast swelling in men. Take a look at some of them that help in strengthening and toning the chest muscles in men:
- Push-ups
- Incline bench cable fly
- Forward dips
- Chest Press
- Barbell bench press
And so, it is recommended that people can include the above mentioned exercises in their daily exercise routine. In case, you are suffering from puffy nipples, you need to target at least one chest exercise out of the above.
If you are new to weight lifting, it is recommended that you try doing 1-3 sets of 8-12 repetitions using light weights. Once you are able to do it perfectly, you can increase the frequency of the exercise. Or you can even increase the weight and decrease the total number of sets.
In general, it takes time to find perfect exercises that suit your body. In any case, you must listen to your body and avoid to strain your muscles to the extent of injury.
Apart from the above, you are also recommended to include exercises to strengthen your back and shoulder muscles. This sort of exercise will improve the overall body posture and balance. In addition to this, the above exercises help giving a defined chest and a symmetrical appearance to the body structure.
Lastly, people should also start doing some aerobic exercises to their daily exercise routine. Some of them are given below:
- Jumping rope
- Swimming
- Running
- Jogging
- Running
In most cases, aerobic exercises like jogging and running help improve the condition of puffy nipples in men, it is equally crucial to include any of the aerobic exercise in daily routine. Doing this is going to help using nipple covers so as to prevent the problem of chafing in the area.
As per the Department of Health and Human Services, adults should perform at least 150 minutes of high intensity moderate exercises per week. They may also include some strength training at least 2 or more days per week.
Cardiac exercise like cycling and others for 15-20 minutes before and after your weight lifting exercises can benefit you as well.
What Are the Diet Tips to Get Rid of Puffy Nipples In Men?
Please remember that exercising is a crucial part to get rid of puffy nipples. In addition to this, you also need to take care of your diet. It’s because diet plays a major role in giving the shape to your body.
For example, excess body weight can become the problem of so many medical issues that won’t shed away unless you concentrate doing regular exercise and make changes in your diet plan.
One of the strong reasons to cause puffy nipples in men is due to the excess body fat. So, it’s obvious that you need to lower your body fat. Have a look at some of the ways to achieve this:
- Limit the intake of refined carbohydrates, such as pasta, white bread, and pastries
- Eat fewer processed foods with added sugars
- Eat more high fiber foods, such as legumes, bran, nuts, and seeds
- Eat more raw fruits and vegetables
Those men who feel that they have some kind of hormonal imbalance, they need to avoid estrogen rich foods. At the same time they need to increase their consumption of testosterone rich foods.
Have a look at some foods that you need to avoid as they enhance estrogen levels:
- Clover sprouts
- Alfalfa
- Lima beans
- Pinto beans
- Spilt beans
- Soy products
Foods that are known to enhance testosterone production include:
- Olive oil
- Onion
- Cruciferous vegetables
- Fish and Shellfish
- Ginger
- Garlic
Please note that men also need to limit their alcohol consumption. It’s because consumption of too much alcohol can drastically affect their fertility.
Similarly, use of excessive alcohol may become the reason of low testosterone levels, cell damage and oxidative stress.
Supplements that May Help
Herbal supplements are known to help the issue of puffy nipples in men. It’s because they have a tendency to boost testosterone levels. Some of the herbal supplements include:
Turmeric
Turmeric is a typical root plant having a powerful compound known as curcumin. This compound can help improve your testosterone levels. As per a study conducted, it was found that high doses of curcumin in mice improved the levels of testosterone sperm production with neurotesticular dysfunction.
Ginger
Ginger is basically a flowering root containing a number of antioxidants like flavonoids, zingerone and gingerols. Do you know all the above compounds have numerous antioxidant properties? Well, take a look below:
- Balancing blood sugar levels
- Reducing inflammation
- Protecting your reproductive organs from oxidative damage
And so, all those beneficial effects in ginger roots can help reduce the issue of puffy nipples in men that happens mainly because of hormonal imbalances and inflammation.
But we need to understand that above findings have come from studies on animals. And so, it may not necessarily be true in case of humans.
Fenugreek
Fenugreek is one of the most common culinary herbs. The seeds of this herb are found to be rich in fiber and contain loads of minerals and vitamins like A, B-6, B-12, and D.
As per the researches done on Fenugreek, 90% of the volunteers had significant increases in testosterone. The majority of volunteers also showed improvements in sperm count, mood, and mental alertness.
Since herbal supplements can be a substitute for to traditional medicines, they are found to cause some unpleasant side effects. They can even have drastic interactions when applied with medications.
When Surgery Required Treating Puffy Nipples?
Surgery is the recommended option to treat some issues like gynecomastia. It’s the last step and is implied when exercise and dietary changes are not fruitful. Take a look at some surgical procedures below:
Tissue excision: Here a glandular breast tissue is removed with excess skin. Along with that the size of the nipple may also be reduced to give it a natural shape.
Mastectomy: The procedure involves the removal of excess breast tissue
Liposuction: This procedure involves the removal of body fat using a small tube known as cannula. It’s connected to a high pressure vacuum.
Gynecomastia Overview
Gynecomastia is a condition mainly characterized by an enlarged breast tissue affecting over 50$ males. The above condition is most of the times found in older males.
Gynecomastia happens due to the elevated estrogen levels. The condition can also happen because of some other issues like:
- Breast cancer
- Testicular tumors
- Spinal cord conditions
- Hypogonadism, or testosterone deficiency
- Liver disease
- Kidney disease
- Prescription medication and illicit drug use
- Aging
- Genetics and family history
Gynecomastia is also known to cause:
- Unusual nipple discharge from one or both breasts
- Swelling or tenderness of the breast or nipple
What Are the Treatment options for Puffy Nipples?
In general, treatment of gynecomastia mainly relies depending on the very cause.
But first, doctors try to manage if there is any other medical condition associated that may lead to the higher levels of estrogen.
Testosterone replacement therapy is also found to have played a major role in treating gynecomastia as it increases testosterone levels.
In the same way, it’s also recommended for people to maintain a healthy lifestyle including:
- Avoid soy products
- Include more fruits, vegetables, and other high fiber foods
- Limit the intake of processed foods
- Exercise more regularly
As mentioned above, surgery can be the last option when natural remedies like exercising and diet control don’t work.
When to Consult A Doctor?
Men who observe they have puffy nipples need to consult to their doctor.
Please remember some of the gynecomastia or breast swelling cases can go serious. And so, early detection of any kind of medical anomaly will help treat any kind of deformity in a better way.
Once you consult a doctor, he will be able to determine the root cause and suggest some potential options based on your medical history.
Outlook
Please note that changes in breast are found both in men and women.
Most of the time, people try to avoid discussing breast related changes with a doctor, but they need to overlook it and go ahead with the issue more seriously with a medical practitioner.
One of the major reasons of puffy nipples is because of the poor diet pattern and lack of exercise. And the above changes in lifestyle increase the level of estrogen resulting in the abnormal growth of breast tissues.
Also Read: How to Check If Your Thyroid Hormones Are Going Imbalanced
