Orchitis

Diagnosis

Your healthcare provider will review your medical history and perform a physical examination in order to check for swollen testicles on the affected side and swollen lymph nodes in your groin. To look for prostate enlargement or tenderness, your healthcare provider may also perform a rectal examination.

The healthcare provider may recommend the following test:

• Ultrasound: The most common imaging test for evaluating testicular pain is this one. If the blood flow to your testicles is higher than normal, which helps support the diagnosis of orchitis, or lower than normal, indicating torsion, this can be determined by ultrasound using color Doppler.
• Urinalysis: A urine sample is examined to look for any abnormalities and to rule out any viral or bacterial infections. Urine tests are used for some STI screenings.
• STIscreen: In order to collect a sample of the discharge if you have it, a thin swab is placed into the tip of your penis. The sample is tested for gonorrhea and chlamydia in the lab.

Treatment

The symptoms of orchitis typically begin to get better within a few days even without intervention. However, complete resolution of swelling may require several weeks or months.

Treatment for orchitis is based on its cause.

• Bacterial orchitis treatment: Both bacterial and epididymo-orchitis require the use of antibiotics for treatment. Your sexual partner requires medical attention as well if a STI is the source of the bacterial disease.
  Oral antibiotics for 10 to 14 days may be required for this. Even if your symptoms go away sooner, make sure the infection has been entirely eliminated by taking the full course of antibiotics as directed by your healthcare provider.
  The tenderness might not go away for a few weeks. Pain relief measures for the scrotum include resting, using an athletic strap to support it, using cold packs, and taking medicine.
• Treating viral orchitis: The goal of treatment is to reduce symptoms. Your healthcare provider may advise:
  • Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medications, such naproxen sodium or ibuprofen.
  • Resting in bed and elevating your scrotum.
  • Cold compress.

  The majority of patients with viral orchitis begin to experience improvement within three to 10 days, although it may take several weeks for the tenderness in the scrotum to fully resolve.