Last updated on August 27, 2020
Question:
Hi,
I’m a 15-year-old male. A couple of days ago I discovered a small painless bump on the left side near the base of my scrotum, and I was wondering if you have any idea what it could be?
Answer:
You must remember that I can’t see what you see and your description doesn’t give me enough clues to narrow down the possibilities.
- Is the bump on the surface of the skin or inside the scrotum?
- Is the bump or the area around it red, yellow, or white?
- Does it itch?
- What size is it (for instance, is it about the size of a pencil eraser)?
- How long has it been there that you’ve noticed?
- Is there a hair at the point of the bump?
- Is the bump rounded, flat on top, smooth, or rough-textured?
Question:
Thanks for responding so soon! And sorry I wasn’t clear enough. The bump is inside my scrotum, and the skin on the outside looks normal. It doesn’t itch. It’s about 1/4 inch long and a little less wide than that. I first noticed Saturday night. There is just the regular pubic hair on the outside of my scrotum. The bump feels smooth and slightly rounded inside my scrotum and smooth and flat from the outside of my scrotum. Also, it is a little less thick than it is long and is kind of oval-shaped. Hope this helps!
Answer:
Then that leads to another question: does it feel fairly solid or do it have some give to it?
Question:
It feels solid with possibly a little give to it.
Answer:
OK, now that I got a better understanding, let me explain that in your scrotum there are both blood vessels and fluids which circulate. There are valves in your scrotum to keep the fluids moving forward, but sometimes a valve will fail. The most likely thing that you have is that one of the fluid valves failed to cause what doctors call a hydrocoele. Typically, such a thing doesn’t cause any harm. However, since there are a few much rarer things that can be almost the same and a few of them can affect your ability to have children, I want you to see your doctor. If he isn’t certain what you have, he will schedule you to have an ultrasound so they can see whether the lump is solid tissue or a fluid-filled sack. I suspect it is a fluid-filled sack since it appeared so suddenly. From there the doctor can tell you if it is nothing to worry about or if something more should be done.