Epididymal hypertension

{{short description|Condition that arises during human sexual arousal when seminal fluid is not ejaculated}} {{pp-pc|small=yes}} {{Use dmy dates|date=March 2024}} {{Redirect|Blue balls|other uses|Blue Ball (disambiguation){{!}}Blue Ball}} {{Infobox medical condition (new) | name = Epididymal hypertension | synonyms = Sexual arousal orchialgia<ref>{{cite book |last1=Wiener |first1=SL |editor1-last=Walker |editor1-first=HK |editor2-last=Hall |editor2-first=WD |editor3-last=Hurst |editor3-first=JW |chapter=Testicular Pain |title=Clinical Methods: The History, Physical, and Laboratory Examinations |edition=3rd |location=Boston |publisher=Butterworths |year=1990 |pmid=21250139}}</ref> | image = File:Pijn.jpg | alt = | caption = The phenomenon manifests itself in the form of mild discomfort around the genitals or in the lower abdomen. | field = Urology | symptoms = | complications = | onset = | duration = | types = | causes = | risks = | diagnosis = | differential = | prevention = | treatment = | medication = | prognosis = | frequency = | deaths = }}

'''Epididymal hypertension''' ('''EH'''), informally referred to as '''blue balls''' for males or '''blue vulva''' for females, is a harmless but uncomfortable sensation in the genital regions during a prolonged state of sexual arousal.<ref name=":1" /><ref>{{cite book |last1 = Fergusson |first1 = Rosalind |first2= Eric |last2= Partridge |first3 = Paul |last3= Beale |title = Shorter Slang Dictionary |page = 21 |publisher = Routledge |date = December 1993 |isbn = 978-0-415-08866-4}}</ref><ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2023-01-18 |title=Is Blue Balls Real? |url= https://health.clevelandclinic.org/blue-balls/ |access-date=2023-11-28 |website= health.clevelandclinic.org| publisher= Cleveland Clinic |language= en-US}}</ref> It usually resolves within hours unless relieved through an orgasm.<ref name=":1">{{Cite web |last=Bhattacharya |first=Mallika |title=What Is Blue Vulva Syndrome? |url=https://www.webmd.com/sex/what-is-blue-vulva-syndrome |access-date=2023-11-28 |website= WebMD |language=en}}</ref>

In females, the discomfort occurs in the erectile tissue and clitoris of the vulva.<ref name=":0" /><ref name=":1" /> In males, the phenomenon results in an uncomfortable testicular sensation.<ref>{{Cite journal|last1=Byrne|first1=Lauren N.| last2= Meacham |first2= Randall B.|date=2006|title=Management of Post-Ejaculatory Perineal Pain|journal=Journal of Andrology|language=en|volume=27|issue=6|pages=710–711| doi= 10.2164/jandrol.106.001370|issn=1939-4640|pmid=17079745|doi-access=}}</ref> It most often describes a temporary fluid congestion in the testicles or vulva, caused by prolonged sexual arousal without orgasm.<ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Yazmajian| first1 = Richard V. | year = 1967 | title = The Influence of Testicular Sensory Stimuli on the Dream | url = http://www.pep-web.org/document.php?id=apa.015.0083a | journal = Journal of the American Psychoanalytic Association | volume = 15 | pages = 83–98| pmid = 6032147 | doi = 10.1177/000306516701500103 | issue = 1 | s2cid = 7093435 | url-access = subscription |access-date= }}</ref><ref>{{Cite journal | last1 = Glenn| first1 = Jules | year = 1969 | title = Testicular and Scrotal Masturbation | url = http://www.pep-web.org/document.php?id=ijp.050.0353a | journal = International Journal of Psycho-Analysis | volume = 50 | pages = 353–362| pmid = 5387383 | issue = 3| via= pep-web.org| access-date= }}</ref>

The term ''epididymal hypertension'' is derived from the epididymis, a part of the male reproductive system.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Epididyme {{!}} Sperm Storage, Vas Deferens & Testes |url=https://www.britannica.com/science/epididyme |website= Encyclopædia Britannica |language= en |access-date= 2024-01-08}}</ref> The term is also applied to females despite the lack of an epididymis in female anatomy.{{Citation needed|reason=The other sources of the page seem to make a clear distinction between epididymidal hypertension and blue vulva|date=February 2026}} Professor Caroline Pukall, who co-wrote the first in-depth study on EH, has suggested using the term ''throbbing crotch syndrome''.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Broderick |first=Timmy |title=The First In-Depth Study on 'Blue Balls' Reveals a Lot about Sex |url=https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/the-first-in-depth-study-on-blue-balls-reveals-a-lot-about-sex/ |website= Scientific American| publisher= |language=en |access-date=2024-01-08}}</ref> The term "blue balls" is thought to have originated in the US, first appearing in 1916.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Dalzell |first1=Tom |title=Sex Slang |last2=Victor |first2=Terry |date=December 2007 |publisher=Routledge |isbn=978-0-415-37180-3 |page=16}}</ref> Though lesser known, the equivalent of this phenomenon in females is informally referred to as "blue vulva", among other names.<ref name=":1" /> It is not to be confused with the inability to orgasm or the masturbatory practice of edging.

==Research== The phenomenon is sometimes associated with males who are experiencing and practicing delayed, multiple,<ref>{{Cite journal |last1= Parnham |first1= Arie |last2= Serefoglu |first2= Ege Can| date=August 2016|title=Retrograde ejaculation, painful ejaculation and hematospermia| journal= Translational Andrology and Urology|volume=5|issue=4|pages=592–601|doi=10.21037/tau.2016.06.05|issn=2223-4691|pmc=5002007|pmid=27652230 |doi-access=free }}</ref> or inhibited ejaculation.<ref>{{cite journal |last=Perelman |first=Michael A. |title=Integrating Sildenafil and Sex Therapy: Unconsummated Marriage Secondary to Erectile Dysfunction and Retarded Ejaculation |journal=Journal of Sex Education and Therapy |volume=26 |issue=1 |year=2001 |pages=13–21 |doi= 10.1080/01614576.2001.11074377 |s2cid=141603559}}</ref> There is scant information on the phenomenon in scientific literature.<ref>{{cite book|author1-link= Barry Komisaruk|author2-link=Beverly Whipple|author3-link=Sara Nasserzadeh |last1=Komisaruk |first1=Barry R. |first2=Beverly |last2= Whipple |first3= Sara |last3= Nasserzadeh |first4= Carlos |last4= Beyer-Flores |title=The Orgasm Answer Guide |url= https://archive.org/details/orgasmanswerguid00komi/page/70 |page=[https://archive.org/details/orgasmanswerguid00komi/page/70 70] |publisher=The Johns Hopkins University Press |date=November 2009 |isbn=978-0-8018-9396-4}}</ref> This is curious given that awareness of the condition goes back centuries, with many barely remembered terms having been applied to it between the early 18th through early 20th centuries.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Janssen |first= Diederik F |date=2025-04-10 |title=Blue balls: a brief history |url=https://academic.oup.com/smr/advance-article/doi/10.1093/sxmrev/qeaf015/8110060 |journal= Sexual Medicine Reviews |language=en |doi=10.1093/sxmrev/qeaf015 |issn=2050-0513|url-access=subscription }}</ref> The treatment is to achieve orgasm, or alternatively strain to move a very heavy object—in essence doing a Valsalva maneuver.<ref name="chalett">{{Cite journal |last1=Chalett |first1=J.M. |last2=Nerenberg |first2=L.T. |year=2000 |title='Blue Balls': A Diagnostic Consideration in Testiculoscrotal Pain in Young Adults: A Case Report and Discussion |url=http://pediatrics.aappublications.org/content/106/4/843? |journal=Pediatrics |volume=106 |issue=4 |page=843 |pmid=11015532 |doi=10.1542/peds.106.4.843|s2cid=36966128|url-access=subscription }}</ref>

== Causes == The cause of epididymal hypertension is an excessive amount of blood circulation to the genital area, specifically the penis and testicles, without the release of tension associated with orgasm and ejaculation. When a significant volume of blood flows to the genital region, the penis becomes erect, and the testicles also experience increased blood flow and swelling.<ref name=":0" /> In the vulva, blood flow increases in the erectile tissue, causing it to expand. After orgasm, this tissue shrinks back to its initial size as most of the blood leaves. When this process does not occur, it can result in mild discomfort.<ref name=":1" />

== Symptoms == The following indications and symptoms may be experienced by both sexes:<ref name=":1" /> * heaviness * aching * discomfort or mild pain

==References== {{Reflist}}

== External links == {{Wiktionary|blue balls}} * [http://webarchive.loc.gov/all/20020222235423/http://www.sexuality.org/l/sex/dsmansex.html "Understanding Male Sexuality"] at Library of Congress * [http://health.howstuffworks.com/sexual-health/male-reproductive-system/blue-balls-dictionary.htm "Blue Balls"] by DiscoveryHealth.com writers at howstuffworks.com * {{cite web |url= http://altpenis.com/news/blue_balls.shtml |title= Blue Balls |last= Aitken |first= Paul |website= AltPenis.com |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130508071722/http://altpenis.com/news/blue_balls.shtml |archive-date= 2013-05-08 |url-status= dead |access-date= }}

{{Medical resources | DiseasesDB = | ICD10 =  | MedlinePlus = | MeSH = | GeneReviewsNBK = | GeneReviewsName = }} {{Sexual slang}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Blue Balls}} Category:Mammal male reproductive system Category:Mammal female reproductive system

Epididymal hypertension

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