During puberty, boys may experience various problems that may not disturb at a young age, but in the future lead to such an unpleasant diagnosis as infertility. Therefore, in order to prevent such diseases in the child, it is necessary to undergo a urologist examination. Most often in adolescents there is such a disease as varicocele. However, it is completely curable and does not pose a danger in case of timely diagnosis and taking the necessary measures.
What is varicocele?
This disease is a varicose veins of the male ovaries. Most often it manifests itself in adolescence, and its symptoms are pain in the scrotum and testicles of a young man. In most cases, one or both testicles are hurting, and the pain itself has a pulling character, as it were, a weight in the groin. And the pain can increase during physical exertion or during sexual intercourse.
But it must be remembered that often a varicocele in a teenager or even in an adult man runs without symptoms and is found quite accidentally in the process of examinations related to other diseases. In this case, the effects of varicocele in men can be very negative, up to infertility. It is this disease that causes the inability to have children in 10-15% of the male population.
The disease can be of four degrees. The first degree is characterized by a weak expansion of the vein, which can be seen only on ultrasound. At the second degree, the expansion of the vein can be felt, if the patient is in a standing position. With the disease of the third stage, varicose veins can be easily detected in any position, which is an unambiguous indication to the operation or other treatment. The most neglected is, of course, the fourth stage, when varicose veins can be detected even during visual inspection.
Causes of varicocele
The main cause of the disease is high blood pressure in the veins, which ensure the outflow of blood from the ovaries. It can be the result of any anatomical disorders, intense physical exertion, which lead to an increase in intra-abdominal pressure. In addition, you can get sick and because of the presence of blood clots or violation of outflow of blood from the kidneys due to constant compression of the veins.
These disorders are often the result of malnutrition, unhealthy lifestyles. Therefore, in order to prevent it, it is recommended to be active, exercise as much as possible in sports, not to drink alcohol during adolescence or to smoke. After all, these actions lead to a violation in the cardiovascular system and can cause varicose veins not only in the scrotum, but also in other organs, which can be more dangerous to health.
Due to the peculiarities of the male body, varicocele is more often left-sided, since it is the vein near the left testicle that is more prone to this disease. Violation of the outflow of blood from the spermatic cord leads to an increase in temperature in the testicles, which negatively affects their functions and quality of spermatozoids, and in the future - lead to infertility.
Treatment methods
Varicocele can be cured in two ways:
- Operational;
- Folk remedies.
In this case, the answer to the question: whether surgery is necessary for a varicocele can only be given by a doctor after a detailed examination and passing all the tests.
In order not to operate the patient, some doctors use sclerotherapy. Its technique is that a special substance is injected into the patient's body, which normalizes the outflow of blood in the ovaries of the man and varicose veins are eliminated.
You can try to recover and folk remedies. The most popular are horse chestnut, blueberry and apricots. These products have a positive effect on the cardiovascular system and, thus, can normalize the blood flow in male testicles.
The treatment methods described above are effective in the early stages of the disease. If the patient has a testicle, or has decreased in size, and there are other feelings of discomfort, including a decrease in the amount of sperm in ejaculation, then preparation for varicocele is necessary.
It consists in external examination of the patient, ultrasound examination. If necessary, dopplerography is performed to assess the condition of the veins in the testicles, and a spermogram may also be required to analyze the degree of the disease.
Operation and its consequences
The following types of operations are distinguished for varicocele:
- The standard varicocele is Ivanissevich's operation. It is carried out in an open manner, for which a skin incision is made, and then a vein ligation is made to normalize the blood circulation in the testicles. For this operation, local anesthesia is required and is of no particular complexity. The duration of Ivanissevich's operation does not exceed 15-20 minutes.
- Marmara operation with varicocele is microsurgical. Small incisions are made in the groin and scrotum, through which the veins of the ovary are expanded in a special way, which also results in the normalization of blood circulation in the male genital organs. For this operation, anesthesia is also not required, but local anesthesia is sufficient. The time it takes is also not long and rarely takes more than half an hour.
Negative effects after surgery varicocele are very rare. In the short-term period there is sometimes dropsy, but it passes on its own, at the end of the recovery period after the operation and normalization of the functioning of the body and genitals. In the post-operation period, the testes or tissues near the spermatic cord may be ill. However, this is also due to surgical intervention, and the pain will pass.
During the recovery period after surgery on varicocele, the doctor's recommendations should be followed to avoid complications after surgery and other negative consequences. Modern instruments allow to fully control the course of varicocele operation and to conduct it with high efficiency and positive results.
What can not be done after the operation?
During the period after rehabilitation after surgery, the following recommendations should be adhered to:
- Do not carry out active activities in the 48-hour postoperative period in order to avoid divergence of seams or negative consequences.
- Do not lift heavy, do not actively engage in sports. However, during the recovery from surgery varicocele is recommended to perform certain physical exercises under the supervision of a doctor.
- Do not remove or wet bandages at surgery sites to avoid ingestion of infections.
- Within three weeks should be observed by the doctor, and only after his permission to return to jogging, bike rides, attending the gym and so on.
- It is not recommended to take a bath for five days.
The main question that, of course, worries about men, is it possible to have sex or masturbation during the recovery period. Unfortunately no. It is necessary to be patient until the end, until such a permission is given by a doctor. And there is no single point of view about how long a recovery of varicocele lasts. Everyone has individual indicators. On average, you can resume sexual activity three weeks or a month after the varicocele.
Varicocele is a very unpleasant, but curable disease. The sooner it is possible to detect it, the less will be the consequences. Therefore, experts recommend that men and adolescents visit the urologist periodically during puberty. After all, the most negative consequence of varicocele is infertility. It is this disease that causes the inability to have children in 10-15% of men. Treatment of it is carried out mainly surgically. However, modern technology, like the varicocele, allows it to be performed with minimal tissue damage and high healing effect. Many are wondering whether this disease can be cured by folk remedies. It is possible, but only in the early stages.
