Testicular Pain
What are the reasons for pain in the testis?
Following reasons can cause pain in testicles:
- Hydrocele: This is abnormal collection of fluid in the covering of testis. There is continuous production and drainage of fluid from testis. Fluid can get accumulated if the drainage channels get blocked. The causes include infection, tuberculosis, testicular tumors, filariasis etc.
- Varicocele: Normally testis hangs in the scrotum attached with three structures. Vas deferens (Tube that carries sperm from testis into penis), tube that carries fresh blood into penis called an artery and a tube that carries stale blood away from testis into heart called a vein. Normally the flow of blood from vein in unidirectional which is because of presence of valves in it. If the valves get disrupted there is backflow of blood towards the testis leading to dilation and engorgement of veins called varicocele.
- Epididymo-orchitis: This indicates infection of testis and epididymus. Usually the swelling is secondary to infection in urine. The whole testis becomes enlarged, red and tender.
- Testicular torsion: Sometimes the testis during strenuous activity, masturbation or sex, gets rotated on its own axis. Due to rotation the blood supply of testis gets cut off. This is an emergency and it needs surgery as soon as it is detected. If not promptly corrected the testis will become non-viable within 6 hours.
- Urinary stone: If there is a stone stuck in the lower part of pipe carrying urine from kidney to urinary bladder, the pain can be felt in the testis. In such cases cause can be known only after doing a ultrasound scan of abdomen.
- Chronic orchalgia: Sometimes even after complete evaluation the reasons for pain is not known. In such cases if the patient has been having pain for a long time it is labelled as chronic orchalgia. The treatment involves giving certain medications to decrease the inflammation of nerves. If severe and unrelenting, a nerve block can be given at base of testis.
What is the treatment for testicular pain?
The treatment depends upon the cause. There are some general measures to control the pain. Firstly, don’t fiddle with the testicle too much. Repeated touch and movement can aggravate the pain. Secondly, keep the scrotum supported from below. Look at the design of underwear given below. The latter design will support the scrotum from below better. Procure this design of underwear. It should be of your size and not tight, just the correct design.
In case of testis torsion, if the testis is elevated from below, pain aggravates. In this situation one should go to the hospital urgently.
If one has hydrocele, treatment involves a small operation to drain the excess fluid and create alternate channel for drainage.
For varicocele, microsurgical varicocelectomy is done in which the dilated tortuous bunch of veins is ligated.
Epididymoorchites is treated with a course of antibiotics, anti-inflammatory medications along with scrotal support.
If there is a stone in ureter, it is better removed if larger than 7 mm. If smaller, medications can be given to expedite its expulsion.
If the pain is due to torsion testis, urgent surgery and de-torsion is done to save the testis from permanent damage.
If you are happy with your visit and are getting better please write a review:
You can google drsumiturologist or Deetyaclinic: there will be a business page towards right side. Please write a review and help us grow.
