It seems that the nipple piercing continues to thrive - teens and young adult females deciding that they look more attractive with their nipples pierced. In some cases, girls are electing do the piercing themselves, which adds to my concern. The greatest risk is infection, especially when the piercing is not done by a medical professional.
Young girls or their mothers who have had this experience email me asking me what is wrong with their breast. They describe symptoms redness, swelling, their breast feeling hot to the touch, nipple drainage, even fever in some cases.
Some girls fear that these symptoms - the result of their recent nipple piercing - mean they have breast cancer. These are classic signs of infection that can be quite serious in some cases, producing a full-blown case of mastitis. Some girls may even require hospitalization and intravenous antibiotics.
Does piercing the nipple cause breast cancer? That's another common question asked of me online. There are no studies telling us that it does but there aren't studies that confirm it does not. It certainly causes trauma to the breast that can result in long-term problems associated with ductal disorders and possibly even breast feeding because a large gauge instrument has disrupted the normal pathway of milk flowing from the duct to the nipple-areola area.
So talk to your daughters about this before they surprise you, and you learn that it's too late to have the talk. They are not going to look more attractive because they have a ring or bar through their nipple. If they suffer complications like infection or ductal disease that lasts a lifetime, they may end up realizing it was the worst mistake of their lives.