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Medical Author:

Steven Doerr, MD

Steven Doerr, MD

Steven Doerr, MD, is a U.S. board-certified Emergency Medicine Physician. Dr. Doerr received his undergraduate degree in Spanish from the University of Colorado at Boulder. He graduated with his Medical Degree from the University Of Colorado Health Sciences Center in Denver, Colorado in 1998 and completed his residency training in Emergency Medicine from Denver Health Medical Center in Denver, Colorado in 2002, where he also served as Chief Resident.

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Medical Editor:

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Charles Patrick Davis, MD, PhD

Dr. Charles "Pat" Davis, MD, PhD, is a board certified Emergency Medicine doctor who currently practices as a consultant and staff member for hospitals. He has a PhD in Microbiology (UT at Austin), and the MD (Univ. Texas Medical Branch, Galveston). He is a Clinical Professor (retired) in the Division of Emergency Medicine, UT Health Science Center at San Antonio, and has been the Chief of Emergency Medicine at UT Medical Branch and at UTHSCSA with over 250 publications.

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The medical treatment of orchitis depends on the underlying cause of infection, specifically whether it is caused by a bacterial or viral organism.

People with bacterial orchitis or bacterial epididymo-orchitis require antibiotic treatment. Antibiotic therapy is necessary to cure the infection.

• Most men can be treated with antibiotics at home for 10-14 days. Longer courses may be required if the prostate gland is also involved.
• If a patient has high fever, is vomiting, if he is very ill, or if he develops serious complications, the patient may require admission to a hospital for IV antibiotics.
• Young, sexually active men need to make sure that all of their sexual partners are treated if the cause is determined to be a STD. They should either use condoms or abstain from sexual relations until all partners have completed their full course of antibiotics and are symptom-free.
• Antibiotics prescribed will depend on the patient age and underlying cause of the bacterial infection. Antibiotics commonly used may include ceftriaxone (Rocephin), doxycycline (Vibramycin, Doryx), azithromycin (Zithromax) or ciprofloxacin (Cipro).

If the cause of orchitis is determined to be viral in origin, antibiotics will not be prescribed. Mumps orchitis will generally improve over a 1-2 week period. Patients should treat symptoms with the home care treatments outlined above.

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