Time for a review

They make you feel like a real man. You are proud of them. How you treat your intimate organs affects how they function in the future. Know the threats and learn how to spot them. And when you see or investigate something suspicious – contact a specialist. Here are 12 problems young men – not only intimate – that should not be ignored.

1. Pain located in the epigastrium, occurring on an empty stomach, increasing after drinking coffee, disappearing after a meal

Reasons: You may be suffering from duodenal ulcer, which is common in men (much more often than women) who consume large amounts of coffee and alcohol, smoke cigarettes, and live under stress and constant rush. The disease is also influenced by H. pylori infection.

What to do: Visit your family doctor or gastroenterologist. However, if you have noticed symptoms such as severe abdominal pain accompanied by vomiting and bleeding, black tarry or bloody stools, go to the emergency room as soon as possible.

2. 3-4 unprotected sexual intercourse a week for a year, and no pregnancy

Cause:

It could be infertility. The problem affects 10-15 percent. couples of reproductive age. The male-dependent factors include systemic diseases and diseases of individual organs, such as: diabetes mellitus, thyroid diseases, hypopituitarism, hypopituitarism, hyperprolactinaemia, as well as psychological factors, impotence, drugs, alcohol, some medications. Infertility may be associated with testicular diseases (cancer, cryptorchidism, varicocele, testicular hydrocele, trauma), some genetic diseases and other disorders of the reproductive system. The quality of sperm, which is the most common cause of infertility, is influenced by overheating, the use of stimulants, a diet low in vitamin C, zinc, selenium and folic acid, as well as exposure to chemicals (pesticides) and heavy metals (lead, cadmium, arsenic) . Low testosterone levels and infections (sexually transmitted diseases, urinary tract infections and mumps after puberty) can also be a problem.

What to do:

Consult an andrologist or family doctor to determine if you are dealing with infertility or infertility, which is a permanent inability to have a baby. There are many biological and environmental factors that can be eliminated. Some problems can be successfully treated.

3. A dream that keeps others awake

Reasons: If your snoring is loud and irregular, and you have noticed that you are getting tired more and more often, you wake up feeling awake and unable to concentrate during the day, you may be suffering from obstructive sleep apnea (OSA). Some men with this disease experience potency and nighttime urination disorders, sometimes multiple times. Some people have a tendency to take uncontrolled, short-term naps, which can be fatal when driving a car or working at height.

What to do: As soon as possible, go to your family doctor and contact a pulmonologist or an OSA clinic with a referral.

4. Recurrent pain in the lower leg, occurring with walking and relieving after rest

Reasons: This could be Bürger’s disease, or thromboembolic arteritis, especially if you are a smoker. You may also feel tingling in the feet and lower legs when exposed to the cold. In advanced stages, difficult-to-heal wounds and ulcers in places where you have previously injured appear (especially on the fingers and toes). Sometimes even abrasions or corns are enough to create them. It is a disease in which there is a gradual narrowing or complete overgrowth of small and medium-sized arteries, which results in tissue hypoxia and gangrene, often requiring amputation.

What to do: If you have noticed such symptoms, please contact your doctor immediately. A medical consultation is also required when the symptoms of an existing disease worsen during treatment, in the form of severe and unbearable pain that does not disappear even after a longer rest, and when you notice new symptoms.

5. Strong and nagging itching with blisters on the skin

Reasons: This could be cholinergic urticaria, especially if pruritus precedes the onset of skin eruptions and is severe in the first stage. These eruptions are blisters, usually very similar to the ones we see after stinging with nettle. Individual bubbles last from a few to several hours, but sometimes even for two days. Cholinergic urticaria has several causes. One of them is fatigue after physical exertion, such as running, playing football, longer walks, and a little less swimming. The second cause of seeding is strong emotions, often during exams and other stressful situations. The third cause of cholinergic urticaria recurrence is high ambient temperature. Sowing occurs on hot days and in saunas. Sometimes they have been observed after eating hot meals, especially soups and drinks.

What to do: Report to a dermatologist who will take up treatment or – if the problem has lasted for many weeks – will refer you to the diagnosis of chronic urticaria at the dermatological department. No hives should be underestimated. You should always be aware of the dangers of edema of the glottis and larynx. If the blisters appear on the face, the lips are swollen, the tongue becomes numb and even a slight breathlessness appears – you need to go to the emergency room immediately.

Also read: The spine in need

6. Pain in the lower back and buttocks, usually symmetrical, increasing at night, decreasing after physical activity and increasing during immobilization.

Cause: It can be ankylosing spondylitis, a chronic, progressive, autoimmune connective tissue disease that affects the small intervertebral joints, intervertebral ligaments, and sacroiliac joints, leading to their progressive stiffening. The disease begins slowly and gradually progresses. Other joint symptoms include: gradually increasing pain in other parts of the spine, most often the thoracic and cervical, and pain in the heels and stiffness around the ribs. This makes it much more difficult to keep a straight body shape. The pain makes it easier to walk in a slightly forward-leaning position while looking at the ground.

What to do: Contact your GP who will refer you to a rheumatologist. Treatment is most often carried out with the use of: anti-inflammatory drugs and immunosuppressive drugs as well as balneotherapy and therapeutic gymnastics.

7. Burning during urination, leakage from the urethra.

Reasons: If you are sexually active, change partners frequently, or have sex without a condom, you most likely have chlamydia.

What to do: Be sexually abstinent and see your GP, urologist, or venereal dermatologist. Therapy should be started as soon as possible after the diagnosis of the disease. For both this and any other sexually transmitted disease, you and your sexual partner must be treated at the same time. If only one of the partners is treated, reinfection often occurs and the treatment fails.

Remember that your body is not only the area from the waist down. Therefore, pay attention to what is happening throughout your body from time to time. Below are some common ailments that affect young men.

8. The penis is not up to the task.

Cause: Erectile dysfunction includes the inability to get or keep an erection, and an incomplete and short-lived erection. Roughly 20-25 percent. cases of erectile dysfunction are psychogenic. The reason can be almost anything: a quarrel with a partner, stress at work, anxiety, exhaustion, fear of failing to prove yourself as a lover. The inability to achieve or maintain an erection may also be related to organic causes, which include: diabetes, atherosclerosis, arterial hypertension, prostate diseases, spinal cord injuries, multiple sclerosis, neurological diseases, changes in the hormonal economy, damage to the cavernous bodies of the penis and the use of stimulants and alcohol abuse.

What to do: If the problem persists, see a sexologist who, depending on the cause, will prescribe medication or give some technical tips. Remember that if you have erectile dysfunction, it’s best to make love in the morning when your testosterone levels are at their highest.

Also read: Ten causes of male impotence

9. Scrotal and / or groin discomfort, heaviness, or dull aches and pains, worsening with prolonged standing or an erection.

Reasons: This indicates varicocele. In many men, they do not cause significant discomfort. Occasionally they see a doctor because they accidentally feel lumps on one side of the scrotum above the testicle. Their cause is an increase in the temperature of the testicles. For the proper development of sperm cells, the temperature in the scrotum is 2-3 degrees lower than in the abdominal cavity. In men with varicose veins, the temperature difference is sometimes only 0,1 degrees.

What to do: See a urologist or GP as these changes reduce the total number of sperm in the semen and increase the percentage of abnormal sperm, leading to infertility.

10. Sharp pain in the scrotum radiating to the groin

Cause: It could be a testicle torsion. Other symptoms include: sudden, progressive, severe pain in the testicle and its swelling, radiating pain to the groin, sometimes to the lower abdomen, ureter and kidney area, irritation of the peritoneal cavity characterized by pale skin, nausea, vomiting, sometimes shock, no fever and elevation of a twisted testicle and the increase in pain as it is pulled up. Testicular torsion is most common in children and young men, and the likelihood of its occurrence decreases with age. The predisposing factors include: excessive testicular mobility, too long test tube, too large vaginal sheath, too high connecting with the seminal cord.

What to do: Go to the ER as soon as possible. The longer you wait, the less chance you have of saving the testicle. The best results are achieved by an intervention undertaken within 4 hours of the symptom onset. Most often, an ischemic testis cannot be saved for more than XNUMX hours.

11. Pain gets worse when you ejaculate or urinate. It includes the testicles, penis and abdomen.

Cause: The symptoms indicate inflammation of the prostate, especially when the pain is accompanied by an enlarged prostate, and you lead a sedentary lifestyle, walk little and spend many hours in the car. An additional factor that may be associated with inflammation is casual sexual contact.

What to do: Doing your own thing, such as hot baths, avoiding spicy spices, coffee, and alcohol, are not always effective. That’s why it’s worth going to your GP who will refer you to a urologist. Diagnostic tests are designed to detect bacteria in the urine and in the secretions of the prostate gland. The disease has a tendency to recur.

12. A feeling of heaviness in the scrotum and abdominal pain

Reasons: It could be testicular cancer. The first symptoms are usually painless enlargement, hardness and unevenness of the testicle surface. Pain in the lumbar region, coughing, hemoptysis, and enlargement of the lymph nodes above the collarbone, suggest that metastasis may have already occurred.

What to do: If you notice such symptoms, see an oncologist as soon as possible. The disease is usually rapid, so the sooner you undergo diagnosis and treatment, the better your chances of recovery

Also read: Male sexual dysfunctions