u/Advanced_Pension_568

Hi everyone,

I recently had a fairly comprehensive STI/STD panel done. I’m a man, and everything came back negative except Gardnerella vaginalis DNA, which was positive.

As part of the testing, I gave rectal, oral, and penile/urethral swabs, as well as urine and blood samples. Because of that, I actually don’t know which sample/site the Gardnerella result came from. The report just shows Gardnerella vaginalis DNA: positive without making the source clear.

I’ve tried looking this up online, but the information about Gardnerella in men seems all over the place. Most of what I can find is about bacterial vaginosis in women, and I’m having trouble figuring out what a positive result actually means for a man, especially when I don’t know which specimen tested positive.

I currently have no symptoms — no discharge, burning, pain while urinating, irritation, rectal symptoms, throat symptoms, etc.

For anyone knowledgeable about this or who has had a similar result:

• Does Gardnerella in men sometimes clear on its own without treatment?
• Is an asymptomatic positive result generally treated, or can it just represent colonization?
• Should I make an appointment with a urologist or infectious disease doctor anyway?

I’m not looking for a diagnosis from Reddit. I’m mainly trying to understand how seriously an isolated positive Gardnerella vaginalis DNA result in an asymptomatic male is usually taken, because the information online is surprisingly unclear.

Thanks!

Hi everyone,

I recently had a fairly comprehensive STI/STD panel done. I’m a man, and everything came back negative except Gardnerella vaginalis DNA, which was positive.

As part of the testing, I gave rectal, oral, and penile/urethral swabs, as well as urine and blood samples. Because of that, I actually don’t know which sample/site the Gardnerella result came from. The report just shows Gardnerella vaginalis DNA: positive without making the source clear.

I’ve tried looking this up online, but the information about Gardnerella in men seems all over the place. Most of what I can find is about bacterial vaginosis in women, and I’m having trouble figuring out what a positive result actually means for a man, especially when I don’t know which specimen tested positive.

I currently have no symptoms — no discharge, burning, pain while urinating, irritation, rectal symptoms, throat symptoms, etc.

For anyone knowledgeable about this or who has had a similar result:

• Does Gardnerella in men sometimes clear on its own without treatment?
• Is an asymptomatic positive result generally treated, or can it just represent colonization?
• Should I make an appointment with a urologist or infectious disease doctor anyway?

I’m not looking for a diagnosis from Reddit. I’m mainly trying to understand how seriously an isolated positive Gardnerella vaginalis DNA result in an asymptomatic male is usually taken, because the information online is surprisingly unclear.

Thanks!