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Hydrocele

Hydrocele testis · Hydrokéla

male only

What it is

Fluid collects around the testis inside its sac; common and harmless in babies, in men sometimes a sign of infection or injury.

Symptoms & signs

  • Painless swelling of one side of the scrotum
  • heaviness
  • swelling that glows when a torch is held behind it
  • bigger by evening (communicating hydrocele)

🚩 Get help if…

  • call 112 / 911 now Sudden severe pain in the scrotum
  • call 112 / 911 now A painful swelling in the groin that will not push back, with vomiting
  • see a doctor soon A hard lump felt in the testicle itself
  • see a doctor soon Swelling that is red, hot or comes with fever

Where it strikes

Medical treatment

  • Ultrasound to check the testis
  • wait in babies — most go by age 1–2
  • surgery (hydrocelectomy) if large or bothersome
  • not aspiration alone — it refills

Natural & lifestyle

  • Supportive underwear
  • watchful waiting

Emerging & experimental

  • Aspiration with sclerotherapy (doxycycline, polidocanol)
  • minimally invasive repairs

Alternative, off-label & anecdotal

Approaches used outside the guidelines, with what their supporters report and what testing has found so far.

  • Herbal poultices and homeopathy — anecdotal; they cannot drain fluid from a closed sac anecdotal / traditional
  • Tight binding of the scrotum — traditional; no effect and uncomfortable anecdotal / traditional

ICD codes