I have searched the internet for an answer to this, with no luck, it seems others have done the same. The last three weeks or so, when my boyfriend has said my nipples taste bitter and almost sour when he licks them. The rest of my breast tastes completely normal and my nipples have always tasted normal before. To rule out most internet theories:
*I shower at least once a day, and have tried different soaps with my loofa and I always clean very very well.
*Even the second I get out of the shower, they still taste bitter.
*I am not pregnant, I've had Mirena for over a year, and just had a pregnancy test last week at the obgyn
*I have never been pregnant
*They look completely normal, no rash or swelling
*There is not discharge of any sort.
Please help

He is nuts. Unless you are discharging something, then that area of your body should "taste" the same as your arm or leg.

Tell him to get over it or stop "tasting" that area.

I do not believe he is nuts. He is very honest and quite stable. I have had hormone troubles for most of my life, and considering the prevalence of this issue on the web, I believe that it must be a problem that many couples face. I would just like to know what is wrong with me and how to fix it. I would like my body to be as completely pleasant to him as it was a month ago since he is always very concerned with how pleasant his body is to me. So please, medically relevant answers if it isn't too much trouble.

Have you changed vitamins or starting taking any new medications?
New bra? Maybe something to do with the material?:confused:

No vitamins, and I've been taking the same two meds for a year. I have bought new bras, but I can't imagine wearing a bra one day would cause a funny taste for three weeks. The materials vary from lace to silk to cotton, so nothing new. Thank you for your suggestions, they are very much appreciated. I believe however, that since no amount of washing them or leaving them be helps, it must be something internal and medically wrong.

I do not believe he is nuts. He is very honest and quite stable. I have had hormone troubles for most of my life, and considering the prevalence of this issue on the web, I believe that it must be a problem that many couples face. I would just like to know what is wrong with me and how to fix it. I would like my body to be as completely pleasant to him as it was a month ago since he is always very concerned with how pleasant his body is to me. So please, medically relevant answers if it isn't too much trouble.

I'm sure you are right that he is not "nuts". That was not a good choice of words for my post.

I apologize.

... but my initial thought is, I believe, correct: It's just skin. Unless there is an internal issue (discharge) or external issue (such as asked about by others) then there is no reason to think that skin from one part of the body would "taste" different than any other part of the body.

Thank you for retracting that. I think that perhaps you don't understand skin. Your skin is an organ that is designed to excrete and absorb things of all sizes and many consistencies. What my skin is secreting, as is suggested by others I and my boyfriend have found on the web, could very likely be microscopic. It is clear that something is coming from my skin, simply not a visible discharge. It is there and not on the rest of my skin because the epithelial tissue there is highly specialized for a different purpose than other skin and so has different properties and problems.

Elodea, thank you for not beating me up for using a wrong word.

You're on the right track: I think you are helping yourself by narrowing things down to the cause.

1. He may be imagining things, or
2. Something about you (whether internal or external) is causing it.

I'm sure that I won't be the one to give a final answer to your question here, but I'm thankful to know that we have so many awesome people (including medical professonals) that are here to help.

Stay tuned - and read well what the others say. I'll count on knowing that you will get better information here than you can get anywhere else (unless you're willing to spend hundreds of bucks to visit doctors about the issue).

As a follow up, here's a thought/question to consider:

Have him check other skin areas to see if he gets the same "taste".

No, I'm not talking about what some might think or joke about: I'm being serious.

We have done all such "taste tests," and I do not taste strange anywhere else. I also do not believe he is imagining it. He has never tasted/smelled/heard/saw things that aren't there. He is not the finicky paranoid type but thank you for your suggestions. I hope that you are right and a doctor who is familiar with this answers my question soon.

Rick, the Breast Doctor. Now I need to specialize in that. Need an apprentice?

There may be an actual anatomic and medical reason:


Areolar glands - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Areolar_glands)

What are Montgomery's tubercles? - iVillage (http://www.ivillage.com/what-are-montgomerys-tubercles/6-n-138384)

I could imagine that be a reasonable cause for the taste.

I think this is a fairly common thing. My current girlfriend and my last one both have/had occasional bitter tasting nipples (as the OP said, no discharge, and completely normal looking, and no other areas taste like that). I'm starting to think it may have something to do with their cycle, but definitely not sure.