I made my nipples bleed the other day. That’s right – my nipples. Not something you hear everyday, and before I was even a runner I did not know that a guy’s nipples could bleed. I mean, I guess it makes sense that they can but it is not something I spend even an iota of time thinking about.
My nipple problem seems to flare up when I run in the rain. There is something about getting my shirt and jacket wet and the friction that creates to rub me just enough to open them up. I never really notice it while I am running – adrenaline, serotonin, whatever – but after I finish, take my shirt of and get down to some relaxation the burning hits me. You know the feeling – a pain that does not go away because if you put a shirt on the rubbing continues the irritation you and if you go shirtless the air freakin’ burns. No escape from the pain. I won’t even go into what happens when you get in the shower and the water pelts your nipples like a shotgun bringing a grown man close to tears.
I tried to explain the situation to my wife, but she had no sympathy explaining that our two kids took a round out of her when they were breastfeeding. This situation is not really something you discuss with the guys – “hey Frank, how are your nipples?†That could bring a guy more trouble than just bleeding nipples.
So here I am writing about my pain, using the only outlet I know of to talk openly about the plight of the male runner.
After a bit of research, I have discovered that there is some help. Some companies, although somewhat covertly, advertise and sell body chaffing reduction devices that more often than not never refer to the nipple for fear of offending someone. Other suggestions out there are to smear Vaseline on them, but then you are just a guy running around who looks like you are lactating. The best solution for me – the band-aide. I just stick a couple of these on and wa ‘la – no more bleeding nipples. At least until I forget to put them on and head out for a run in the rain….
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10 comments so far
I feel you pain brother! I think bandaids are the best solution too - second comes running with the shirt off (best to remove bandaids first) and third comes bodyglide.
I never bother with anything other than bandaids. They do the trick just fine and are pretty cheap. I normally don’t need them unless it is very cold out or I am running a marathon, where it is more for preventative measure than because I will actually need it. It is a no-fun situation, that’s for sure.
Ha ha, its funny how you describe the whole bleeding nipple ordeal. I have always had this problem for years, but never did any research on it. Good to hear it remedied with band-aids or Vaseline. Happy (painless) running!
I thought I will quit from running after seeing blood on my t-shirt. I was at the middle of training for the 13-mile marathon. How can I finish a 13-mile marathon when my nipples just bleed after running for only 7 miles? Haven’t tried band-aid yet but it’s worth trying than quiting the marathon. Thanks for the tip…
After running regularly over the past three years, the nipple issue did not pop up (sorry) until recently when I was able to increase my distance up to 10 miles. That’s when I noticed the blood and — yeow — the shower pain. Been trying vaseline, which helps somewhat, but I ran 12 miles on Sunday and though no blood, I am quite chafed and not without discomfort.
As a hairy chested guy, the band-aid solution frightens me more since I don’t want to endure what the 40-Year Old Virgin had to face.
My personal (undocumented) theory on this topic is that the running increases blood flow, causing the nipples to become more prominent and therefore susceptible to irritation, chafing, and, ultimately, bleeding. Anyone ever read anything on this notion?
I must all correct you. Forget bandaid and all the other rest - go deal with the nipple-pain and much more important: show it to all the others with my new shirt: http://www.spreadshirt.net/shop.php?article_id=5100751&view_id=243
Know what i mean
Carlos “El Comandante” Pinto
Urban Sport Guerrilla
www.endorphinum.de
I have the same problem, and I was looking for a remedy. Thanks for the posting. Based on net literature 1)band-aide 2)valesine are the solutions!
What about Under Armor or other bra-like apparel? It seems to work for me. If you take away your shirt’s ability to chaff, you won’t get chafed, right?
In training for a half-marathon, I jogged for 1.5 hours today (about 10 miles), longer than I have ever gone before, without slowing temporarily to a walk. At the end I saw the blood on my tee. eek! Immediately, I knew what it was from, but what a shocker.
The marathon is just two weeks away, and until I visited this forum, I was afraid I might have to cut back from long runs. I so wanted to be able to finish the 13 miles under 2 hours, which has been my goal for a couple years.
I shall make an appointment with my doctor just to be on the safe side, but it was a relief to read that it is not an unusual problem. Thank you everybody for sharing.
glad to hear i’m not the only one with this problem, but for women, i feel it may be worse, only because we have no choice but to wear something tight (such as a sports bra) and therefore there’s absolutely no air in there! At times, I feared I was lactating, but totally not the case
Glad I can now attempt to remedy this
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