Could it be that someone doesn't have nipples? What caused it?

You may have heard before that some people have drooping nipples. So, what about those who don't have nipples at all? Yes, actually everyone has a pair of nipples, both male and female. So what about someone who doesn't have nipples?

Whether male or female, you may not have nipples

Athelia is a condition in which someone is born without having one or both nipples. Although athelia is rare, it is more common in children born with conditions such as Polish syndrome and ectodermal dysplasia.

Athelia occurs depending on the conditions that caused it. Usually, people with athelia, do not have nipples and aerola. The nipple may be missing on one or both sides of the body.

Athelia is different from Amastia and Amazon. Amastia is a person who has no breasts or undeveloped breasts, while amazia is the absence of breast tissue but the nipple is still not gone. However, athelia may co-occur with amastia.

A child is more likely to be born with athelia if one parent has a condition that causes it. Poland syndrome is more common in boys than girls, but ectodermal dysplasia can affect both men and women.

What causes absent nipples?

People who do not have nipples can be caused by conditions such as Poland syndrome and ectodermal dysplasia.

Poland Syndrome

Poland syndrome affects about 1 in every 20,000 newborns. A person with Poland syndrome can be born without the entire breast, nipple, and aerola on one side.

Researchers don't know exactly what causes this syndrome. However, this is likely caused by problems with blood flow in the uterus during the sixth week of pregnancy. Poland syndrome is rarely caused by changes in genes that are passed down through the family

Poland syndrome can affect the arteries that supply blood to the chest of a developing baby. It is thought that a lack of blood may result in the chest not developing normally.

Children who are born with this condition usually do not have or do not develop chest muscles, often referred to as pectoralis major. Where the pectoralis major muscle is where the breast muscles attach. So resulting in the condition of the absence of breasts (amastia) and not having nipples which is often called athelia.

Other symptoms of Polish syndrome include:

• Missing ribs or underdeveloped on one side of the body
• Missing or underdeveloped breast or nipple on one side of the body
• Webbed fingers on one hand (cutaneous syndactyly)
• Short bone on the forearm
• The least amount of hair growing on the armpits

In rare cases, girls with Poland syndrome can develop amastia.

Ectodermal dysplasia

Ectodermal dysplasia is a group of distinct genetic syndromes. This syndrome affects the development of the skin, teeth, hair, nails, sweat glands and other parts of the body. They all originate from the ectoderm layer, the layer in the early embryonic development. This condition occurs when the ectoderm lining does not develop properly.

People with ectodermal dysplasia may experience symptoms such as:

• Thin hair.
• Abnormal tooth development.
• Cannot sweat (hypohidrosis).
• Vision or hearing problems.
• Missing or underdeveloped fingers or toes.
• The presence of a gap in the lips or roof of the mouth.
• Unusual skin tone.
• Thin, brittle, cracked nails.
• Incomplete breast development.
• Difficulty breathing.

The genetic mutation causes ectodermal dysplasia. These genes can pass from parents to children or can mutate (change) when the baby is in the womb.

Other causes

Other causes of someone not having nipples include:

• Progeria Syndrome. This condition causes people to grow old very quickly.
• Yunis Varon Syndrome. Rare congenital conditions affect the face, chest and other parts of the body.
• Scalp-ear-nipple syndrome. This condition causes hairless patches to form on the scalp, underdeveloped ears, and nipples or breasts that disappear on both sides.
• Al-Awadi-Rass-Rothschild Syndrome. A rare, inherited genetic condition that occurs when bones are imperfectly formed.

Are there any complications if you don't have nipples?

Lack of nipples on their own does not cause complications. However, some of the conditions that cause athelia can cause health problems. For example, severe Poland syndrome can affect the lungs, kidneys and other organs.

If you do not have nipples on one or both sides of the breast, it will be difficult for you to breastfeed your baby.

What is the treatment for athelia?

You don't need to treat athelia unless the appearance of this missing nipple bothers you.

If you have lost your entire breast, you can have reconstructive surgery using tissue from your stomach, buttocks, or back. The nipple and areola can then be created during another procedure. To create a nipple, your surgeon will fold the tissue into the correct shape.

If desired, you can proceed to have an areola shape tattoo on your skin. The new 3-D tattoo procedure uses social needles coated in pigment to create more realistic three-dimensional nipples.