The Swelling That Wasn't Serious: Hydrocele Stories

Inside this volume

Fifty first-person accounts describe hydrocele, a build-up of fluid around a testicle that swells the scrotum. Writers blamed a bike saddle, a truck seat, a vasectomy, a hernia repair or simple age; one learned of his at a company health check in Tokyo, another after a painful infection. Parents describe a four-month-old's swelling noticed at a 2 a.m. nappy change, a newborn checked with a light, and a toddler's small operation in Munich. The men include a dairy farmer in Cork back for calving season, a long-distance trucker, a chef on his feet twelve hours a day, an airline pilot, a pastor, a nurse of twenty-six years and a 17-year-old footballer, writing from Leeds to Ludhiana and Bogota to Kandy. Some chose to watch, with supportive shorts; a 74-year-old with swelling on both sides decided to leave it alone. Others had fluid drained with a needle, a short operation, or a hernia and hydrocele dealt with together, while blood thinners, diabetes, money, a waiting list, hopes for a baby and worries about intimacy shaped their choices. A wife made the call her husband would not. Not every outcome was smooth: drained fluid returned, one hydrocele came back after surgery, healing was slow with diabetes, and one man carried a swelling the size of a football for years.

Who it's for

For men who have noticed a swelling and are waiting for a scan or weighing an operation, and for the partners, parents and carers who go along to the appointments.

Format · Instant download · PDF & EPUB · Fifty first-person accounts · PDF: 259 pages

A collection of personal testimony, offered as companion reading — not medical advice.

• 50 single-author testimonies from real people
• A short, plain-language introduction to the topic
• Editor's note, contents page, and curated resource list
• Professional interior typesetting and an original cover

Every purchase includes a print-quality PDF (best for desktop, tablet, and printing) and a reflowable EPUB (best for Kindle, Apple Books, Kobo, and phones). Files are DRM-free. You can download both instantly from the order-confirmation screen, and we email them to your inbox as well, so your books are always within reach.