Men simply fit into two categories when it comes to health issues . Either they are very precious about being sick – many a wife will testify to this or as in the case of the majority they tend to ignore health issues hoping that they go away – which is the extreme action to take
How do you know when you should take these common symptoms or conditions seriously and visit a urologist for peace of mind.
Here are just a few of the most common symptoms or conditions that should prompt you to make an appointment:
Testicular pain or mass,
You should have a urologist check you out to be sure it is not torsion (severe pain from twisting that must be surgically fixed immediately) or even a tumor. Sure, it might be just inflammation or an infection, but torsion or a cancer is not something you want to miss as they both require immediate action. Sadly, many men with testicular cancer go undiagnosed for months before they are referred to a urologist.
Blood in the urine,
This condition is called hematuria and is another reason to see a urologist – even if the blood is only seen once and never seen again. Hematuria can be blood that you see (gross hematuria) or even blood only seen in lab tests (microscopic hematuria). You should never assume that blood is nothing to worry about. Even though it may be nothing serious, it might be the only early warning sign of an underlying bladder or kidney cancer, where early detection can make the difference between an easy curative treatment or much more aggressive surgery if the cancer has time to grow unchecked.
See a urologist if you have an elevated PSA or abnormal prostate exam (neither of these is a definitive indication that you have prostate cancer – only that you might have it). A PSA that is climbing
This is even more worrisome. Though there is much debate by government officials, there is no debate among urologists that early detection and treatment of an aggressive prostate cancer can save your life. The old idea of “let’s just watch this and see what happens” can have serious consequences.
If someone is unable to urinate, called urinary retention, means that you are unable to urinate. It is important that you must have a urologic evaluation to find out if this is a long-standing problem that needs correction or if this will get better with a week or two with a drainage catheter to let the bladder heal and medications to relax the prostate.
Kidney stones this is another reason to see a urologist. Though many doctors can treat the pain of the stone as it passes, only urologists are trained in the advanced techniques to non-surgically pulverize or remove stones, whether in the kidney, the ureter or the urinary bladder.
If a man has prostate cancer, then urologists are the only specialty trained to oversee and recommend a variety of possible treatments, to include observation, radiation, chemotherapy, as well as provide hormone therapy or curative surgery.
Kidney Masses or Tumors these should always be evaluated by a urologist. In the old days, it was common for a doctor to find a mass on a patient’s kidney and have a radiologist simply biopsy the lesion. This can miss cancer and even cause cancer cells to spread. Today, urologists can often identify what the mass is by a variety of non-invasive tests and then if needed, remove the lesion or kidney. Advances in laparoscopic and robotic surgery have revolutionized kidney cancer care.
Male Infertility
This requires a comprehensive exam and testing, again by a urologist. Often there are other underlying problems and so the infertility is correctable when the problem is treated. Other times, more advanced techniques are needed to correct the problem such as a varicocele, which is a collection of veins in the scrotum. For the most challenging issues, microsurgical reconstruction of the vas or sperm retrieval may be required.
Disclaimer
BahrainHealthMatters.com is for informative purposes only and not a substitute for professional in person expertise.
We advise that anyone having concerns about their health issues should consult their doctor asap.