Is an inguinal hernia serious?

An inguinal hernia results when tissues, such a portion of your intestine, squeezes through a weak point in your abdominal muscles. The bulge that results can cause pain, especially while coughing, bending over or lifting heavy objects.

An inguinal hernia, as such, is not necessarily dangerous. At the same time, it will not improve by its own. Moreover, it can even lead to some life-threatening complications. Your physician will most probably recommend a hernia repair surgery to repair your inguinal hernia it it’s painful or growing in size.

You should be extra cautious when:

You must be able to slowly push your hernia back into the mid-section when you are lying down. If you can’t, using an ice pack may help decrease the swelling so that the hernia can be pushed in easily. You can also try lying with the pelvis higher than the head.

If you cannot push your hernia in, the parts of your hernia can get trapped or incarcerated in your abdominal wall. Such a hernia that is incarcerated can get strangulated, which in turn will cut off the blood supply to the tissue that is trapped. If not treated immediately; this strangulated hernia can turn out to be life-threatening.