Does Ibuprofen Really Minimize Epididymitis Soreness?

[Hougreen]

It is common to hear people say that they take ibuprofen for relief of soreness. With time, people may take ibuprofen alone as soon as they cope with soreness. So, some male patients are concerned whether they can consider ibuprofen to ease soreness of epididymitis?

When ibuprofen is used to relieve the pain of epididymitis, ibuprofen reduces the synthesis of prostaglandins through the inhibition of cyclooxygenase enzymes, thereby reducing tissue congestion and swelling caused by prostaglandins and decreasing the sensitivity of peripheral nerve pain. Therefore, after taking ibuprofen, patients will feel that the soreness is largely reduced or even vanished.

But epididymitis pain has a cause and cannot be stopped simply by soreness relief. Most cases of epididymitis are caused by inflammation, so patients should treat the inflammation first instead of taking ibuprofen indiscriminately.

[kenster1]

I take them regular and the only thing they ever help with is gout and I`m an all- rounder near enough in terms of pain.

[Blackknight1989]

Hello sir and first may I say Bless Your Heart and I am so sorry. The issue you are now afflicted with sucks, is tremendously painful, slow to move on from the areas affected and has no effective cure that can relieve symptoms and fix the issue quickly. For that reason, I certainly understand the mutiple questions and your concerns. Let me just share a little of my story suffering from said disease as a Plebe at West Point during the months of October, November, December, January and February of 1985.

This painful partner is generally caused by a combination of an infection, perhaps urinary tract infection, and a sudden shock to the system or area of the epididymis such as a blow to the midsection or a knee to the scrotum and testicles. In my case, I was subject to a severe takedown in our PE Wrestling class where my opponent threw me up and over his shoulders collapsing to one knee to ensure I would fall flat for a pin, with his other knee up. Either I was a little heavier than he expected or he wasn’t quite as strong as he believed as I ended up “short” and instead of falling on my back on the mat I fell on his knee with my “family jewels”. Now, as teenage boys in the 1980s, I had experienced my share of being “racked” by others. Also, I was a center in football in high school and college, plus played some catcher in baseball. I knew what it felt like and had experienced it many times. However, this was the worst and so bad I was medevacked to the hospital. Within about 5/6 hours I had a full blown case of epididymitis. Long story short, spent about 10 days in the hospital (at West Point no Cadet is allowed to just stay in the barracks room during a regular academic day or any day so if a cadet needed bedrest the hospital was the only option). I had an orthoscopic exploratory surgery of my urinary tract using a scope with an attachment to reach up an additional 18”. Findings, confirm infection, it had damaged some of my urinary tract areas that caused and still cause about a 20% reduction in flow. Started antibiotics and as NSAIDS were the Candy of the Army in the ‘80 I started 600mg ibuprofen 4 times a day, with the option to up to 800mg if pain dictated. Then they sent me back with a modified jock strap to hopefully immobilize my severely sore testicles, the antibiotics and the NSAIDS.

Two weeks later while sleeping, the jock caught on my bunk and slid off center. In the opening for the penis, slipped my right testicle and as I slept the elastic band rode up and ended up strangling my right testicle. I woke up in severe pain, an ambulance had to be called and I spent another 2 weeks in hospital. The doctors really thought I might lose that testicle, but with their help we were able to save it. However, this caused a worsening of the pain and condition which just sucked! Again, antibiotics, NSAIDS, NO MORE jockstrap, and ice! Yes ice frizen in a surgical glove so you could mold it around the “Family Jewles!”

The pain, the pain that ruined your day, lasted about 1.5 months, then it became more of a fierce ache for a month, lesser the next month and by February’86 just a dull ache. The swelling lasted about 2 months, the horrific swelling where they looked like they might burst out of the sack containing them, about 2 weeks. However, once afflicted with this run adventure you have a passenger for life. You see the bacteria stays like shingles, and the epididymis themselves are damaged so the pain and swelling can reoccur throughout your lifetime. Currently, I have painful reoccurrence about every 6/8 weeks lasting about 2 weeks or maybe 3/4 round a year. It’s the gift that keeps on giving!!! Anyway, I hope some of that helps. You are being treated correctly from the info you shared. Oh and NSAIDS such as Ibuprofen and Naproxen are effective because they are ANTI-INFLAMMATORY specific medications. They aren’t as effective as corticosteroids like Prednisone but have fewer side effects. Thus, they are the first line treatments for epidymitis to help reduce inflammation and pain. Here is a excerpt from Healthline that explains the NSAIDS are indeed anti-inflammatory medications.

Over-the-counter (OTC) medications are drugs that you can buy without a doctor’s prescription. Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are drugs that help reduce inflammation, which often helps to relieve pain. In other words, they’re anti-inflammatory drugs.

Link: healthline.com/health/pain-...

I wish you all the best, I wouldn’t wish that evil from the devil affliction on my worst enemy. I am sorry you must deal with it! My best!