What is This White Milky Discharge?

When it occurs in men or in women who have never been pregnant, it is likely to be caused by an underlying disease. The likelihood of nipple discharge increases with age. It is somewhat common in women who have had at least one pregnancy or are in the final weeks of pregnancy.ʺ

The website also stated ʺthe nipple discharge has many other causes that are NOT breast cancer.ʺ These may include:

• "Witch's milk," a term used to describe nipple discharge in a newborn. The discharge is a response to hormones from the mother before birth, and should disappear within two weeks.

• Pregnancy, usually during the second trimester
• A tumor in the brain called a prolactinoma or microadenoma
• Widening of the milk ducts (called ductal ectasia), normally not a cancerous problem
• A small, noncancerous growth in the breast called an intraductal papilloma
• Use of certain drugs, including birth control pills, cimetidine, methyldopa, metoclopramide, phenothiazines, reserpine, tricyclic antidepressants, or verapamil
• Severe hypothyroidism
• Breast abscess located underneath the areola (most commonly seen in women during breastfeeding)
• Injury to the breast or chest wall (milky discharge)

References:

Vaginal Discharge | Overview -- FamilyDoctor.org. Health Education | Illnesses, Diseases & Conditions -- FamilyDoctor.org. Retrieved February 9, 2012, from http://familydoctor.org/familydoctor/en/diseases-conditions/vaginal-discharge.html

Vaginal Discharge | Causes & Risk Factors -- FamilyDoctor.org. Health Education | Illnesses, Diseases & Conditions -- FamilyDoctor.org. Retrieved February 9, 2012, from
http://familydoctor.org/familydoctor/en/diseases-conditions/vaginal-discharge/causes-risk-factors.html

Vaginal Discharge | Symptoms -- FamilyDoctor.org. Health Education | Illnesses, Diseases & Conditions -- FamilyDoctor.org. Retrieved February 9, 2012, from http://familydoctor.org/familydoctor/en/diseases-conditions/vaginal-discharge/symptoms.html

Nipple problems: MedlinePlus Medical Encyclopedia. National Library of Medicine - National Institutes of Health.

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