You should start to feel better within a few days, but it may take up to 2 weeks to fully recover. It's important to finish the whole course of antibiotics, even if you start to feel better. There are some things you can do while you recover to help ease pain and swelling and prevent any further problems.
It usually occurs due to a bacterial infection or a sexually transmitted infection (STI). The condition usually improves after you take antibiotics. Acute epididymitis lasts 6 weeks or fewer.
Chronic epididymitis is difficult to treat. Antibiotics should not be used, as there is no infection. Treatment options include: frequent warm baths.
If antibiotics don't stop the symptoms, your health care provider may suspect tuberculous epididymitis. If a pocket of pus ("abscess") has formed, more must be done. Surgery to drain the abscess or remove part or all of the epididymis might be needed. This is rare.
Gonorrhea and chlamydia are the most common causes of epididymitis in young, sexually active men. Other infections. Bacteria from a urinary tract or prostate infection might spread from the infected site to the epididymis. Also, viral infections, such as the mumps virus, can result in epididymitis.
Judging from the case-control study (see above point), the most common medical therapies for chronic epididymitis are antibiotics and anti-inflammatory agents; less common are phytotherapy, anxiolytics, narcotic analgesics, acupuncture, and injection therapy.
Participating in strenuous physical activity, riding a bicycle or motorcycle, or sitting for prolonged periods of time increase the chance for epididymitis.
How Can You Prevent Epididymitis? For men younger than 39 years of age, the cause is usually a sexually related disease. If one partner is infected, the other partner should be evaluated and potentially treated as well. Otherwise, the patient may become reinfected.
In men older than 35, epididymitis usually happens because of an infection of the bladder or urinary tract. Some cases of epididymitis are caused by the E. coli bacteria, or in rare cases, by the same bacteria that causes tuberculosis.