Odd Q: daughter's nipples bright pink and hurt?

[ang79]

DD1 (will be 10 in mid-September) came home today from visiting my parents this past week. After her shower she asked me to look at her nipples, they were very bright pink and she said they hurt when she takes a shower or swims. She said it happened this week while at my parents as well. I felt and did not feel any breast buds and other than some small amounts of discharge now and then she has shown no sign of puberty yet. When she swims she normally just likes to wear her tankini bottoms and a rash guard shirt (no tankini top underneath). I think they only swam maybe twice at my mom's. Wondering if it could be a reaction from the chlorine in their pool? Which seems odd, since we have had swimming lessons in the high school pool and have been swimming in a community pool all summer (which I imagine both use lots of chlorine as public pools) and she hasn't complained of this before. She had her normal body wash and lotion (Aveeno) with her this week and no new clothes or different detergents. It has been super hot and humid and only a main AC window unit is in the living room at my mom's, so it was hotter than normal for sleeping. Any ideas? She does have sensitive skin and gets dry, cracked skin on her wrists and hands year round that we put Aquephor on every night. I'll keep an eye on it and will take her to the ped. on Monday if it persists, but thought there might be some ideas here. Oh, DD2 was also at my mom's all week and no issues for her.

[essnce629]

Could the chemicals be off in your parent's pool? Do they have a test kit to check? My DS2's eyes get super red and burn in some pools but in others he's perfectly fine.

[wendibird22]

Chapped skin from being in a wet bathing suit for a long period of time? Maybe put aquaphor on them and see if it helps sooth the area.


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[mikala]

Around that age I had to start wearing undershirts or bralettes because even regular loose soft cotton shirts chafed over time. My guess is your daughter had a combo of things going on- different pool chemicals, plus chafing from wearing the wet rash guard longer than usual or just natural development sensitivity.

It sounds silly but you might have her wear a snug tank top or even bandaids over them for a day or two to see if reduced friction helps her heal.

[Pear]

I would guess chafing from the rash guard. Sensitive skin is also especially sensitive after prolonged sweating

[ang79]

Thanks, she says it doesn't hurt as bad today, but I told her if it bothers her to let me know and we can put some aquaphor on them. I'm thinking it was something with the pool water and maybe she stayed in her rash guard longer than normal (usually she takes it off and showers when she is done swimming). It just seemed like a really weird symptom!

[gatorsmom]

Did your mom wash some of your dd's clothes in a detergent you don't usually use at home? My 10 year old DS has been complaining that some of his shirts irritate his nipples. They become bright pink and raw. It turned out that it was only a couple of the button down shirts that I take to get washed and pressed at the cleaners. He only wears them to church on Sunday's and they irritate only his nipples. It's odd but we narrowed it down and sure enough those are the only shirts that bother him.

[California]

Like other PPs my first thought is the chemicals mixed with chafing irritated her, and hopefully she's feeling much better now.

For the future, some girls feel extra sensitive even before breast buds form. Was she wearing a bikini top under the rash guard? A bikini top with a soft lining might help. As others mentioned, some girls feel more comfortable with a soft fabric against their chest. At 10, a fine cotton, soft undershirt-style tank top can help.

[solsister]

Same thing happened with my daughter. The chafing was awful, staying in wet swimsuits made it worse.
We used the lanolin that I used for me when i was nursing. It really helped.

[ang79]

Same thing happened with my daughter. The chafing was awful, staying in wet swimsuits made it worse.
We used the lanolin that I used for me when i was nursing. It really helped.

Wish I still had some of that to try, but its been ages since I've needed it! After swimming in our community pool this afternoon she said one side was really hurting again. We put aquephor on it and covered with a bandaid. I did have her wear her tankini top underneath the rash guard today. Will try to baby it for the next few days and see if it improves. Poor girl is now worried about getting breasts since this is painful! She starts 4th grade next week in the intermediate building, and is worrying herself about being in a new school, new friends, new teachers, etc. We don't need anything else to worry about at this point.

[ang79]

delete - double post

[calebsmama03]

Around that age I had to start wearing undershirts or bralettes because even regular loose soft cotton shirts chafed over time. My guess is your daughter had a combo of things going on- different pool chemicals, plus chafing from wearing the wet rash guard longer than usual or just natural development sensitivity.

It sounds silly but you might have her wear a snug tank top or even bandaids over them for a day or two to see if reduced friction helps her heal.

This. DD (11) started wearing a half cami this past year before any signs of buds because she was getting raw nipples and chafing. Her rash guard was especially irritating (rough inside and moves around a lot) so she had to start wearing a swim top under it.

[SummerBaby]

This happened to DD from a rash guard chafing. She can't wear them anymore.

[123LuckyMom]

This doesn't just happen to girls! My DS got chafed something awful from a rash guard about a month ago. He's a super slim kid with good muscle mass, so no "breast" material. It was just a rougher material rash guard and ocean waves that did a number on his nipples. They healed in a couple of days without a rash guard, and he doesn't want to wear the rash guard any more. You can tell your DD it has absolutely nothing to do with getting breasts, and if she gets chafed from bathing suits, a couple of circular band aids over the nipples can help. So can wearing a one-piece suit so there's minimal fabric movement over her nipples. Poor thing! I hope she heals up soon!


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[California]

It's great that she's comfortable talking with you about this. Developing breasts is a whole different feeling than chafing! She may feel tenderness on one side, but it's kind of an inner little soreness under the nipple at the start of breast growth (like a growing pain.) There are lots of options for protecting her from chafing in the future. Right now it sounds like she's extra sensitive as she's healing. It really seems like the bigger "pain" girls experience is inner turmoil over " am I normal or not?" as one breasts grows and the other one doesn't, or they think their breasts look odd, too small, too big, too soon, too late, too something.