Brief Answer:
5-8 days for the symptoms of an infection to start.

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

Thank you for using Healthcaremagic to post your health query.
I read carefully your question and I understand your concern.

After being in contact with the infection, it will need 5 days (up to 8 days) to develop symptoms. Most commonly a man would have urethritis first (yellow discharge from the penis and urinary discomfort), but epididymitis may start during that range of days of some days later. Also, it will not always happen and the symptoms of having it is very characteristic.

Do you have any symptom yourself? - Discharge? Pain in urination? Pain in testicle palpation? Pain during intercourse?

Looking forward to your follow up question.

Regards,
Dr. Papaqako

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Brief Answer:
Possible bacterial vaginosis

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

Thank you for the follow up question.

From the information I have, I don't understand how your doctor came to the conclusion of you having epididymitis- you didn't had symptoms and the tests were normal. Anyway, I suppose that you were treated for it, and your partner too, because it would be too risky to left untreated a complication like that.

The symptoms that you fiance has can be a sexually transmitted infection, but it can also be bacterial vaginosis, which is an infection that can happen at woman due to the diabalance of the normal bacterial flora of the vagina. If that is the case, it is not sexually transmitted, and can be treated with either local creams or tablets of Metronidazole.

A vaginal smear would very easily confirm the vaginosis.

Hope that makes sense.
Let me know if you have other concerns.

Regards,
Dr. Papaqako

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Brief Answer:
Make sure the lump you had is gone after the treatment.

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

These are my thoughts:
- Your girlfriend seem to have bacterial vaginosis. The symptoms you are describing seems typical. Just confirm it with a test and take the treatment.
- Related to you: The epididymitis is generally (and almost always) caused by a sexually transmitted infection. So, if you had it, your fiance may have had the same infection too. And if she wasn't treated, you might have the same infection back. Also, after treatment, the lump should be gone. Even though, your symptoms now does not seem typical of that.

So, my suggestion is that when your fiance does the tests to rule out or confirm bacterial vaginosis, she does also the sexually transmitted infection tests and have them ruled out as well.

Make sure that the lump you had is gone, by following it up. A scrotal ultrasound would be best to look more in details what is going on.

Let me know if you have other questions or concerns.

Regards,
Dr. Papaqako

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Brief Answer:
It is common for a man to not have symptoms from an STD.

Detailed Answer:
Hello,

An STD in a man generally does not give symptoms. So if it remains untreated, it may mostly appear first as an epididymitis. So, yes it is typical.

But, if if it doesn't get treated, it is very rare that the infection goes away by itself, without antibiotic treatment - unless someone has a really strong immune system and the body has fought the bacteria. But again, this is almost possible just theoretically and not much in reality. In general, since men mostly have no symptoms, they are carriers of transmitting the infection to woman, and they diagnose them when the women start having symptoms.

Kind regards,

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