Ball of Confusion
February 25, 2010 10:29 AM Subscribe
Have you ever bruised your...um, testicle?
I hit myself in the testicle last Saturday. It wasn't that hard, and after about 60 seconds of wincing I was over it and went on with my day. It was a direct hit, although not a hard one.
Later that day or the day after, a dull ache began and has sort of stayed with me since then. On the pain scale it is a bit above discomfort, but well below Pain with a capital P. If it was any other part of my body I would totally ignore it. There was some swelling, but I think it's gone down. There is no visible bruising.
If the pain continues through tonight, I will definitely see a doctor on Friday. What I am wondering is if anyone has ever bruised their testicle like this and if 4-5 days after the fact they were still sort of struggling with some dull aching. If so, how long did it take to stop hurting?
(I was tested for testicular cancer roughly 3 weeks ago, so I am pretty sure it is caused by the unfortunate collision on saturday.)
I hit myself in the testicle last Saturday. It wasn't that hard, and after about 60 seconds of wincing I was over it and went on with my day. It was a direct hit, although not a hard one.
Later that day or the day after, a dull ache began and has sort of stayed with me since then. On the pain scale it is a bit above discomfort, but well below Pain with a capital P. If it was any other part of my body I would totally ignore it. There was some swelling, but I think it's gone down. There is no visible bruising.
If the pain continues through tonight, I will definitely see a doctor on Friday. What I am wondering is if anyone has ever bruised their testicle like this and if 4-5 days after the fact they were still sort of struggling with some dull aching. If so, how long did it take to stop hurting?
(I was tested for testicular cancer roughly 3 weeks ago, so I am pretty sure it is caused by the unfortunate collision on saturday.)
When I was in 4th grade, Jackie Pearl kneed me straight up in the groin as hard as she could. I probably deserved it. She put her hands on my shoulders and brought her knee up.
I have never in my life felt pain like that. I fell over, clutching my testicles, and cried and cried and cried.
When I finally managed to scrape myself off the floor, I went into the backroom and looked at my testicles and I will never, ever forget what I saw then and there. They were black and blue and swollen and, I mean, I am not fucking around, they were black and blue, and that's semi-traumatic for a 4th grader.
I dealt with an extreme awe-inspiring find-God pain for several days. My memory is foggy but I also believe I went to the doctor. School officials were also notified. Anyway, after a handful of weeks the pain started to ebb.
Fucking Jackie Pearl, man.
posted by kbanas at 10:52 AM on February 25, 2010 [16 favorites]
I have never in my life felt pain like that. I fell over, clutching my testicles, and cried and cried and cried.
When I finally managed to scrape myself off the floor, I went into the backroom and looked at my testicles and I will never, ever forget what I saw then and there. They were black and blue and swollen and, I mean, I am not fucking around, they were black and blue, and that's semi-traumatic for a 4th grader.
I dealt with an extreme awe-inspiring find-God pain for several days. My memory is foggy but I also believe I went to the doctor. School officials were also notified. Anyway, after a handful of weeks the pain started to ebb.
Fucking Jackie Pearl, man.
posted by kbanas at 10:52 AM on February 25, 2010 [16 favorites]
Not for that long, no. Good call on seeing the doc. I know it will be embarrassing but better safe than sorry when it comes to this particular part of your anatomy. Good luck tomorrow.
posted by Silvertree at 11:03 AM on February 25, 2010
posted by Silvertree at 11:03 AM on February 25, 2010
Is it warm to the touch? It could be an inflammation of some sort, either incidental or due to trauma? Definitely not something to mess with - if you can get to a walk-in clinic today I would recommend it.
posted by muddgirl at 11:41 AM on February 25, 2010
posted by muddgirl at 11:41 AM on February 25, 2010
Good thing is most things down there take care of themselves AFAIK from research. Had some problems myself from biking, and currently from simply walking (and running for the bus). Not a doc, just sharing. Pain in the, er, crotch though to go through.
posted by hungrysquirrels at 11:44 AM on February 25, 2010
posted by hungrysquirrels at 11:44 AM on February 25, 2010
Response by poster: There were times it felt a little warm to the touch or the surrounding area.
posted by cuban link flooded jesus at 11:50 AM on February 25, 2010
posted by cuban link flooded jesus at 11:50 AM on February 25, 2010
I played soccer all through high school and college and once in a game got hit very hard in the 'nads. I got carried out, later walked it off. The next morning when showering for school I looked down and screamed. My scrotum was purple (that is unusual). Doctor checked me out, told me not to worry unless I felt pain. Unlike your situation, I felt no pain. It got better after a few days.
I now have two healthy children.
posted by Pollomacho at 12:52 PM on February 25, 2010
I now have two healthy children.
posted by Pollomacho at 12:52 PM on February 25, 2010
I experienced testicular torsion. Feelings of mild to moderate discomfort can go on for quite some time, months in my case. Fortunately for the boys, I did something about it before anything permanent happened, but the surgeon said things could have gone south, as it were, at literally any time.
If you do go to get checked out, ask to see a urologist, not just a GP. And try to make an appointment rather than going to the ER. Most physicians' offices are understanding about something like this which is urgent while not necessarily being emergent.
posted by valkyryn at 2:21 PM on February 25, 2010
If you do go to get checked out, ask to see a urologist, not just a GP. And try to make an appointment rather than going to the ER. Most physicians' offices are understanding about something like this which is urgent while not necessarily being emergent.
posted by valkyryn at 2:21 PM on February 25, 2010
Just to make sure this point is clear, a testicular torsion is an emergency, real torsion (not intermittent torsion as it sounds like valkyryn must have had) implies that the blood supply to your testicle is cut off, and that means after about 6 hours, your testicle is likely to be dead. So if you are actually concerned and have significant pain in your testicle, you should go to an ER because you need to be in the operating room in time to save it.
See here for more information that I think is relatively readable.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testicular_torsion
Testicular torsion tends to be sudden and intense, rather than gradual and mild, but I can't comment on this specific case because I'd feel uncomfortable saying anything definitive about this over the internet.
There are plenty of other reasons for testicles to be painful though, aside from torsion, I just wanted to clarify on valkyryn's post because it implies you could see a GP for torsion (otherwise valkyryn, amen, because most people are far too quick to jump to the ER as a solution). You can definitely see a GP for bruising of your testicle, but for true torsion, you need a surgeon ASAP.
posted by treehorn+bunny at 3:47 PM on February 25, 2010
See here for more information that I think is relatively readable.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Testicular_torsion
Testicular torsion tends to be sudden and intense, rather than gradual and mild, but I can't comment on this specific case because I'd feel uncomfortable saying anything definitive about this over the internet.
There are plenty of other reasons for testicles to be painful though, aside from torsion, I just wanted to clarify on valkyryn's post because it implies you could see a GP for torsion (otherwise valkyryn, amen, because most people are far too quick to jump to the ER as a solution). You can definitely see a GP for bruising of your testicle, but for true torsion, you need a surgeon ASAP.
posted by treehorn+bunny at 3:47 PM on February 25, 2010
IT'S ONE OF YOUR TESTICLES.
Go see a doctor. Seriously.
posted by EarBucket at 5:26 PM on February 25, 2010
Go see a doctor. Seriously.
posted by EarBucket at 5:26 PM on February 25, 2010
Response by poster: I went to go see a doctor last night. He diagnosed it as a testicular contusion. He seemed to not think partial torsion was an issue, given my level of pain and duration of pain, etc. Hopefully the old boy will heal up soon.
posted by cuban link flooded jesus at 4:33 AM on February 26, 2010
posted by cuban link flooded jesus at 4:33 AM on February 26, 2010
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posted by Zed at 10:40 AM on February 25, 2010