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Nipple discharge
Category: Women's Health · All women's health symptoms
What it can feel like
Nipple discharge means fluid coming from the nipple when you are not breastfeeding. Milky discharge from both breasts has hormone and medicine causes; discharge that is spontaneous (appears without squeezing), from one breast and one duct, or blood-stained or clear is the pattern that needs imaging and surgical review.
Possible causes
A symptom can have many causes, and most are not serious. The lists below group conditions this symptom can be associated with — common causes first. They are possibilities to discuss with a clinician, not a diagnosis.
Common causes
Nipple discharge can be associated with normal duct physiology (small amounts on squeezing, often greenish or grey), hormonal contraception, pregnancy, and raised prolactin hormone causing milky discharge (galactorrhoea), sometimes from a small pituitary growth or medicines.
Other possible causes
Spontaneous single-duct discharge can be associated with a small benign growth inside a duct (papilloma), duct widening (ectasia), and occasionally breast cancer within the ducts (DCIS) — particularly blood-stained or clear discharge in older women.
Red flags — when to seek help promptly
- Spontaneous discharge from one breast, especially if blood-stained or clear — prompt assessment
- Discharge with a lump, skin change or nipple inversion
- Milky discharge with missed periods, headaches or visual changes
- Discharge from a man's nipple at any time
- Discharge with redness, pain and fever (possible infection)
What a clinician may do
A clinician will characterise the discharge (which side, which duct, colour, spontaneous or expressed), examine the breast, and arrange imaging — mammography and/or ultrasound. Milky discharge leads to prolactin blood tests and a medicine review; single-duct spontaneous discharge usually leads to breast surgical assessment.
Related guides on MedicalVideos.com
Frequently asked questions
Why does it matter which duct it comes from?
Discharge that can be expressed from several ducts on squeezing is usually physiological. Discharge arriving by itself from a single duct suggests something inside that one duct — a papilloma or, occasionally, early cancer — which is why mapping the duct matters and why repeated squeezing to check is discouraged.
Can medicines cause milky discharge?
Yes — prolactin is raised by several medicines, including some antipsychotics, antidepressants and anti-sickness drugs, as well as by an underactive thyroid and pituitary growths. A medicine timeline and a prolactin blood test are standard early steps.
Related symptoms — Women's Health
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