What is a hernia?
An inguinal hernia is a bulge you can see or feel in your groin. The bulge is made up of fat and bowel that has slipped through a weak spot in the muscles in your abdomen and down into your groin. The word "inguinal" means "groin."

A hernia can be uncomfortable and feel tender, especially when you bend and lift. It may make it difficult for you to do normal activities, like shopping or having sex.

Some people can push their hernia back in, but it's likely to come out again. Surgery is the only way to repair a hernia.

Key points for people with a hernia

• About 9 in 10 hernias happen in men.
   

• An operation is the only treatment for a hernia. It can get rid of the bulge and prevent a blocked bowel.
   

• Surgeons can operate by opening up your groin (open surgery) or by making small cuts in your groin and using a camera to see inside (keyhole surgery).
   

• You may recover faster and get less pain and numbness in your groin with keyhole surgery than with open surgery. But not all surgeons are trained to do keyhole operations.
   

• If you don't have surgery, your hernia may get bigger and more difficult to repair. The bowel that has slipped out of your abdomen can get trapped and lose its blood supply. This is called a strangulated hernia. It can be life-threatening.

What will happen ?
Most people have surgery to repair their hernia. There isn't much research to say what will happen if you don't.

If you choose to leave your hernia, the following might happen.

• It may get bigger and become more painful and uncomfortable. It could stop you from doing things like working, carrying anything heavy, exercising, or having sex.
   

• A bit of your bowel can get squeezed by the opening in the muscle that it has slipped through. The wall of the bowel could split, causing fluid to leak into your abdomen. This can cause a dangerous condition called peritonitis.
   

• The bowel can get trapped by the opening it has slipped through. This can cut off the blood supply to the bowel. If blood stops flowing to this part of the bowel, it can die. This is called a strangulated hernia. It can be life-threatening, and you'll need to have an operation right away. If part of your bowel has died, the surgeon will cut out the dead bowel and join the two healthy ends together.

There isn't much research on how likely these problems are. We do know that, each year, about 5 in 100 people with their first hernia get life-threatening problems and need emergency surgery.

An inguinal hernia is a bulge or swelling you can see or feel in your groin. The bulge is a bit of bowel and fat that has slipped out of your abdomen and down into your groin. An operation can get rid of the bulge, reduce pain, and prevent a blocked bowel.