Doctors caution against groin pain and swelling in children

LUCKNOW: Painless swelling in the groin area in children was often neglected, said doctors while speaking on the issue in the state capital on Sunday. Cautioning against it, they said that in case of such a symptom in a child of any age, a medical expert should be consulted immediately.

“If a child gets scrotal swelling (in boys) at any age, he should be seen by a doctor. Most scrotal swellings are not painful but still need to be evaluated. The child should be examined if he has pain, from an injury to the testicles, which has lasted longer than an hour or painful scrotal swelling even without an injury -- especially if the swelling is severe and starts suddenly,” said paediatric surgeon Dr Shandip Kumar Sinha.

Prof JD Rawat, senior faculty member at the King George’s Medical University (KGMU), said, “A common cause of these swellings in children, both boys and girls, are inguinal hernia (in which tissue, such as part of the intestine, protrudes through a weak spot in the abdominal muscles). Other causes, in boys, are hydrocele (a type of swelling in the scrotum that occurs when

fluid collects in it), testicular torsion (when a testicle rotates), undescended testicle (when a testicle hasn’t moved into its proper position) and varicocele (enlargement of veins in the scrotum).”

Shedding more light on these conditions, Dr Sinha said, “Hernias and hydroceles are the most common causes of scrotal swellings. They are caused by abnormal

openings left behind when testicles descend into the scrotum during development. Hydroceles (collection of fluid that passed down into the scrotum) are present in about 10% of newborn boys.”

Dr Vinod Jain of KGMU said that hernias occurred in about 1% to 5% of all newborns and were more common in premature babies.