Overview
Do not ignore testicular Torsion which is a medical emergency. It is highly painful and you may lose the affected testicle if not treated on time.
When the spermatic cord which supplies blood to the scrotum twists, testicular torsion occurs. Blood flow to the testicles may reduce or completely stop resulting in tissue damages.
It is more common in teenagers although men of all ages and infants can also be affected. The incidences of testicular torsion are very limited and chances are that it may not affect you at all in your full life.
What Causes Testicular Torsion?
You may have been born with a deformity that increases your risks of twisting your spermatic cord and you may not even be aware of it.
Let us look at the 3 main causes of Testicular torsion including the deformity.
- Bell clapper deformity- this is a condition in which the connective tissues between your scrotum and testicles are weak. As a result your testicles which are not supposed to move freely in the scrotum can move freely increasing the risk of twist in the spermatic cord causing testicular torsion.
- Puberty - this is one of the most prevalent causes of this otherwise rare condition. Rapid growth during the puberty years can cause torsion and severe testicular pain.
- Injury - injury is also one of the causes of the testicular torsion. This is particularly applicable to those who are involved in Sporting and other high impact physical activity. Wear protective cups during this kind of activity to reduce the risks.
The Torsion in the test usually occurs only in one testicle. Simultaneous Torsion in both the testicle is an extremely rare condition. It can appear at any time, even during sleep.
Signs and Symptoms of Testicular Torsion
Severe pain in your testicles is one of the main symptoms of the testicular torsion. Although the conditions such as epididymitis can also cause similar pain. Though epididymitis is not an emergency condition you should take your server testicular pain as an emergency to rule out testicular torsion. It's also followed with swelling of the one slide if the scrotum or even the entire scrotum sac may get swelling.
Other symptoms include
- Abdominal pain
- Dizziness
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Fever
- Lump in the scrotum sac
- Painful urination
- Blood in the semen
- One testicle stays higher than the other with an angle
So if you get one or more of these symptoms then you must check for testicular Torsion and save yourtesticle.
Home Remedies for Testicular Torsion
You can't do much at home to treat testicular torsion. But what you can do is to protect your testicles before medical help arrives.
You have 6-8 hours before damage to your testicles begins, so protect the testicles during the wait.
Do the following
- Call for medical assistant as soon as you recognise this serious symptoms of testicular torsion or ask somebody to drive you to the nearest medical care centre.
- Manually try to untangle the torsion if possible. The testicular pain will be very severe during this process. So avoid if you are a faint hearted person. Even if you manage to untangle you still have to get full medical attention.
- Secure your testicles in your body with tight cloth wrapped around your affected testicle.
- Restrict any movement of testicle.
- Calm down and take rest until reaching to a doctor
- Avoid drinking any liquid as far as possible
Diagnosis and Treatment of Testicular Torsion
Doctors usually do a physical examination of your testicle and also recommend measurement of blood flow in the testicle with the help of ultrasound. Lower than normal blood flow is an indication of the torsion of tests.
Doctors may also do blood tests to rule out any infections which may be causing the swelling.
In some cases testicular Torsion may happen intermittently. Let me akka and then get untangled. So you may get severe pain and by the time you approach medical help it might have just subsided. Even in these cases one should go for permanent treatment because the condition may occur and make all even more serious problems.
Surgery
It is rare but possible to manually untwist the spermatic cord with my hand in a procedure called manual detorsion. But in most cases surgery is the only option.
Since blood flow is restricted to testicles during the testicular Torsion it becomes an emergency to provide blood supply. This can only be achieved through surgery. The surgery has to be done within 6 to 8 hours to avoid death of any tissues.
A small incision in the scrotum is made by your doctor to untangle the spermatic cord. After the detorsion of the cord, the doctor will stitch your testicles with the scrotum to avoid any future torsion of the tests. Your testicle will then not rote in the scrotum and thus way the spermatic cord is spared from.twisting.
Preventions and Precautions
There are no clear cut causes or guidelines for testicular torsion. It is rare but it can happen at any time. Following following knowledge will be helpful in preventing difficulties of the torsion
The highest probability of testicular Torsion to occur he is at the age of puberty or in an infant stage. The probability significantly reduces as you age, however it can occur in an accident.
If you had defects in the connecting tissues between the scrotum and the testicles then the probability increases. You should be aware of that.
- Family history can impact you too.
- Previous incidences of the Torsion can get repeated
- Injury to the scrotum can also cause distortion of your testicles
You can protect yourself from testicular Torsion occurring due to injury by taking the following precautions
- Use protective cups when you play contact sports such as football soccer and rugby.
- Wear tight briefs to minimise chances of rotation of testicles
- Don't Remove your underwears during sleep.
- Avoid all kinds of rigorous activities if you are at risk of testicular torsion
General or normal physical activity will not cause testicular Torsion it is the rigorous activity that you have to be concerned about.