You should view testicular pain as an emergency until proven otherwise. Call your health care provider for guidance if you develop pain.
If you cannot contact your provider after you develop this symptom, go to a hospital's emergency department.
In general, see your health care provider immediately if you have sudden onset of testicular pain, particularly if the pain is severe or associated with nausea.
If you had surgery for testicular torsion or a hernia , you will follow up with your surgeon.
If you were treated without surgery for epididymitis or torsion of a testicular appendage, you should return for medical attention if the following occur:
Most causes of testicular pain cannot be prevented. The exception to this is epididymitis (some cases), which is caused by a sexually transmitted organism . Safe sexual behavior (use of condoms) greatly reduces the risk of acquiring sexually transmitted diseases .
If you have testicular torsion, your recovery depends on how long you waited between the time you felt symptoms and sought medical care and surgery. The chance of saving a testicle decreases as more time passes.
If you have epididymitis (an infection of the testicle), you generally recover without complication. Rare complications occur if you go without treatment or have one of the following:
If you have torsion of a testicular appendage, you will nearly always recover without complication. The pain generally goes away within 1 week.