Curious about ‘Why Do Guys Have to Cough During a Prostate Exam’? The prostate, vital for semen production, sits deep in the pelvis. A digital rectal exam (DRE) allows doctors to assess it. While the process might be uncomfortable, it’s painless. Prostate nutrition can further support its health. Dive into the details now!
Hernia
Visiting your doctor often involves them taking away your drawers, donning latex gloves, grabbing your junk, then turning your head and coughing in order to check for hernias – something which is quite prevalent among men (indeed, hernia surgery is one of the most sought after procedures among children and teenagers). Hernias occur when soft tissue – typically intestinal tissue – pushes through a weak point or hole in abdominal wall into the scrotal sac where your doctor will feel pressure to detect if any portion of bowel is protruding through this weakness in order to diagnose hernias.
Scrotal hernias can cause pain, and if they get large enough they can block blood supply to a section of intestine and lead to its eventual death. Luckily, most hernias are relatively minor and can usually be easily pushed back into place within seconds.
Doctors perform groin exams to look for hernias as well as any enlarged prostates, which is a gland in the male reproductive system that sits low in the pelvis and measures approximately the size of a walnut; its surface encases part of the urethra (the tube that carries urine from bladder to penis). An enlarged prostate may block this flow and lead to serious health issues if its blocking of urine flow can impede urinary flow and contribute to serious health complications.
Varicocele
Varicose veins don’t just appear in legs – they can also arise in more discreet locations such as the scrotum. Varicoceles, or enlarged, swollen veins, usually form on either testicle but can occur either left or right side.
The testicles receive oxygen-rich blood from two testicular arteries and oxygen-depleted blood from small veins (known as pampiniform plexus) to the main scrotal vein for transport back toward the heart. These veins feature valves to prevent backflow; if these valves malfunction, gravity causes pooled blood to collect in pools that stretch the surrounding tissues resulting in varicocele.
Varicoceles usually don’t cause symptoms or discomfort. But, if sudden and intense pain appears in your scrotum, this could indicate testicular torsion – an emergency situation which needs immediate medical intervention.
Doctors may be able to diagnose varicocele by talking with you and inspecting your scrotum while you stand and then again while lying down, feeling any soft or squishy swellings, pressing on your penis to check for growths or ulcers, as well as inserting their fingers in your rectum to check for hernias.
Intestinal obstruction
Intestinal obstruction occurs when part of your intestine becomes lodged between your anus or colon and bladder, and symptoms include partial blockages that may resolve themselves without surgery, as well as complete ones caused by hernia, volvulus, intussusception or other medical issues that restrict its normal movement. Your doctor will examine your abdomen to check for blockages while listening with a stethoscope for any hard lumps or audible sounds in your abdominal region.
Your provider will lubricate their finger and insert it into your anus to check for signs of hernias, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), or other issues. The exam should only take a few minutes and shouldn’t hurt; depending on what they need to check for they might ask you to lie back with legs spread or in a squatting position – each provider has different procedures they take when performing this check-up.
If your doctor suspects an intestinal blockage, they might suggest giving you a barium enema. They’ll place liquid containing whitish-silver metal barium into your rectum and an X-ray will show where it goes within your body. They might also give you a thin tube they run from your nose to stomach in order to release fluids or gas to alleviate obstruction; if necessary surgery may be required.
Urinary tract infection
Urinary tract infections (UTIs) occur when bacteria invade your urinary tract–your kidneys, ureters, urethra and bladder. Most often they manifest themselves in the bladder but they can affect any part of it including kidneys and urethra; UTIs typically affect girls more frequently due to having shorter urethras which make bacteria easier to reach the bladder. Although painful, UTIs can usually be quickly treated using antibiotics.
The prostate gland in men resides low in their pelvis and surrounds part of the urethra, the tube used to transport urine out of the bladder. The prostate produces semen – fluid that transports sperm from testicles through penis when you ejaculate.
As part of a DRE exam, your healthcare provider places a gloved finger into the rectum and feels your prostate with it, often without pain relief. The procedure usually only lasts a few seconds and shouldn’t hurt at all.
DREs can assist your doctor in assessing whether you have a hernia, an enlarged prostate, or any cancerous changes within the prostate gland. Your physician will use the DRE results, in conjunction with your medical history and PSA blood test results, to decide on an appropriate course of action for you.