My lover was diagnosed with epididymitis.He said the doctor told him it was from urinary tract infection.?

Question

Dr. explained that UTI could be caused by 3 things:prostatis,urine and anal sex. I think the DR. made a more specific diagnosis and I'm not being told.He was seen by a infectious disease specialist also. Doest STD's have to be reported to the health dept.?Would the DR. leave a diagnosis with 3 possibly causes? He was treated in hospital for 3 days. Would it be against the law for the doctor to tell me the diagnose,?I was there while the doctor was examining and questioning about safe sex.

Answer 1

Epididymitis is often a complication from bacterial infection of the urinary tract, so UTI is a pretty generic diagnosis. The doctor probably ran some tests to determine the actual pathogen (gonorrhea, chlamydia, assorted NGU, etc.). The results of these tests will be disclosed to your partner (the actual patient). Can a doctor give a diagnosis with three possible sources? ABSOLUTELY. Why? because only your partner knows what really happened, and people sure like to LIE when it comes to STDs.

As for STDs, a few of them are reportable depending on your location (which you neglected to state). When any disease gets reported to the health department, we keep that information confidential. Only if the person is deemed a significant risk to the public's health (such as in the case of TB or some STDs) will we send investigators to intervene. for example, this can include house calls by nurses and investigators. But usually, STD risks are considered to be caveat emptor -- meaning "buyer beware, you should be smart enough to get your own dang condoms." If you are afraid that your partner's protected health information will be leaked all over because his disease may be reportable, stop fretting. We would be fired, sacked and have the pants sued off us if we were to abuse that information.

And if you want to know about your partner's diagnosis, ask your partner. He is the one who would get that info. You cannot ask the doctor for it directly, even if you are a legal spouse.

Answer 2

I have heard of epididymitis before and I think it is different from a urinary tract infection. In any case those are not infectious diseases that would require an infectious disease specialist and most simple infections don't require a 3 day hospital stay. I think if I were you i would definitely be concerned.