You can check yourself for a hernia by standing in front of a mirror, looking for a visible bulge in your groin or abdomen, and then feeling the area with your fingertips while you cough or bear down. Most hernias become more obvious when you increase pressure inside your abdomen, so the combination of standing, looking, and straining is the same basic approach doctors use during a clinical exam. Here’s how to do it systematically for each common hernia location.
The Basic Technique: Stand, Look, Strain
The principle behind every hernia check is simple. A hernia is a section of tissue or organ pushing through a weak spot in the muscle wall. At rest, it may slip back inside and be invisible. When you increase pressure in your abdomen by coughing, straining, or bearing down, the hernia sac enlarges and pushes outward through the defect, making it easier to see and feel. This pressure technique, called the Valsalva maneuver, has been the cornerstone of hernia diagnosis since 1704. Doctors still rely on it today.
To start, undress from the waist down and stand in front of a full-length mirror in good lighting. Look at your groin, lower abdomen, and belly button area for any asymmetry, swelling, or bulging. Then place your fingertips flat over each area you want to check, and cough hard or bear down as if you’re having a difficult bowel movement. You’re feeling for something that pushes outward against your fingers during the strain and then recedes when you relax.
Checking Your Groin (Inguinal Hernia)
Inguinal hernias are the most common type, appearing in the groin crease where your abdomen meets your thigh. In men, they can also extend down into the scrotum. Stand up straight and look at each side of your groin for any bulge or fullness that wasn’t there before, or that looks different from the other side.
Place two or three fingertips along the crease of your groin, roughly where your leg meets your pelvis. Now cough firmly two or three times. If you feel a soft lump or bulge push against your fingers during the cough and retreat when you stop, that’s the classic sign. Try lying down afterward. Many inguinal hernias slip back inside when you’re flat on your back, and the bulge disappears. If it does, this is called a “reducible” hernia, which is less immediately dangerous but still worth getting evaluated.
Women can get inguinal hernias too, though they’re far more common in men. In women, the bulge tends to be smaller and sometimes harder to detect. Any hernia in a woman should be seen promptly, since the anatomy makes complications more likely.
Checking Your Belly Button (Umbilical Hernia)
An umbilical hernia shows up as a soft bulge on or near your belly button. In some people the bulge is always visible. In others, it only appears when there’s pressure on the abdomen, like during coughing, lifting, or straining. Stand and look at your navel from the front and from the side. Then press gently around the belly button with your fingertips and bear down. You’re feeling for a soft, squishy lump that pokes outward.
Adults with umbilical hernias are more likely to notice discomfort, dull pain, or a sense of pressure at the site rather than sharp pain. The bulge itself is typically soft to the touch and may flatten out when you press on it gently or lie down.
Checking a Surgical Scar (Incisional Hernia)
If you’ve had any abdominal surgery in the past, the scar site is a potential weak point. Incisional hernias develop in roughly 2 to 10 percent of all abdominal operations. Run your fingers slowly along the full length of your scar while standing. Then bear down or cough and feel for any new bulging, fullness, or soft mass along or near the scar line. These hernias can appear months or even years after the original surgery.
What a Hernia Feels Like
A hernia bulge is usually soft and somewhat squishy, not rock-hard. You might feel nothing at all, or you might notice pressure, a dull ache, or a pinching sensation when it pushes through. One of the most reliable clues is that the lump appears during certain activities (standing, coughing, lifting) and goes away in others (lying down, relaxing). This “now you see it, now you don’t” quality is distinctive.
The bulge enlarges when you increase abdominal pressure and shrinks when you release it. If you can gently push the bulge back in with your fingers while lying down, that’s a reducible hernia. If the lump stays out and won’t go back in, it’s considered irreducible and needs prompt medical attention.
What Else Could Cause a Lump
Not every lump in your groin or abdomen is a hernia. Swollen lymph nodes are the most common cause of a groin lump and can result from infections in the legs, sexually transmitted infections, or sometimes lymphoma. Other possibilities include benign cysts, lipomas (harmless fatty lumps), or an injury-related swelling. The key difference is that most of these don’t change size with coughing or straining the way a hernia does. A lymph node tends to feel firm and fixed in place, while a hernia bulge is softer and moves with pressure changes.
Warning Signs That Need Emergency Care
Most hernias are not emergencies. But a hernia becomes dangerous when the tissue gets trapped and its blood supply is cut off. This is called strangulation, and it requires immediate medical attention. Call 911 or go to an emergency room if you notice:
- Sudden, severe pain in the area of the bulge that keeps getting worse
- Skin color changes around the lump, turning red, purple, or darker than your normal skin tone
- Nausea and vomiting along with a firm, painful bulge that won’t push back in
- A bulge that becomes hard and tender when it was previously soft and painless
What To Do If You Find Something
A self-check can raise suspicion, but it can’t replace a clinical exam. Doctors diagnose most hernias with a physical examination alone, using the same standing-and-coughing technique you did at home but with trained hands that can better gauge the size and type of defect. In some cases, imaging is used to confirm a hernia that isn’t obvious on exam.
If you feel a bulge that comes and goes with straining, schedule an appointment with your primary care doctor. They’ll likely refer you to a surgeon for evaluation, since surgery is the only definitive fix for a hernia. Irreducible hernias, meaning the bulge won’t push back in, should be seen urgently rather than at a routine appointment. And any hernia in a child under 18 should go directly to a pediatric surgeon.
Small, painless hernias that barely bother you aren’t always operated on right away. Your surgeon may recommend watchful waiting if the hernia is easily reducible and you’re not in discomfort. But hernias don’t heal on their own and tend to get larger over time, so most are eventually repaired.