Im really worried because my friend told me he has an undescended testicle. He's 16 years old. He told me they dropped at puberty and one still hasnt, and its been 5 or 6 years. I heard they dropped when you were born. I've asked him to go to a doctor or tell his parents or something, which may be hard to do, but I'm worried.
what are the dangers of not seeing a doctor?
and how might i persuade him to get help?
Testicles usually drop sometimes before puberty, sometimes like 10/11 or 12. Sounds like one of his dropped about that time, or just at the beginning of puberty. He really needs to see a doc about this...often an undesended testicle can get infected or lead to other health issues. I'm not a doc but he simply needs to discuss this with a parent, or another adult. He can also ask for a doctors appointment for another reason and then talk with the doc about it....but it needs to happen. Why not do some internet research on testicles that don't descend and share the information about the dangers with him, that may help "encourage" him to get some attention for this.
One of the dangers of not seeing a doctor is that his problem might bother him emotionally for years to come. At his age, if his testicle is well and truly undescended, it's probably salvageable and can be surgically lowered into the scrotum. The longer he waits, the more likely the testicle will have to be removed if the issue is dealt with later. In either case (again, if the testicle is truly undescended) both balls have a higher chance of developing cancer because of it, but don't fret! That risk is still quite low. Having testicles that can be felt in the scrotum is important in catching this cancer early.
When I was his age, my left testicle was sort of descended and the other wasn't visible at all. I was too scared to see a doctor. Waiting, hoping, and praying had no effect. When I was 23, they removed my right nut. I'm 31 now, and still wishing I had taken action earlier. Having only one nut makes me sad. Hopefully, your friend can avoid this kind of anguish or regret. Good luck.
