How to manage nipple discharge and breast pain?

Question

Hello doctor,

I am a 28-year-old woman, never pregnant, and I am not sexually active. Since yesterday, I have noticed a white and greenish pus-like discharge coming from my right nipple, along with significant breast pain.

Kindly help.

Answer 1

Hello,

Welcome to iCliniq.com.

I understand your concern.

The symptoms you are describing—pain in the right breast with white and greenish nipple discharge, despite no history of pregnancy or sexual activity—require urgent medical attention. This could be due to a breast abscess or infectious mastitis (an infection-related inflammation of the breast tissue), which can occur even in women who are not breastfeeding if bacteria enter through a skin crack or blocked milk duct.

Another possibility is mammary duct ectasia, a condition where the milk ducts behind the nipple become dilated (widened) and filled with fluid, leading to green or dark-colored discharge. Though less likely, galactorrhea (the spontaneous flow of a milky discharge from the nipple, often related to elevated prolactin hormone levels) or benign (non-cancerous) or malignant (cancerous) breast tumors should also be ruled out.

As your symptoms include pain and pus-like discharge, an infection or abscess is most likely and may require diagnostic imaging (such as a breast ultrasound) to confirm, along with antibiotic treatment and possibly surgical drainage. Please visit a healthcare provider or urgent care center immediately, as this condition may worsen without medical care.

I hope you are satisfied with my answer. For further queries, you can consult me at iCliniq.

Thank you.