Duration of testicular inflammation

The duration of testicular inflammation varies greatly depending on the pathogen and how quickly it is detected. In most cases the inflammation of the testes lasts for several weeks until it is completely healed. However, the symptoms can improve significantly after a few days if adequate treatment is given.

The duration of the testicle inflammation can determine whether one speaks of an acute or chronic testicle inflammation. If the inflammation of the testis lasts for less than six weeks, it is called acute testicular inflammation. If the inflammation lasts longer than six weeks, it is called chronic orchitis.

Basically, the duration of the testicle inflammation depends above all on how quickly the cause of the disease can be eliminated. If an infection with bacteria is underlying, an effective antibiotic therapy can completely eliminate the disease after a few weeks. Viral diseases, on the other hand, are more difficult to treat because there are no direct antidotes to many viruses. Therefore, testicular inflammation caused by viruses can often only be treated symptomatically and therefore usually takes a little longer.

Prognosis

In the best case, the testicle inflammation heals completely within a few weeks. In this case there is no need to fear any long-term consequences. However, if the course of the disease is severe, there is a risk of testicular atrophy.

This is the term used to describe a deterioration of the testicular tissue. A testicular atrophy is always accompanied by a more or less severe loss of testicular function and can be felt externally as a reduction of the corresponding testicle. Fertility does not necessarily have to be restricted, since sperm can still be produced via the second testicle.

However, if both testicles are affected, infertility can occur. This is the case in about 10% of testicular inflammations. As the sperm only amounts to 0.5% of the ejaculate, while the remaining 99.5% contain pure seminal fluid, any infertility (infertility) cannot be detected externally. Anyway, the amount of ejaculate varies from man to man between 2 and 6 milliliters.