Is this something I should look into?

Two days ago I went paintballing with some friends and didn't wear a cup. I got shot right in the right testicle. I thought it was REALLY going to start hurting, but instead the little bit it hurt actually started to go away. I played the rest of the day with no problems. I left with less hurting than after a hernia exam. I would've thought something like that would've hurt 100 times more.

It hurt a little bit for the next few days, but was almost unnoticeable, not much worse than all the other areas I was hit. Today it hurts a bit more than before, but not a whole lot worse. My concern is that I'm seeing that my right testicle (where I was shot) sags quite a bit more than my left one. To be honest, I've never even noticed, and I wouldn't be entirely accurate in saying "it's never been this way before, it only started now". It could've been that way all along and I only now just noticed because I've been paying more attention to it. Then again, maybe it just started after I was shot. I'm not certain.

My question is: is this something that needs immediate attention? I've heard stories about guys who have had accidents and lost testicles because of it (and not seeking medical attention fast enough). The reason I'm not thinking this is not that serious, though, is because it really doesn't hurt much. If it hurt like hell, I'd probably think something was wrong, but it really doesn't hurt that much. In fact, at NO POINT IN TIME was the pain very bad. I would think it would hurt incredibly if one were about to lose their testicle, but maybe I'm wrong, maybe it could sneak up on a person?

What do you advise I do? Only as a last resort would I be willing to see a doctor, but if this is something serious that needs immediate attention, I would be willing. If it's something you guys think would heal up on it's own, that would be awesome. Thanks in advance.

[Elaine Brown, MD]

Hi!
Usually pain, swelling, redness or other discoloration such as bruising, etc are signs of a serious injury.  If you don't have any of those signs or symptoms, you are probably OK.  Obviously I can't tell you for certain over the internet though, so if anything worriesome develops--go get checked!

Good luck!
Dr B