Diagnosis

If your doctor suspects that your joint symptoms are related to a bacterial infection, he or she probably will remove fluid from the affected joint with a needle, and will have it analyzed in a lab. You may have blood and urine tests. If your doctor thinks a sexually transmitted disease may be causing the problem, he or she will perform a pelvic examination if you are a woman, and a swab of the penis and a urine test if you are a man. The urine and swabbed material are sent to be tested in a laboratory. Tests are not available to diagnose most viral diseases. However, the more serious viral diseases, such as parvovirus, hepatitis B, hepatitis C and HIV, can be diagnosed with blood tests.

Expected Duration

How long symptoms last depends on the cause, and how soon treatment is started. Symptoms can improve as soon as 24 hours after treatment starts. However, they may continue for weeks or months when related to Lyme disease, many bacterial strains or tuberculosis. If infection damages joints, symptoms may last a lifetime.