Whoa, please, no major scare tactics without some sort of basis in reality, okay?

No, the bumps on your nipples are not -- and I mean, I haven't seen 'em, but I am about 99.999999999% sure anyway -- a sign that there is anything wrong with you, let alone cancer.

Many women get bumps on their nipples. They're usually due to blocked oil glands. The skin of your nipples has some very large oil glands and connected tubules in it, and occasionally they can get plugged up with dead skin cells and skin oils (just like the oil glands and pores on your face or any other part of your body). It's not usually a big deal.

If you were to squeeze one of those bumps like a pimple, you'd probably get some whitish stuff to come out -- just like a pimple, pretty much. The difference between the bumps you're seeing and a garden-variety zit is inflammation and infection, which is what makes zits hurt. And just like garden-variety zits, if you leave those bumps alone, they'll probably go away of their own accord. Which is what we recommend, and what a doctor would recommend. Don't squeeze them, you'll only traumatize the tissue. Just leave it be.

If the bumps get hot, hard, swollen, painful, or if they get considerably larger in size, do go see a doctor. Otherwise, you have nothing to worry about.

Just FYI, folks, breast cancer usually takes place within the breast tissue itself, inside the breast, and not on the skin surface. Regular breast exams -- you can get your gynecologist to teach you how to do a breast self-exam -- are an excellent way to keep an eye out for any suspicious lumps in the breast tissue.

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Hanne Blank
Co-Editor, Scarleteen

Do you know what those little bumps on nipples are for? It's braille for "lick here".