For many parents, conversations about puberty often revolve around growth spurts, acne and changing voices. While these milestones are expected and openly discussed, reproductive health remains a topic many families avoid.
According to Prince Court Medical Centre Consultant Urologist Dr Roger Anthony Idi, reproductive health concerns among adolescent boys are a regular part of his practice, particularly among those aged between 12 and 17.
“The common complaints I get would be coming from my adolescents - they come to my clinic with number one, testicular pain. Number two, a testicular lump. They feel a lump in the testes.
“Number three, complaints associated with their foreskin if they are not circumcised yet. Number four, occasionally they come noticing that one of their testes is not there, or they might have one of their testes not there, or undescended testes,” he said.
Dr Idi said they are most commonly seen among boys aged 12 to 17, a stage when puberty brings significant physical changes and heightened awareness of their bodies.
However, more parents are now bringing their children for specialist care earlier, as awareness of adolescent reproductive health issues continues to grow in schools and online spaces.
Despite this, many teenagers still hesitate to speak up about intimate health concerns. Some assume symptoms will resolve on their own, while others feel too embarrassed to raise the issue with their parents.
According to Dr Idi, this delay in communication can result in late presentation of conditions that should be assessed earlier. He recalled encountering adult men who had lived with undescended testes for decades without seeking treatment.
“I’ve encountered adult men, maybe in their 30s or 40s, who already have a family but only come to tell us that they noticed they had undescended testes for a very long time.”
He has also seen cases where young patients delayed telling their parents about symptoms. He explained about a patient who came with a large testicular lump which had been there for months, but he was afraid to voice it out to his parents.
In the end, he was diagnosed with stage four testicular cancer. The patient was only in his late teens, between 18 and his early 20s.
Dr Idi believes these cases reflect a wider pattern of hesitation among adolescent boys when it comes to discussing reproductive health concerns.
“Adult men tend to bury their symptoms and hide it until it gets worse, the same goes for teens. Maybe some feel that this will eventually go away and that it’s not a big deal. So that’s the mentality.”
He adds that parents play a crucial role in breaking this silence by responding to their children’s concerns with attention and understanding rather than dismissal or judgment.
“Just be supportive, give more attention and don’t dismiss their complaints or questions,” he said.
In an age where many parents also turn to online platforms and artificial intelligence tools for health-related questions, Dr Idi advises that such information should be viewed as general guidance rather than a substitute for professional assessment.
“It’s not really a bad thing. Just get it verified. Usually a health professional can help to process that information and explain it in a better way with appropriate background context to the patient.”
Creating space for open, stigma-free conversations at home may help ensure that symptoms are addressed earlier rather than later.