“Oh, my aching balls!” -Blue Balls

“Oh, my aching balls!” A comment that every young man makes or thinks when he is engaged in heavy sexual activity and his testicles are causing aggravating pain and discomfort. This blog will describe the condition and what can be done to relieve the discomfort.

‘Blue balls’ is the popular slang term for vasocongestion in the testicles. The testicles do not actually turn blue. Instead, a bluish tint appears on the skin of the scrotum because of the increase in blood supply to the area that is trapped there by constriction of the venous blood vessels giving the bluish discoloration. However, this may not happen in all young men.

Cause and Symptoms
When a sexually-matured male is aroused, the following happens:
• His parasympathetic nervous system increases its inputs, causing an increased flow of blood and lymphatic fluids to the genital area.
• Concurrently, muscles that control fluid outflow constrict, resulting in a net increase of fluid concentration.
• These actions combine to ensure that regional blood pressure is high enough to sustain an erection for penetration during sexual intercourse.
• During this process, the testicles also increase in size by about 25 – 50 percent.
When the male reaches orgasm and ejaculates, the constricted muscles relax and the additional fluids flow out from the genital area. The penis and testicles then return to their normal size.
However, when there is prolonged sexual arousal without eventual ejaculation, the bodily fluids will pool, causing congestion in the testicles and the prostate region. The blood becomes oxygen-deprived and turns bluish, giving the condition its slang term, blue balls.
The technical term for this condition is vasocongestion, which is often accompanied by a cramp-like ache at the lower abdomen, pain and tenderness of the testes, and a lingering sensation of heaviness and discomfort in the lower body.
The female homologue is usually referred to by the more general term ‘pelvic congestion’ or ‘pink ovaries’.

Treatments
Vasocongestion does not cause any short- or long-term physical harm to the person, and neither is it contagious or infectious. Although it can be very uncomfortable, it is definitely not life-threatening or an emergency. Even if nothing is done, the symptoms usually subside within an hour of onset.
If one is eager for a quick relief, the easiest way is through ejaculation, i.e., masturbation or enough genital stimulation that results in an orgasm and ejaculation. That will jump-start the parasympathetic nervous system, decreasing the blood flow through the genital area and dissipating the build-up of fluids.

Bottom Line: Blue balls is not a serious condition. However, if the symptoms last for several hours or days after sexual arousal has ceased, then do consult a health care professional to be certain that there is not an underlying cause(s) of the pain and discomfort.

Blue Balls-Sex and Painful Testicles

You are a young man. Just getting started with sex and engage in heavy petting resulting in sexual arousal. After 45 minutes of heavy petting, you have an ache and discomfort in your testicles. What is this? What should you do?

Blue balls are not just a figment of a male’s imagination or a lame excuse to try and get you in the sack. Though it doesn’t happen to all men, it is a very real condition that results from a prolonged state of sexual arousal. When a guy is physically turned on, blood flows to his penis, which is what gives him an erection, which is a good thing, and his testicles, causing them to swell, not such a good thing! If he doesn’t ejaculate, there is a buildup of pressure, and his supersensitive testicles start to hurt. The sensation can range from a mild ache to worse-than-getting-kicked-in-the-crotch pain.

Bottom line: Blue balls are not dangerous, and a young man can resolve it. The easiest solution is for the man to masturbate as an orgasm and ejaculation will cause the congestion in the penis and scrotum to abate. Just as the erection will subside after an ejaculation, the congestion around the testicles will also subside and the pain will go away. If the young man has an aversion to masturbation, then just waiting it out is also a solution as the blood will eventually drain, and any discomfort will disappear on its own.

Blue Balls-When It Hurts Down There During Sexual Activity

Nearly every young man has had the experience of intense sexual stimulation and an aching sensation in his testicles. It is common in young men just experiencing sexual activity and has been a source of pain and discomfort for nearly every man who embarks on his sexual career.

Blue balls is a slang term referring to testicular aching that may occur when the blood that fills the vessels in a male’s genital area during sexual arousal is not dissipated by orgasm and ejaculation.

When a man becomes sexually excited, the arteries carrying blood to the genital area enlarge, while the veins carrying blood from the genital area are more constricted than in the non-aroused state.

The good news is that this uneven blood flow causes blood to be trapped in the two chambers of the penis resulting in the penis becoming erect. This increase of blood supply to the testicles and the trapping of blood around the testicles because the outflow of blood has been decreased causes vasocongestion or engorgement of the testicles resulting in an increase in size of the testicles by 25-50 percent. This distension of the testicles results in the pain and discomfort referred to as blue balls.

If the male reaches orgasm and ejaculates, the arteries and veins return to their normal size, the volume of blood in the genitals is reduced and the penis and testicles return to their usual size rather quickly.

If ejaculation does not occur there may be a lingering sensation of heaviness, aching, or discomfort in the testicles due to the continued vasocongestion.
The condition usually does not last long and the level of pain associated with blue balls is usually minor and can be exaggerated. Most men have been socialized to ejaculate when they get an erection during sexual activity. Failure to ejaculate and to feel orgasm often adds frustration and disappointment to the reality of the physical sensation.

Men who believe that they should ejaculate every time they have an erection are likely to exert pressure on their partner to proceed with sex without taking her feelings into consideration.
Some men find that masturbation is a viable solution and are realizing that ejaculation is not a requirement in every sexual situation. This attitude allows both men and their partners to relax more and to learn that pleasure and meaning can exist without having to reach ejaculation and orgasm during every sexual encounter.

It’s nice to know that men are not alone with this problem as it impacts both sexes. Both men and women experience the discomfort of unrelieved vasocongestion. Women’s genitals also become engorged with blood during sexual arousal and, like their male counterparts, women can experience pelvic heaviness and aching if they do not reach orgasm.