No Frills Guide on How to Check Your Nuts

Testicular cancer awareness month is in full swing and with it comes our no frills guide on how to check your nuts! It’s extremely important that you regularly examine your testicles as it may one day just save your life. It’s normal for one of your boys to be bigger or hang lower than the other, so this is definitely nothing to worry about.

For anything else that may concern you, or to make sure you’re always on the safe side, follow this simple step by step guide on how to check your nuts!

Take a shower

It’s not mandatory that you have to clean your balls before you check them, but it does help to relax them beforehand. A warm shower will relax your skin and allow for a closer or better examination than if you were to do it after work or the gym, for example. If you get into a routine of always checking after you have a shower, it will become second nature and as frequent as it should be to be on the safe side.

Use your thumb and first two fingers

You want to examine one testicle at a time. Take each one between your thumb and your first two fingers. Roll them around the testicle, applying a consistent gentle pressure, to feel for any lumps or changes in size, shape or consistency. Take your time and don’t worry if it feels a little tender, this is normal. You should only be concerned if there is real pain when you touch them.

Get familiar with your epididymis

The often forgotten about epididymis is just as important to check as your testicles. This is the tube like part of the scrotum located behind the testicles. It should feel rope like and tender under pressure, this is absolutely normal. Again, feel for any lumps or changes in size or shape.

Don’t panic if you notice something strange

The vast majority of lumps, bumps or changes in shape or size found in the testicles are usually not cancerous. Many instances of this end up being cists or fatty build-ups that can be easily remedied. So don’t panic if you do find something, it may end up being nothing to worry about at all.

Get it looked at straight away

However, either way, it is extremely important that you get it checked out as soon as you can. Visit your GP and they will advise you on the next steps, which may or may not include having an ultrasound scan. If caught early enough testicular cancer is highly curable, with a 95% survival rate. But again it does depend how early you detect it.

Not just in testicular cancer awareness month!

So gentlemen, please, in the month of April start to develop the habit of repeating these steps as often as you can. Then make it a frequent thing moving forward for the rest of your life – you never know – it may one day save it!