Boy Toddler with Swollen Testical

Absolutely see another doctor. In fact, you may want to take him straight to an ER.

My son woke up one morning (oddly, also when he was 2.5 years) screaming with pain. We took him to the doctor and they sent us straight to the ER. It turns out he had what's called testicular torsion. It's when the testicle can spontaneously twist itself (inside). It sounds like this could possibly have happened to your son. It's supposed to be incredibly painful and if it does get twisted and stays like that for too long, it could potentially affect his later fertility (on that side only).

The tendency for this to occur is actually genetic, and while it can actually be a relatively common diagnosis, it's almost never seen in kids this young (or so we were told by our doctors). It's usually something that would turn up in kids a little older (say age 7 and up). So that may be why his doctor missed it.

By the time we had arrived at the ER with our son, he was checked out by the experts and it was confirmed that's what had happened. It had also spontaneously corrected itself, which is why he was no longer in pain. Again, this might be what happens to your son (and why in the morning, he was better).

They still deemed it an "emergency" surgery, so we had to schedule it for the following week. If they didn't correct it through surgery, it could just keep occurring and potentially affect his fertility.

I had no idea something like that could even happen, much less what to look for, so we were very lucky they caught it. (The pediatric expert said he was one of the youngest cases he had seen.)

Once he had the surgery to correct the problem on both sides, they also found hernias on both sides. Poor little guy had probably been in some kind of pain for a while. :(

If this is what's happening with your son, it's an outpatient surgery. The toughest part was keeping a 2.5-year-old sitting still and resting for several days afterward. :)

I hope you and your little guy get this figured out soon.

All the best!

It does not sound normal to me especially if your son is crying about it. I think you've done the right thing to have him checked again....

My nephew had the same problem. Go see a specialist or at least get a second opinion. My nephew was originally diagnosed w/ a cyst but then found to have a type of hernia that fills with fluid (making it look swollen) and would drain back down (making it appear to not be swollen). Hard to diagnose that way especially without pain. They had to do a surgery ASAP to avoid needing emergency surgery later. I would strongly advise you get it checked out again ASAP since he is having pain.

Yep, not the norm.
So it is good you are taking your son to another Doc, for a 2nd opinion.

it could be a hernia

I would definitely seek a second opinion. My son also had that and our pediatrician send us to the ER right away because you never know what the issue could be, but a swollen testicle is not "Normal". It may not be a huge issue, but it's definitely not normal.
I forgot the terminology that told us, but basically sometimes the fluid can get in there because something in the testical hasn't close all the way, but over time it would heal itself. I'm sorry for my really bad explanation, this was about 4 years ago and my son hasn't had a swollen testicle since. (Knock on wood), but I would seek a second opinion.

I'm thinking hernia too. The reason it can go back and forth is that when he is upset and crying the pressure will push the intestine thru the hernia, when he calms down it will go back up.

Both my boys had hernias. When I told the dr that I thought my 2nd had a hernia, he gave me the "oh, ok mom" look then checked him out. To his surprise I was right! Moms know.

I know I don't like to mess around with boy bits. I don't have 'em so I make sure if anything looks funny, it gets checked out. I want grandchildren!