Testicular and Hernia Exams

Hi all,

How does a doctor check for a hernia? I have been getting a slight pain in my lower stomach area when i stretch or cough strongly, thinking of getting myself checked out but just wondered how easy it was, do they hold testicles and get you to cough?? seems a bit too simple to me .

😳

thanks in advance.

Skintlad, if there is any possibility of having a hernia, have it checked out right away. The checkout for an inguinal hernia (which sounds similar to what you are talking about) is very simple for the physician top accomplish in the office. The doctor will probe around your lower abdomen (generally in the area of the groin), probably have you cough a few times (so they can feel if the protrusion of a possible hernia changes) and hum and ho a little. It takes only a couple minutes, but is well worth the time and effort. A hernia gone unattended to can easily get worse...and you don't really want that to happen.

Inguinal hernia - I have had two, one each side of my pubic bone and I agree, don't leave it too long. I went for a few years before seeing my Doctor and he was cross with me for not coming in sooner. My lower ab pain became a dull ache in my testicles and I eventually had two swellings each side of my pubic bone (within the pubic hair area). I had discomfort in my testes when I walked for any distance more than 200 paces. I learned to wear tight underpants to keep my balls up as close to my belt line as possible, as hanging low was not an option! The actual physical exam was not long and yes I did have to cough when the Doc felt the swellings. That was it but he immediately referred me to a Consultant Surgeon and I received my appointment within two weeks to attend at the local cottage hospital outpatients for a physical exam. That was a much longer and thorough exam which involved embarrassing public nudity, more than I would have liked at the time (after many years I now accept that some medical staff have no concept of patient privacy).

I arrived early for my hernia exam at the local, small, single storey hospital and walked through the waiting area up to the reception counter which was in a recess on the right hand side of a blank wall. Three female admin staff were working behind the desk and while I was confirming my name etc one woman got up to take a file through a door to a room behind the blank wall. I could see the top of a woman's head on an examination table and part of a doctor leaning over her. It was obvious that that the three admin ladies could see more than I could. I sat down in the waiting area as a young man was called through by a nurse who had come out of a door on the left side of the blank wall. I surmised that the examination room was behind the blank wall. The young man was shown to a curtained changing cubicle and told to undress completely and put on a gown, open at the front. Shortly the woman patient came out of the door to the left and went into another curtained cubicle to change. The young man was then called through (holding the front of his gown tightly). It was not long before I was called through and shown into another curtained cubicle where I was told to strip completely, underwear and all, and to put on a gown with front opening and wait.....

While the nurse was telling me all this, she had left the door wide open to the exam room and I could not help but see the young man stark naked in front of the doctor. Eventually he came out and I was called through. The doctor said a few words to me and then the nurse 'helped' me to take off the gown and hung it on a hook behind one of the doors. The room was long and narrow with the exam table along the wall between the two doors, the door that I had just walked through and the door to the three admin ladies. The doctor had a feel of my two hernia swellings while I was standing there naked and I realized that the window looked out into the car park. Normally people walking past the window would not have looked in but there were two women in separate cars (probably waiting for someone) who were looking at me! The next thing I had to do was lean backwards against the table as far as I could so that my genitals were sticking out prominently. The door to the admin ladies opened and in walked one of them with a file to give to the nurse. She had to walk around the doctor and me and then back again to her door which had been left open. The other two ladies were looking at me...

While this was going on the doctor got the thumb and forefinger of each of his hands and proceeded to place them around the base of my penis and my scrotum so that he could pull my package away from my abdomen and make me cough while he pulled to the right then the left and then straight out. A full exam was then performed while I was lying on the exam table. While this was going on, the door behind me opened and the female administrator walked in again and left the door wide open. The specialist told me that he would book me for two ops, six months apart. That experience will be a future installment.

I was told to strip to underpants and lie on the couch. The Dr then pulled my u/pants down to my knees and then he probed around my groin area, squeezed my testicles and held my penis in his hand whilst he peered down the wee hole. No coughing however. No hernia either but it was a pre-employment requirement to check.

The exam for an inguinal hernia, (the most common type in men, has nothing to do with the testicles. A finger, usually middle finger is pressed superiorly through the scrotum, (the testicles are pushed out of the way, and this is a painless exam) and the finger is inserted in the direction of the inguinal canal, through which, you can feel the intestine protrude then you cough or produce intra-abdominal pressure when a hernia is present. Both sides of the scrotum are tested, since you can have a right and/or left hernia. You may also notice a bulge a little to the center of either side of the midlline in the pubic region.

This exam is also done STANDING, not laying on a table. For those worried about extended nudity, there should be no concern because recognition of the hernia takes 15 seconds or less.

It's a very easy exam, just drop your pants, turn your head and cough. Over in 30 seconds,

Switchablesusie - have you had a double injuinal hernia or even one hernia and have you had a hernia repair operation? Everything that I have written is a true record of what happened to me. The hernia is detected as a swelling/bulge in the groin or scrotum. The spermatic cord can be affected which is why I had pain in my testicle. I had to wear a truss while I waited for the op. My first exam was with my own doctor and was a private quick stand up job - my two bulges were plain to see, my second exam with the specialist was both stand up and lying on the table and was not quick or private. My third and fouth exams by two different surgeons were only on the table, once with four med students watching. It was explained that when the hernias had reached the size of mine, it was not advisable to prod around while standing, also when lying down it was easier to feel around for any complications that might be present. I had my two hernia ops ten years ago and one is now coming back - I have a pain in my groin and a tenderness in my right testicle!

Well, I have some difficultees to believe the relation of Michael 1a in the small local hospital.

I can believe that a doctor surgeon is not very concerned with the modesty of his patients but there are some limits to the display of a naked man to so much persons who have administrative jobs even if it was by accident with doors staying opened or by a window.

It seems to me that it is too much like a fantasy CFMN.

Any way, others have well described the examination for a supposed inguinal hernia, it is true that it is performed quickly and you are standing in front of the doctor, it does not need a touch of the testicles normally if I have well understood what my doctor have said to me when I have one hernia.

But it is true also that the surgeon doctor who performs a check exam after the first examination can ask you to lie on the table to continue his exam, it happens to me.

It can happen that the doctor asks you to undress completely but in my experience it is not the most frequent for a check of hernia, I have seen three doctors in France because I am french and none of them ask me to be naked, just to drop my trousers and stay in underwear and then to pull down a little my underwear or one of them, a lady doctor, pulled down herself my underwear until the knees while i was standing.

I have also the surprise to see a female nurse entering into the exam room to set a file while I was examined with my genitals and buttocks exposed but it was a nurse, not a receptionnist or an administrative person and it did not last a long time. Not a big deal in fact.

Hi esaterman - thanks for your comments. I confirm that there is no fantasy about my experiences only a true record. The surgeon was of the 'old school' type and he retired soon after. He was based at a large hospital in a town some miles away and he came to the small hosp one afternoon a week. The small hospital was demolished three years later! (nothing to do with him!) I never experienced admin staff coming in to any exam after that one time. Incidently the nurse was in the room all the time just standing there except for once when she left to call the next patient to the changing room.

Michael1a,

I don't doubt your story, but your experiences do not sound to me like standard operating procedure for doctors here in the U.S.A., which could explain why some posters have questioned your accuracy. Your profile does not state your place of residence. I'm curious, was your treatment done in the U.S.?

Hi curious44 - No I have never been to the USA, my experiences were in the UK.

I just went to the doctor a couple days ago because i was have some discomfort in my left groin and testicles.It was the first time i had to drop my pants for my doctor who now is a female doctor as my last doctor moved on to something else.she had me stand up on step stool and drop my pants as she sat in her chair so it was weird looking down to see her exam my penis and she started to feel my testicles and groin area i had some mild discomfort but that night my balls were sore, i only got semi hard when she was doing That,thank god as i was so nervous about getting a erection.she said she did not feel a hernia but wants me to go in for ultrasound which i must say i am nervous about as well because someone will be handleling my testicles a little longer than a regular doctors check. Anyone had an ultrasound and what to expect.

Micheal1a's experiemces sound spot on for the UK. My father had a similar experience with his hernias. He told me it had been a longtime since he had had 2 young females that close to his naked groin for so long.

Dont worry, when the doctor checks you it does not hurt, may feel good or a little uncomfortable though

They feelround the genital area, and have u turn your head and cough. if you think you got one get it fixed asap.

i just had 2 fixed. wanted to fix them while they were small.

I had a right inguinal hernia diagnosed about two years ago. It was repaired laparoscopically about two months after diagnosis. By then it was really starting to cause me problems, including having to walk bent over at times.

Over the years, have experienced testicular exams where the doctor actually held my penis out of the way where others just reached under allowing my penis to move freely around as he/she examined me. Think my preference is for my penis to be held...yours?

Also, over the years with hernia exams I have experienced the doctor inserted his/her finger above my scrotum while other times they insert deep through the scrotum. Again when they go deep through the scrotum it tosses the penis around. How does the doctor exam yours?

I've had a hernia check done with the doctor's fingers under my scrotum and for testicular examination, the penis was held up with one hand, flat against my body, while she felt my testicles with the other hand. This was done with me standing.

For play, and for real, I'd prefer to be examined this way.

I can imagine some circumstances in which the penis would be holding itself up! 😁

I have had similar experiences. Usually my doctor does not do anything with my penis while examining my testicles, but I have had doctors that do hold the penis out of the way and I even had one who ask me to hold my penis and retract my foreskin.

My pediatrician would always hold it out of the way (except in the early years when I would have an erection). My current doctor just allows my penis to hang. The one time I went to my university health center for an exam the doctor held my penis. So I've had both and don't have a preference.

As for the hernia exam my doctors have always inserted their finger deep in, underneath the scrotum so I can't say I have a preference there either.

Most of my hernia exams have been just the "drop your shorts and cough" type. I went to an older doctor for an insurance exam years ago who examined me in my briefs, which ended up around my ankles for the hernia exam. The doctor inserted his very big finger into my scrotum and pushed it up into the canal on both sides before telling me to cough. It was very uncomfortable and I ended up on my tiptoes in front of him as he was inserting his finger on each side. He told me that I was "tight" (not sure what he meant except that my scrotum was not loose enough to allow his finger to go easily up where he wanted it to go) and that I might have some discomfort for a day or so. He told me that I might want to put on a jockstrap when I got home to ease some of the discomfort. He was right and I did. I have not had a hernia exam exactly like that since although I have been forced upon on my tiptoes sometimes by the doctor just pressing hard upwards under my balls.

I have never had a doctor hold my penis out of the way during testicular or hernia exams. Usually my penis is not directly touched. Occasionally a doctor will hold it to check out the meatus.

Like several of the posters below, I've never had a doctor (or a nurse practitioner, once) hold my penis out of the way, but I have had experiences a couple of times where the doctor pressed his finger upwards so hard that I ended up recoiling a bit or ending up on my tiptoes. On the one hand, I can remember feeling a bit embarrassed to be recoiling at the way the exam was conducted. It is interesting to see that others have had the same experience. I've read somewhere that female doctors are, generally speaking, more gentle in conducting hernia exams than male doctors, although I'm not sure logically speaking why that should be the case.

I've had the hernia check done with a finger in the inguinal ring, and with the index and middle fingers pushed up into the scrotum, but I've never had a doctor hold my penis out of the way. That would seem odd to me. I'd rather be asked to hold it out of the way myself if need be.

I got my VA (veterans) health card about 6 months ago. 3 weeks ago i called for an appointment to be checked for a possible hernia. I told the guy on the phone that my doctors name was supposedly Lee. He told me that Lee was no longer there and that a doctor Saeed was my new doctor. So i showed up yesterday. The first stop was a female in scrubs who check my blood pressure and took my temperature with an oral thermometer. It only took about 10 seconds - what happened to the ear thermometers? She was very friendly and asked alot of questions. She offered a flu shot, told her that i had both last fall, and a tetanus shot, which i declined. I was later called in to see doctor Saeed, who turned out to be a woman. She seemed faily young, maybe 30-33 years old, and pretty nice looking. Since it was my first visit she spent perhaps 20 minutes asking me general questions about my health. Then she gave me a paper gown and left the room. She knocked on the door and came back about 5 minutes later with the female i had previously seen. I don't know if she was a nurse or not. The doctor told me to lie back on the table. The table was flush against the wall, so the female doc positioned herself next to my groin area and the female chaperone next to her at about my chest level. Now i always thought that chaperones tried to stand in the background, like they really were not trying to look etc. Not this one. It seems that as soon as i had laid my head on the table, the chaperone reached down and pulled the gown up to my navel and tucked it underneath me on both sides, leaving me naked from my navel to my toes. She never once took her eyes off of my groin area. Good for her! She was there to chaperone, and she couldn't do that from the other side of the room. The female doctor started on my lower abdomen and took several minutes on the exam. The pain i am having seems to be up inside, in the inguinal canal above my left testicle. So when she stuck her finger into that cavity my butt came off of the table and i told her to be careful. This went on for about a minute, with me squirming and raising my butt up, and her determined to find something unusual. An unpleasant exam for me and maybe a nice show for the chaperone. I was impressed and surprised at how bold she was. A kind of a "take charge" type person.

It sounds like you had a very thorough exam. That's great to hear, since we often hear of incomplete and fast exams. It's nice to know that some doctors actually do a good exam.

When my doctor examines my testicals, she uses both hands to examine them at the same time. Then uses a flat hand to do a do the hernia check.

I never had my dr hold my penis, but my ped used to examine me laying down, later as an adult usually standing up.

For most hernia checks, the doctor doesn't touch my penis.

One examination did involve a penis and tescticle check when I layed on my back.

He felt along my penis and retracted my foreskin, and felt my testicles between his fingers.