The Owners Manual

The Owners Manual
 
In addition to asking about STDS, the boys also often ask questions about other health problems. Here are some of the questions they ask:

I've never had sex, but I have symptoms like you said you get from STDS. I have pain; it burns when I urinate; and sometimes, a little bit of stuff leaks out of my penis. If it's not an STD, what is it?

There are a number of diseases other than STDs that can cause these kinds of symptoms. For example, urethritis, an infection of the urethra, or urinary tract, can cause these symptoms. Sometimes urethritis germs are passed through sexual contact, but you can also pick up these germs in other ways.What is jock itch?

"Jock itch" or "jock rot" is a fungus infection caused by wearing clothes that are too tight or that don't let the air circulate freely. It causes redness, soreness, and itching on the genitals and the inside of the thighs. Rubbing cornstarch on the area may be enough to cure the problem, but sometimes special medication from the doctor is needed to clear it up. Keeping the area clean and dry, washing your clothes frequently, and avoiding tight clothing will help prevent the problem.What would happen if a boy only had one testicle?

Most males are born with two testicles. Every once in a great while, someone is born with only one. Or, a man or boy could have some sort of injury or accident that could crush one testicle so badly that it had to be surgically removed.

If, for one reason or another, a man has only one testicle, the other testicle takes over for the missing one and produces enough sperm so that he'll still be able to make a woman pregnant. His sex life and everything else about him will be completely normal.What is an undescended testicle?

Before a boy is born, his testicles are up inside his body. Once he is born, they descend (come down) into his scrotal sac. Sometimes one or both testicles don't descend, and the boy has what doctors call an undescended testicle. (At times, cold weather, a cold bath, excitement, or extreme physical activity will cause one or both of a boy's testicles to retract, that is, to draw up close to his body for a while. But this is a temporary condition. It's not the same as an undescended testicle.)

No one knows what causes an undescended testicle, but luckily, doctors do know how to cure it. Sometimes the doctor can use medicine to make the testicle descend; at other times it's necessary for the boy to have an operation.I was masturbating and I didn't want to get semen all over my pajamas, so I put my finger over the top of my penis just as f was ejaculating so nothing would come out. And nothing did, but for the last couple of days I've had this pain in my penis and this milky stuff has come out. What should I do?

This kind of problem is not at all unusual among boys. It's called retrograde ejaculation, and it happens when the semen is prevented from spurting out through the opening in the glans of the penis during ejaculation. In older men, there are certain medical problems that cause retrograde ejaculation. But in boys, it usually happens when the boy is masturbating, and for some reason or another doesn't want to ejaculate. So, he puts his hand or thumb or something over the opening in the penis as he's about to ejaculate, as the boy who asked this question did.

Retrograde means "going backward." In retrograde ejaculation, the semen can't come out the end of the penis, so it travels backward down the urethra. It may be forced up the tube that leads to the bladder, which can cause the urine to be cloudy for some time afterwards. The semen may also be forced into the prostate gland. In either case, there may be pain and discharge from the penis.

In some instances, the symptoms will clear up all by themselves, but often a doctor's care is needed. Although it may be embarrassing for a boy to tell the doctor that he's been masturbating and to explain how the retrograde ejaculation happened, it's important to see the doctor if you have pain, a milky discharge, or milky urine. If the semen is forced up into the prostate gland, the tissues of the gland could become irritated and susceptible to infection. The doctor can treat such infections with antibiotics and, if necessary, with painkillers. For these reasons, it is not a good idea to prevent your ejaculate from coming out the end of your penis.My penis is sort of swollen and red and my foreskin is stuck, so I can't pull it down. What's wrong?

Sometimes these symptoms are caused by a foreskin that's too tight or a foreskin that has become stuck to the glands of the penis. This can be quite uncomfortable and may cause pain and swelling. Such problems can be cured by circumcision, and there are sometimes other ways of treating the problem. It's important, though, that you see a doctor and have the problem taken care of.I have pain in my genitals, but I don't really want to see a doctor. I've never had sex, so it can't be an STD. What could it be?

It's a bit difficult to say what could be causing this problem without knowing more. We've already explained about urethritis, retrograde ejaculation, and foreskin problems-any of which could cause pain in the genitals. In addition, here are some other possibilities:

"Swollen glands": There are glands in your genital area called lymph glands. It's possible, even ig you never had sex, to get aninfection in these glands, which can result in pain and swelling. Treatment with antibiotics usually cures the problem.

"Aching balls": This isn't really a disease or a medical problem, but it can cause pain in the testicles or genital area. Aching balls happens when a boy has an erection for a long time without ejaculating or without having his penis get soft again (because he's still sexually stimulated. For example, a boy could have a long kissing session with his girlfriend that could cause him to have a prolonged erection that might result in aching balls. Even after his erection goes away, the achy feeling may persist. It happens because the blood has been trapped in the erect penis for such a long time. Although it may be uncomfortable for a while, it's not a serious problem and doesn't require a doctor's treatment. The achy feeling goes away in, at most, a few hours.

"Hernia": A hernia occurs when part of the intestines bulge through a weak spot in the wall of the abdomen. If it happens in the lower part of the abdomen, it can cause pain in the genital area. If untreated, hernias can cause serious medical problems. They are usually treated by surgery in which the doctor repairs the weak spot.

"Twisted testicles": No one knows just why this happens. It is rare, but when it does occur it is a medical emergency. It usually follows some physical exertion and causes extreme pain, nausea, vomiting, and fever. It requires immediate surgery.I have these funny pimples (white) on my penis. I've never had sex. Why does this happen?

It's most unlikely that you'd get an STD unless you have some sort of sexual contact with another person. But the skin of your penis, just like the skin on other parts of your body, is subject to all sorts of pimples, bumps, warts, irritations, birthmarks, scars, and so forth. The white pimple-like bumps may just be blocked oil glands in the skin of the penis. Such pimples aren't anything to worry about. Of course, anytime you have some problem that bothers you, it's always a good idea to have it checked out by your doctor.I have this lump in my scrotum. It doesn't hurt; what is it? Can boys get cancer of the scrotum?

Most lumps or bumps inthe scrotum are the result of cysts, which are collections of fluid. Some of these cysts will go away by themselves; others require an operation. Although the vast majority of lumps in boys' scrotums are not serious, it's a good idea to get them checked by a doctor.

It is possible for boys to get cancer of the testicles and scrotum, but it is very rare. When it does happen, the first symptom is often a lump in the scrotum. This doesn't meant that all lumps (or even most lumps) in the scrotal sac are cancerous lumps. But because a few are, it's important to have any lump checked out by a doctor. Although it can happen to older and younger men, testicle cancer is most often found in young men between the ages of twenty and thirty-five. The earlier it is found, the easier it is to cure. For this reason, doctors recommend that boys and men practice a regular testicular self-exam (TSE), which is explained below.

 
Testicular self-exam.
It's best to examine your scrotum right after a hot bath or shower. The scrotal skin is most relaxed at this time, and the testicles can be felt more easily. Examine each gently with the fingers of both hands. Put your index and middle fingers on the under side of the testicle and your thumb on the top. Roll Your testicle gently between you thumb and fingers, feeling for a small lump about the size of a pea. Repeat this procedure for the other testicle.

You should learn what the epididymis feels like at the back of the testicle so that you won't confuse it with art abnormality. If you do find anything abnormal, most often it will be a firm area on the front or side of the testicle.

Testicular cancer constitutes fewer than I percent of all cancers, but it is one of the most common cancers in men aged twenty to thirty-five years. It's forty times more likely to occur among men in whom the testes never descend to the scrotum or descend after the age of six.

Most testicular cancers are first discovered by men themselves. Since testicular cancers found early and treated promptly have an excellent chance for cure, learning how to examine your testes properly can help save your life. It really doesn't take much effort to search for those small lumps, and you only have to do it once a month. Use the simple testicular self-examination (TSE) procedure described here.

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