What are Epididymitis and Orchitis?

upamfva · 06-04-2022 08:21:15

Epididymitis is when the epididymis swells. This disease can be acute (sudden) or chronic (long-term) and is typically from a bacterial infection. Acute epididymitis is felt quickly with redness and pain, and it goes away with treatment. Chronic epididymitis typically is a duller pain, develops slowly and is a longer-term problem. Symptoms of chronic epididymitis can get better, but may not go away fully with treatment and may come and go. Most cases of epididymitis are seen in adults.To get more news about Chronic epididymitis case, you can visit our official website.

Orchitis is swelling of the testis alone is uncommon. It almost always comes on quickly and goes away with treatment. Chronic orchitis isn’t well-defined. It’s thought to be part of a health issue called orchalgia (chronic testicular pain).The male reproductive system makes, stores, and transports sperm. Sperm is created with special male hormones in the body. These are made in the two testes in the scrotum,(which is the pouch-like sac at the base of the penis). Sperm start growing in the testes and gain movement and maturity while travelling through the epididymis. The epididymis is a coiled tube behind each testis.
Each epididymis is linked to the ejaculatory duct by a tube called the vas deferens. This tube runs from the lower part of the scrotum into the inguinal canal. It then moves through the pelvis, behind the bladder. This is where the vas deferens joins with the seminal vesicle and forms the ejaculatory duct. When you ejaculate, fluid from the seminal vesicles and prostate mix with sperm to form semen. The semen travels through the urethra and comes out the end of the penis.

Infections in the scrotum may be caused by an infection somewhere else in the body. The symptoms can be felt in the infected epididymis and/or testis, and in other parts of the groin area.

In some cases, the main symptom you'll notice is pain in the scrotum. The pain starts at the back of one testis. But it can soon spread to the whole testis, scrotum, and sometimes the groin. The skin might also be swollen, tender, red, firm, and warm. The whole scrotum can also swell up with fluid (" hydrocele").Chronic epididymitis pain is felt only inside the scrotum. It's less severe than an acute condition. It can be intermittent, may require antibiotics or anti-inflammatory medication or may go away by itself. The skin isn't swollen, tender, red, firm, or warm.

Acute Orchitis
The symptoms for orchitis are uncommon and can be from a viral or bacterial infection. Pain can start in one testis, and can spread to the whole scrotum. The skin might also be swollen, tender, red, firm, and warm. You may have fever. The whole scrotum can swell and feel painful
Orchitis
Orchitis alone is mostly from a mumps virus (or other virus) infection. "Mumps orchitis" appears in about 1/3 of males who get mumps after puberty. It only occurs in boys that have mumps AFTER puberty. In some cases of mumps, interferon can be given to prevent orchitis. This infection doesn't spread to the epididymis.

Acute Epididymo-orchitis
Acute epididymo-orchitis is most often from a bacterial infection. It can also be caused by a tuberculous infection of the epididymis, but this is rare. Rarely, it can start in the testis and spread to the epididymis.

Diagnosis
Your health care provider will ask about your past health and examine you. He/she may test a urine sample and look for bacteria under a microscope. He/she may also try to grow a culture of the urine sample . In acute epididymitis the urine is often infected. In chronic epididymitis the urine typically is not infected.

If your provider thinks you have urethritis, they may test a swab of fluid from your urethra. If your pain came on quickly and severely, he/she may use ultrasound to look more closely at your testicle. Ultrasound is a non-invasive test. It uses sound waves bouncing off structures in your body to make a picture. Ultrasound can measure the blood flow in the epididymis, examine the inside of the testis and see other changes in that area of the body.