One of the most common diseases of the urogenital area in men is chronic prostatitis. According to medical practice, one in twelve men with puberty suffers from this disease, while about 40% of cases are diagnosed in patients aged 20 to 40 years. By causing physical suffering to its owner, chronic prostatitis often causes the patient’s general condition to deteriorate, preventing normal sexual and social activity. What is the nature of this disease, how can an unpleasant diagnosis be avoided - and how favorable is the prognosis of treatment if it is among patients?
Causes of chronic prostatitis
Chronic prostatitis is a prolonged inflammatory process in the prostate gland, accompanied by pain and discomfort in the pelvic area, urinary incontinence, and pathologies of male sexual function.
Prerequisites for the occurrence of chronic prostatitis may be infections, prostate stagnation, benign hyperplasia, or a combination thereof. There are several possible ways for the infection to enter the prostate gland:
- blood flow from foci of infection in the body (pneumonia, tooth decay, pustular skin lesions, sinusitis, etc. );
- lymph influx from other organs (dysbacteriosis, hemorrhoids, inflammatory bowel disease, etc. );
- through the urethra, sexually (a consequence of infectious urethritis).
Non-infectious or bacterial prostatitis is diagnosed 8 times more often than bacterial; its occurrence is based on stagnant processes and circulatory disorders in the prostate and adjacent organs.
Among the main causes of stagnation of the prostate secretion, urologists distinguish the following:
- irregular sex life, prolonged abstinence;
- defective ejaculation, interrupted intercourse;
- often there was no sexual arousal.
The risk of chronic prostatitis is increased in men with reduced physical activity, severe or mild but regular hypothermia, long-term stress, and in people with alcoholism.
The main signs of the disease
Chronic prostatitis results from a lack of timely treatment or ineffective treatment of acute prostatitis and is a slow inflammatory process in the prostate gland.
In most cases, asymptomatic disease is usually only detected in patients during a medical examination, so it is recommended that all men see a urologist regularly. However, the so-called "hidden" stage of chronic prostatitis can turn into an acute phase after a man has stress, inflammatory disease, hypothermia, violation of intimate life, etc. Such symptoms may indicate the need for an urgent visit to the doctor:
- increased sweating, especially in the perineal area;
- itching or discomfort in the groin area;
- frequent urination, painful urination, urinary retention;
- selection of prostate secretion through the outer opening of the urethra after urination or defecation;
- slight increase in body temperature (up to 37, 5); weakness, sleep disturbances and ability to work;
- sexual dysfunction (unstable or weak erection, decreased libido, rapid ejaculation, orgasmic disorders, pelvic pain during ejaculation, etc. );
- pain of varying severity and intensity in the perineum, lumbosacral region, external genitalia
Together, these symptoms of chronic prostatitis can lead to nervous system disorders characterized by neurotic conditions and the patient’s attention is focused on their well-being.
Possible consequences of chronic prostatitis in the absence of treatment
Unlike acute, chronic prostatitis is characterized by changes in fluctuating, intermittent exacerbations, with relatively long remissions during which the man can feel completely healthy. It is not the patient's appeal to a specialist that causes the inflammatory process to progress further.
In the urogenital system, complications are likely to occur in the form of cystitis or pyelonephritis, which may progress to urolithiasis. But the most common result of advanced chronic prostatitis is vesiculitis (an inflammatory disease of the seminal vesicles) or epididymol orchitis (inflammation of the testicles). Both diseases can lead to difficult-to-treat infertility and sometimes irreversible impairment of male reproductive function.
One of the most serious consequences of chronic prostatitis is scarring of the tissues of the prostate gland with wrinkling of the organ. This process often extends to the back of the urethra and bladder, leading to permanent damage to the outflow of urine.
The situation is significantly exacerbated by the combination of the disease and prostate adenoma, which occurs most in men over the age of 50 years. In violation of prostatic outflow, adenoma provokes the progression of chronic prostatitis, therefore, if the patient is shown to have surgical removal of a benign tumor, treatment of prostatitis should be prevented.
Diagnosis, methods and treatment prospects of the disease
The initial date with the doctor consists of gathering information about the main symptoms of the disease, followed by a general examination, a digital rectal examination, and a secret recording from the patient’s prostate gland. Another diagnostic measure to establish an accurate diagnosis is transrectal ultrasound.
Prior to initiating treatment in patients with chronic prostatitis, a urine test should be performed for culture and prostate secretion should be tested for susceptibility of the flora to antibacterial agents to optimize the method of treatment.
Modern medicine uses the following traditionally combined methods to treat chronic prostatitis:
- Antibiotic therapy. The use of antibacterial drugs is necessary to eliminate the pathogenic bacterial flora that causes inflammatory foci. The effectiveness of the treatment depends directly on the right choice of drugs, because if all the microorganisms do not die during the therapy, the disease will sooner or later feel like it again. For this reason, the patient should complete the course of antibiotics without interruption of recording or other violation of medical recommendations.
- Physiotherapy. Prostate massage is one of the most effective components of treatment in the complex of such procedures. The essence of prostate massage is that the effect on the gland contributes to the extrusion of the inflammatory secret accumulated in it into the ducts and then further into the urethra. This improves the quality of blood flow to the prostate, which increases the effect of the antibacterial medications the patient is taking. In addition to prostate massage, a patient diagnosed with "chronic prostatitis" may also require laser, ultrasound treatment or electromagnetic exposure to the inflamed area.
- Immune correction. Long-term inflammatory processes, such as chronic prostatitis, and previously independent or incorrectly prescribed antibiotics can contribute to a significant decrease in a patient's immunity. The goal of immune correction is to restore the body's defensive functions as much as possible. This is aided by a normal lifestyle and a visit to the immunologist.
Although not all cases of chronic prostatitis, due to the different forms of its complexity, can lead to complete recovery of the patient, strict adherence to medical recommendations guarantees long-term, possibly lifelong remission of the disease.
How to avoid an unpleasant diagnosis?
Here are some basic rules to prevent chronic prostatitis:
- Change your lifestyle to a more active one. If it is not possible to play sports, do daily warm-ups or gymnastic exercises.
- Avoid hypothermia. Do not sit on stone slabs, metal edges, etc.
- If you have constipation, use a laxative, and if the constipation becomes chronic, consult a doctor.
- Try to normalize your sex life. Excessive sexual activity as well as prolonged abstinence negatively affect the condition and function of the prostate.
- Do not have casual sex, otherwise prefer protected sex.
- If STD is suspected for the first time, consult a specialist immediately, do not recover.
- See a urologist at least once a year to rule out the possibility of developing the disease.
Be aware of a man’s health and the diagnosis of "chronic prostatitis" will never get in his way!