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29th July 2022
12:20pm BST
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He continued to say that men can experience a painful "pressure" in their testicles but it has nothing to do with a dangerous level of semen building up. Instead, it's simply an increase in blood flow.
Hay explained: "If you become aroused for a long time, you get lots of blood going down to the testicles and it increases the pressure… If you don't [ejaculate] then that pressure becomes achy," Hay stated, describing a concept known in medical circles as "epididymal hypertension."
He also said that, while the testicles don't turn full-Smurf, they do have a "sort of blue hue" because the veins carrying blood become engorged.
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Via UNsplash[/caption]
In terms of pain, Dr Joshua Gonzalez told Buzzfeed that "it's typically described as an ache or throbbing sensation."
The idea of blue balls plays into the wider conversation surrounding informed consent. Women have spoken openly in the past about being manipulated into sex because they've been told the unimaginable pain is their fault.
As one user wrote on Girls ask Guys: "A guy I was making out with was touching me, and I was touching him. He was all over me, and I started to feel his d**k through his pants. He whispered that he had a h**d-on, and I continued to kiss him.
"I wouldn't have sex with him though, because he pushed me on the bed, and I felt really pressured. The next day, he said I gave him blue balls?
"What does that mean exactly? Is that bad?"
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