10 unspeakable secrets of men's private parts

The testicles are the most important sexual organs for men. They produce sperm and secrete testosterone. They are the basis of men. Don't wait until the disease really strikes before attracting public attention. Why not observe and understand it earlier to prevent it from happening?

1. Redness and swelling behind the “diamond” – epididymitis

Causes and consequences: The epididymis is located around the posterior edge of the testicles, where sperm is temporarily stored after production. Epididymitis is common in people around 30 years old, mostly due to bacterial infection of the urinary tract that has not healed, causing the bacteria to enter the epididymis through the lumen of the vas deferens. It often occurs with posterior urethritis, prostatitis, seminal vesiculitis, etc. The site can be unilateral or bilateral, and the onset time can be acute or slow.

Your examination: The entire scrotum is red, swollen, hot and painful, sensitive to touch, and burning when urinating. The scrotum is painful when it is still, but the symptoms are relieved when lying on your back.

Doctor's treatment: Prescribe antibiotics to relieve acute pain. Then apply cold compress to the testicles and raise them at the same time, you can put a rolled up sock or medical gauze underneath. If you don't know how to put it on yourself, you can wear a fixed briefs - it can also reduce the discomfort and swelling of the spermatic cord.

To prevent recurrence: Although men are much less likely to get urinary tract infections than women, once they occur, the consequences can be serious. If you have a burning sensation when urinating, you must see a doctor immediately.

2. Bacteria erode the "diamond" - orchitis

Causes and consequences: Most cases are caused by direct spread of epididymitis to the testicles, which is caused by bacteria. Acute orchitis in children is usually caused by the mumps virus.

Your examination: Similar to epididymitis, but the testicular redness and heat are not so obvious and strong. You can clearly see that one or both testicles are enlarged and painful to press, and the scrotal skin is also obviously red and swollen, and feels hot to the touch.

Doctor's treatment: Since severe orchitis can cause loss of fertility, doctors will use antibiotics in addition to painkillers; cold compresses should also be applied to the testicles. If doctors do not properly treat the acute stage, bacterial orchitis can form abscesses or develop into chronic orchitis.

To prevent recurrence: Children can be vaccinated against mumps.

3. "A few bugs have drilled into the scrotum" - Varicose vein

Causes and consequences: Varicose veins occur in 10% of men aged 30 to 40. 90% of cases occur on the left side, due to blood congestion in the spermatic vein, which causes the venous plexus to dilate, become tortuous, and become longer. Varicose veins can also be caused by kidney tumors. Varicose veins deserve attention because they may be accompanied by testicular atrophy and sperm production disorders, leading to infertility.

Your examination: You may feel a dull pain, like a small bag of worms has drilled into your scrotum, or you may not feel anything at all. But when you stand up, you can see or feel the varicose veins in the spermatic cord. If you puff up your belly and increase abdominal pressure, you can see that the varicose veins are more severe. A few people will also have neurasthenia. In more serious cases, there will be scrotal swelling and pain, and back pain after standing for a long time, but lying down and resting can relieve it.

Doctor treatment: Special examination methods, such as ultrasound diagnosis and infrared contact scrotal temperature measurement, will reveal varicocele, and the doctor will determine whether your symptoms require treatment. At this time, either inject drugs to close it, or tie it up to block and close the blood vessels. This is a minor operation that requires anesthesia and takes about 30 minutes.

To prevent recurrence: Since varicocele is a type of venous tumor, as long as new venous tumors appear repeatedly in the body, new varicocele is likely to occur.

4. “Third testicle” – spermatocele

Cause and effect: A benign cyst occurs when sperm stays in the testicle or epididymis. The swollen and raised mass is mostly as big as a sugar cube. People jokingly call it the third testicle. Fortunately, this situation is very rare.

Your examination: Although there will be no pain, the swelling is like a ball growing above your testicles and can be felt separately. Under the illumination of a flashlight in a dark room, the spermatocele is shiny.

Doctor's treatment: No treatment is necessary. If you are determined to get rid of the lumps, your doctor can remove them surgically.

To prevent recurrence: Avoid trauma to the testicles and scrotum. Have regular sex and avoid prolonged sexual impulses.

5. Excess fluid - scrotal cyst

Cause: Caused by an overproduction of tissue water between the membrane layers surrounding one or both testicles. Sometimes it occurs after a testicular injury or orchitis, but in most cases no cause can be found.

Your examination: The scrotum appears swollen and bulging, sometimes the cyst can even reach the size of a football, but it does not feel painful. Doctor's treatment: You can use a minor anesthesia surgery to drain the excess tissue water, and the doctor will also sew up the small holes in the scrotum that leak fluid.

6. The cause of the accident: testicular bruise

Causes and consequences: When the testicles are injured, there will be local swelling and bruising. Because the scrotal skin is loose, the blood flow to the testicles is abundant, and it is very easy to cause blood swelling and infection after injury. Vigorous exercise or sexual behavior, violence can sometimes cause strong contraction of the levator testis muscle, making the testicles "worse". After trauma, if the blood vessels that supply nutrients to the testicles are severely damaged, they will atrophy and necrotize, causing impotence or sexual dysfunction.

Your examination: If you feel severe pain after testicular trauma, you should use a flashlight to check your scrotum in a dark room. If the light cannot pass through the scrotum, it means there is hematoma.

Doctor's treatment: Generally, you must sit or lie down first to check for rupture or external bleeding. If the testicles are symmetrical and not misplaced, you can use a wide band to support them to reduce shaking and relieve pain. If there is no wide band, you can tear up old clothes instead and just hold them up to fix them. If there is swelling, cold compress can be used to help control internal bleeding.

To prevent it from happening again: Even if you may think at the first moment that you will not die, the excruciating pain will come after a few minutes and make you realize that something is wrong.

7. Rough blow to the croup - testicular rupture

Cause and effect: If the following words are really hit by misfortune... The testicles are located inside the scrotum and outside the body surface, which is the most vulnerable part of men. Closed injuries are more common, such as kicking, grabbing, squeezing, and riding; open injuries are less common except in wartime, such as stabbing and gunshot injuries.

Your examination: You instinctively curl up and pray that the severe testicular pain will go away as soon as possible. In severe cases, you may experience fainting, scrotal hematoma, unclear testicular contour, sweating, nausea, and dizziness.

Doctor's treatment: By using ultrasound examination and palpation, the doctor can completely determine whether the testicle has been ruptured. Apply cold compress first. During the debridement, the doctor will try to preserve the testicular tissue. Once the spermatic artery is ruptured or the testicle is severely ruptured and cannot be repaired, the testicle must be removed, and drainage must be placed in the scrotum, and antibiotics must be used to prevent recurrence of infection.

To prevent recurrence: Strengthen protection below the waist.

8. Zipper's fault: scrotal skin injury

Cause: Scratches, scrapes, or bruises caused by zippers.

Your examination: ecchymoses and bloody edemas on the scrotal skin. If the scrotum is torn, the testicles are exposed on the surface.

Doctor's treatment: Scrotal skin wounds heal quickly, so they do not require special emergency treatment. Only larger wounds require consultation with a specialist. If the skin is not torn, you can rest in bed and apply cold compresses to relieve pain. On the contrary, you need to inject tetanus antitoxin, clean the wound locally, remove foreign bodies, insert the testicles, and use antibiotics to prevent re-infection. If the scrotal skin is completely torn off, surgery is required to reconstruct the scrotum.

To prevent recurrence: Avoid trauma to the scrotal area.

9. Breathtaking twist - testicular twist

Causes and consequences: Testicular torsion is not uncommon, and can occur in newborns to the elderly, but the incidence is higher in children and people aged 20 to 25. This torsion may be removed due to testicular necrosis. The longer the delay, the greater the possibility of testicular dysfunction. Even if the testicle is not removed, the sperm function of the testicle is often damaged due to prolonged ischemia, resulting in testicular atrophy. The essential cause of torsion is generally congenital malformation of the reproductive organs. If the levator testis is stimulated during exercise, trauma, or sleep, causing it to contract and strengthen, causing the levator testis fibers to appear spiral, coupled with the weight of the testicle, especially those with only one exposed testicle, are more likely to develop this disease. Testicular torsion is prone to occur at night or in the early morning.

Your examination: Suddenly you can't move, and you feel swelling and tenderness on one side of your scrotum, severe pain, and pain that spreads to your lower abdomen, groin, or thigh; not only that, you also have nausea, vomiting, and fever.

Doctor's treatment: In the early stage of testicular torsion, a "manual reduction" operation of about half an hour can achieve good results, but if the disease lasts for a long time, it can only be treated surgically. Usually after six hours of testicular torsion, irreversible damage will be caused, so that the testicle must be removed. Mild testicular torsion is very painful at the time, but it will be quickly relieved after a short rest, and general activities can be carried out after bandaging; once it is hit, bumped, pinched, etc., it will cause severe pain, and severe cases will even go into shock. If unfortunately it happens, after treatment, you should ask the doctor to do a routine semen examination to understand the function of the testicle on the diseased side. This is especially important for unmarried men.

To prevent recurrence: If a man aged 20 to 25 suddenly develops scrotal swelling and pain, he should consider the possibility of testicular torsion and go to the hospital's urology department for examination and treatment as soon as possible.

10. A tumor that challenges the body: testicular cancer

Causes and consequences: Testicular cancer is one of the most common cancers in young men. According to statistics, the incidence of testicular cancer in men is 7 per 100,000, and it is increasing year by year. The cause is usually the metastasis of malignant tumors.

Your examination: Before canceration, there is no warning of pain or discomfort in the scrotum. Most cases are accidentally felt while bathing. If the swelling is hard, you should seek medical attention immediately. A small number of people may have acute orchitis, which can cause redness, swelling, heat and pain in the testicles, and chills.

Doctor's treatment: First, an ultrasound examination found a tumor suspected of cancer, and several tumor indicators increased. Once it is confirmed to be cancer, the testicle and spermatic cord must be removed. Usually, it is rare for both testicles to become cancerous, so fertility will be preserved. Even if the tumor has not yet formed serious metastasis, measures should be taken early to avoid deterioration. Generally speaking, if the tumor has not metastasized, the cure rate is 95%. Even if the cancer cells have spread, the chance of cure is 80 to 90 percent higher than many other cancers.

To prevent recurrence: It is recommended that you touch your testicles frequently to detect abnormalities early, get a doctor's diagnosis and timely treatment, so that the chance of cure is higher. Remember: time is life. In addition, if primary acute orchitis is ineffective after treatment by a doctor, the possibility of cancer should be considered. The testicles are elastic, swell when hot and shrink when cold. The best time to check is after a hot water bath, because the scrotum is relaxed at this time.