What is Varicocele?

This can be referred to as a disease that occurs in males characterized by an abnormal enlargement of the scrotum (this is a bag-like structure that usually carries testes in various males; both humans and some mammals). This swelling of scrotum is mainly due to the pampiniform venous plexus enlarging more than its normal size.

What is pampiniform venous plexus? This is a network of veins that are related to the scrotum. When the dilation of these testicular veins occurs, then varicocele is automatically the nest thing. Dilation of these veins could be caused by defective valves or when the veins are compressed.

What Causes Varicocele?

According to a study by the United States National Library of Medicine, varicocele usually occurs in almost 20% of all men where 40,000 of 1000,000 men diagnosed with reduced fertility suffer from this disorder. According to this study, the disease increases its severity with age where the rate is very high during adolescence and in adulthood.

There is a network of veins that surround the spermatic cord. Since veins have valves in them, in case they dysfunction, there is blood backflow into the scrotum. This leads to stagnation of blood around the testes which are responsible for sperm production. They require very low temperature for them to function effectively and efficiently and when blood stagnates around them, the temperature increases leading to low sperm count/production and eventually infertility.

This blood stagnation is what leads to swelling, fluid collection around the scrotum hence the occurrence of varicocele. Basically, this disease is a gradual process, which becomes severe with time. At the onset of it, there could be no identifiable symptoms at all by it can be diagnosed easily for males between 13-30 years.

But what really causes this varicocele in males? Well, there are four major causes which include:

1. Testicular veins receiving much pressure from the surrounding body structures
2. Renal cell cancer
3. The incompetence of the valves in the veins that
4. Nutcracker syndrome – some of the common signs of this syndrome include blood in the urine, some abdominal pains, chronic fatigue, difficulty when urinating, and pain during intercourse, anemia, and being light-headed among others.

When this disease affects your reproductive system, it can be classified into 3 types:

1. Grade 1/Small Varicocele – during this stage, the lump is small but it causes intra-abdominal pressure hence affecting how the veins function during their drainage. It can be identified through the Valsalva maneuver method.
2. Grade 2/Moderate or medium Varicocele – the lump in this stage is medium in size and through palpation, it is identified.
3. Grade 3/Large Varicocele – during this stage the lump is large enough to be identified with the visual inspection method.

Although the above-mentioned causes are the major ones, there are other factors that can affect the rate of varicocele occurring and in case one has it unknowingly, these factors make the symptoms more severe. They include:

1. The type of activity one is involved in
2 .The kind of diet one is taking
3. Having stomach and entire bowel complications
4. Having very high testicular temperatures
5. Being involved in smoking
6. Alcoholism etc.

Most of the time, varicocele occurs on the left side simply because the testicular vein in the left is superior and has a higher pressure because of its 90-degree connection to the left renal vein. Right-sided varicocele is very rare among the male. Let’s have a look at the signs and symptoms of this disease.

Also Read:  Grocare’s Ayurvedic Medication To Treating Varicocele Naturally

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