Experts warn men not to turn scrotums into septic DIY water balloons
Doctors are pleading with men to stop injecting assorted fluids into their testicles for social-media masculinity cred, which feels like the sort of sentence that should never have needed writing.
Online masculinity culture continues its determined march well beyond its current body-horror parody with “ballmaxxing,” a trend involving DIY scrotal inflation and extremely foreseeable medical consequences.
Glatter: The short answer: The scrotum was not built for this. The area is extremely sensitive and contains delicate structures — including the testicles, blood vessels, and nerves — that are simply not designed to accommodate fluid distension.
Specific risks include infection, abscess formation, and cellulitis from the introduction of unregulated fluid outside a medical setting. Pressure from fluid accumulation may also impair blood flow, potentially affecting testicular function — in other words, the very organs someone is trying to “enhance” can be permanently damaged in the process.
Most ballmaxxing happens at home with kits bought online, with no sterile field and no trained operator, making sepsis a potential and serious outcome.
Others may purchase materials from underground sources, which may contain toxic materials that are not only harmful but also unsterile, increasing the risk of severe infection, sepsis, and the need for surgical intervention with potential permanent disfigurement.
“What if we injected goo into it?” continues to underperform as a healthcare strategy.
I swear I keep reading it as “ballsmaxxing,” which is even funnier tho violent.