Unfortunately, we men are not yet accustomed to having our reference specialist, the one to take care not only of pathologies, but also of the day-to-day health of the genital apparatus. This specialist is the andrologist, an increasingly well-known figure but still the most often avoided due to embarrassment and modesty. At what age does one need to see the andrologist? There is still little information on what would be the right age in which to start relying on the care and attention of the andrologist. And perhaps there is still doubt and uncertainty about the difference between the figure of the andrologist and that of the urologist.
The andrologist is the specialist who deals with the health of the genital apparatus and therefore specifically the penis and testicles. The most frequently treated diseases are erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, male infertility, prostatitis. But the message we want to send is not precisely to address the andrologist in case of problems but to have confidence and annual comparison with this specialist starting from the age in which we lose the assistance of the pediatrician, then after 12 years. The andrological examination should be annual with an evaluation of the integrity and normal development of the genital apparatus.
Among the pathologies sometimes not identified, but which can lead to future problems both as regards the sphere of fertility and as regards the sphere of sexuality, one must remember the presence of a short frenulum, the presence of a phimosis, the presence of a testicle not fully descended into the scrotum, the presence of a varicocele. All these pathologies are sometimes not highlighted and considered by the parents, the pediatrician as a boy with clear and obvious repercussions in the future life. Unfortunately, it is a proven statistic that the environmental pollution that surrounds us is bringing more and more to an alteration of the hormonal balance in the man with consequent problems on the sexual sphere on the development of the genital organs and on the fertility, here is the necessity and the usefulness of an andrological visit. The andrological visit is different from the urological examination. Initially, the andrologist will establish a concrete relationship of trust and collaboration with his future patient, they will investigate, based on age, what may be the problems related to the sexual sphere with the collection of anamnesis and data.
The visit in and of itself is not at all annoying or painful. The testicles are studied through a trivial palpation and whenever possible or required with an ultrasound of the testicles and spermatic vessels, ie the veins that can expand in the presence of varicocele.
The penis is then studied in its consistency and in its conformation and it is possible to identify the presence of small but perhaps annoying pathologies such as the short frenulum and phimosis. Everything really happens in no time. When the patient has reached the mature age, or even earlier in the presence of varicocele, a spermiogram will also be required, an exam that allows us to study what was once called the fertility index, or the capacity of our seminal fluid allow a pregnancy.
