Prostatitis: causes, symptoms and treatment of the disease

Unfortunately, inflammation of prostate tissue is not uncommon in modern men.Prostatitis usually occurs in patients over 40 years old, but the disease can develop at an earlier age.With careful attention to his health and timely contact with a urologist, a man can completely solve the problem and avoid many complications.To detect the disease promptly, you need to know what the typical symptoms of prostatitis are.The diagnosis of this disease has been clearly established by modern medicine and does not cause any problems.Any urologist knows how to treat prostatitis, which methods to use in each specific case.The greatest success comes from complex treatment, which includes many different methods.

Causes and provoking factors of prostatitis

What is prostatitis?This is an inflammation of the prostate tissue, which can develop due to infection or blockage.The driving force leading to the appearance of prostatitis and the provoking factor can be certain diseases or lifestyle features.Age-related changes after 40 years without adequate preventive measures quickly lead to stagnation of the pelvic organs and the development of prostatitis.It has been found that prostatitis is more commonly diagnosed in men belonging to certain groups.

The risk group is older men with a sedentary lifestyle and alcohol abuse.There is also a risk of developing prostatitis in people with urinary infections, bowel problems, especially constipation.If a man belongs to one of these groups, then he should undergo diagnostic examinations more often, since prostatitis is diagnosed twice as often in people from risk groups.

Symptoms of prostatitis

Although the manifestations of prostatitis may resemble other diseases of the genitourinary system, there are still signals from the body that warn a man and become a reason for him to see a doctor.It is best to do this as soon as there is the slightest disturbance in men's health, then treatment will be easier and more effective.To understand how to treat prostatitis in men, you need to understand the symptoms of the disease.

Main signs of prostatitis

• Urinary disorders
• Problems in the field of sexuality,
• Pain in the pelvic area.

Why do these symptoms appear?This is due to changes that occur in the tissues of the prostate.Due to inflammation, it increases and begins to put pressure on the urethra, narrowing its lumen.Such processes lead to urination problems and worsening urine flow.As inflammation develops, sexual disorders also increase and gradually become more severe.

When should you sound the alarm?As soon as possible, that is, at the first sign of prostatitis:

• difficulty urinating,
• feel pain in the pelvic area.

Then there are other signs:

• discomfort during bowel movements,
• the appearance of streaks of blood in the urine,
• discharge from the urethra,
• decline in erectile ability,
• waning of orgasm.

Types of prostatitis and their characteristics

Prostatitis can be infectious and stasis, as well as acute and chronic.The infectious form can be acute and chronic, and the congestive form, as a rule, is only chronic.Acute symptoms are always pronounced, cause concern in men and often become a reason to consult a doctor.As for chronic disease, it develops gradually, and symptoms of prostatitis gradually increase.For this reason, in most cases, men visit a urologist when the disease is already in an advanced stage and some unpleasant complications may have appeared.

Infectious prostatitis is usually caused by bacteria, but viruses and fungi can also lead to prostatitis.Where does the infection come from?In most cases, from the patient's own urinary tract.Cystitis or urethritis often results in the infection spreading to the prostate.Almost any source of infection in the body with reduced immunity and the presence of irritating factors can cause prostatitis.

Symptoms of acute prostatitis

• Difficulty and pain when urinating,
• Frequent need to urinate,
• Groin pain
• Erection weakens
• Temperature increases,
• General weakness
• Discharge from the urethra.

The general condition of the body is clearly affected, so it is difficult to miss acute infectious prostatitis.If the cause is a bacterial infection, the urethra will leak yellow mucus.They appear both during urination and during defecation, that is, during exertion.

The disease begins acutely with clear symptoms and goes through the following stages:

1. inflammatory bowel disease,
2. follicles,
3. parenchyma,
4. abscess.

The catarrhal stage is an inflammatory condition in which individual lobes of the prostate are affected and the first urinary disorders are observed.Due to inflammation of the tissues, their swelling develops, which leads to stagnation of secretions in the cysts of the glands and progression of inflammation.

Then, prostatitis moves to the next stage, the follicular stage, and is accompanied by localized suppuration of the prostate lobules.The main symptoms are pain in the perineum and groin, difficulty urinating, and body temperature up to 38°C.

If the disease is not stopped at this stage, the process will spread to a large number of prostate lobules and its parenchymal tissue.This is the parenchymal stage.Accompanied by fever, fever, temperature rises to 39°C.The patient has severe pain in the groin and perineum, frequent and painful urination.At this stage, a dangerous complication such as acute urinary retention may develop, requiring urgent care.

With further development of the disease, prostatitis can become dangerous.When small abscesses fuse, they will form an abscess in the prostate.It may open, then pus will drain into the bladder, urethra, and rectum.This is accompanied by severe pain, dysfunction of the pelvic organs, suppuration of their tissues and the risk of sepsis.

Characteristics of chronic prostatitis

If acute prostatitis is not treated promptly, there is a high risk of becoming chronic.After that, the disease progresses slowly, without reminding itself for a while, but there will be periodic exacerbations.It is possible that symptoms of prostatitis will appear continuously but not as severe as in the acute form of the disease.

The second and most common cause of chronic prostatitis is obstruction of the prostate and pelvic organs.Both venous stasis, which disrupts the blood flow and nutrition of organ tissues, and prostatic stagnation, which reduces its function, are dangerous.

Symptoms of the chronic form

• Pain can be felt in the abdomen, epididymis, perineum, rectum,
• Painful erection
• Go to the toilet often
• painful urination,
• Reduced sexual desire
• Difficulty ejaculating
• With bacterial causes, there is discharge from the urethra.

Prostatitis is called a serious disease.Seeing a urologist at a late stage is not always evidence that a man is not paying attention to his health.Prostatitis can go on for many years without clinical manifestations or noticeable symptoms, and at some point, when exposed to a irritant, all manifestations develop very rapidly.

Painful prostatitis

The prostate itself is not damaged, but the nerve endings from it react with the inflammatory process.The location of the prostate and nerve pathways is such that pain impulses are dispersed throughout the pelvic organs, so pain can be felt in different places.

Localization of pain in prostatitis

• Abdomen
• sacral,
• scrotum,
• Crotch.

The nature of the painful sensation depends on the intensity and prevalence of the process as well as the characteristics of the human body.In some cases, even a slight inflammation can cause quite severe pain in the patient, in others, the man hardly feels it even when the inflammatory process is intense.In all cases, if measures are not taken to treat the infection, the inflammation will progress and the pain will gradually increase.The pain syndrome can be so intense that a man cannot live according to his normal rhythm.In such cases, urgent measures are required.Various factors can contribute to increased pain:

• physical activity,
• excessive sexual activity,
• abstinence.

The nature of pain from prostatitis is similar to pain from urethritis, cystitis or osteoarthritis, so to diagnose it you must undergo an examination.Hormones play an important role in the body's response.High testosterone levels act as a pain reliever, so active men may not feel the symptoms of illness.

Problems with urination

Poor urination always accompanies prostatitis.This symptom is present in both acute and chronic forms, both infectious and congestive prostatitis.

How do urinary disorders manifest in prostatitis?

• The urine stream becomes weaker
• To initiate the act of urinating, you must strain,
• Feeling the need to urinate frequently, which can be painful,
• There may be pain and burning when urinating,
• After going to the toilet, there may be persistent pain in the perineum,
• Urine stagnation accompanied by severe narrowing of the urethral lumen.

The cause of difficulty urinating is prostatitis

• Relative position of prostate and urethra
• Changes in tissue
• Disruption of nerve conduction in the pelvic region,
• Impaired bladder function.

One of the causes of urinary problems lies in the anatomical structure of the male reproductive system.The prostate covers the urethra, so even a mild inflammatory process can lead to urethral stricture as the prostate swells and increases in volume.The manifestations of such disorders can vary in intensity, from a barely noticeable weakening of the urine stream to a feeling of pain, requiring straining when urinating.

If the disease persists, changes in fibrotic scar tissue will occur.They disrupt the normal flow of urine, leading to disorders.

The sclerosing process may not only cause the formation of mechanical obstacles to urine outflow or impaired urinary tract motility, but also cause nerve distribution disorders.Nerve impulses transmitted from the bladder cannot pass through damaged tissue completely.This is why the phenomenon of "confusion" occurs: either there is a false feeling of wanting to urinate, or, conversely, the man does not feel that his bladder is full.Can stop urinating even before the bladder is empty.

All of the above changes lead to stagnation of urine, impaired outflow, changes in the sensitivity of this organ and weakening or, on the contrary, strengthening of its muscle tone.A disorder that is quite common with prostatitis is an overactive bladder.What happens in such an organ?High pressure is created inside it even if it is only slightly filled.Because of this, an impulse enters the brain, which is translated into the need to urinate.With an overactive bladder, these urges can be so strong that they can lead to urinary incontinence.Of course, such situations do not happen too often;they are caused by gradual progression of the disease and lack of appropriate treatment.As a rule, incontinence appears with older, progressive forms of chronic prostatitis.

Sexual disorders

The problems that arise in men in the sexual sphere are perceived by them more deeply than other manifestations of prostatitis.In the acute form of the disease, they pass quite quickly as soon as the patient recovers.With chronic prostatitis, sexual dysfunction often becomes persistent and difficult to treat.

Symptoms of sexual disorders

• Slight discharge from the urethra,
• Blood in semen
• Reduced sexual desire
• Sperm quality declines, which can lead to infertility
• Pain during erection or ejaculation
• Reduced orgasm intensity or its absence,
• premature ejaculation
• Potency disorders until complete erection failure.

Why does this happen?How are prostatitis and male sexual function related?The main cause of problems in the sexual sphere with prostatitis is disorders of nerve transmission and hormonal balance that arise due to inflammation and damage to organ tissues.

Nerve conduction disorders

Prostatic receptors send appropriate impulses responsible for erection and ejaculation.Prostatitis in men progresses, leading to damage to the gland's tissues, forming scars on the surface, making the receptors unable to conduct impulses as before.As a result, erections may decrease, ejaculation problems may arise, and the man may no longer clearly experience pleasure during intercourse.If the prostate is significantly swollen due to blood flooding into the pelvic organs during sex, there may be too much pressure on the nerve plexuses.This leads to pain during erection or ejaculation.

Hormonal imbalance

The prostate in men is the organ that regulates hormonal balance and is responsible for the production of testosterone.In addition, it converts this hormone into a more active form - dihydrotestosterone.As you know, normal testosterone levels ensure a level of sexual desire and the ability to have sex, that is, an erection.If the prostate is inflamed, its functions are also disrupted, and the production of male sex hormones is correspondingly reduced, manifesting as a decrease in men's sexual ability.

The severity of the disorder largely depends not on the degree of tissue damage but on the man's sexual constitution, and the possibility of recovery depends on his attitude and cooperation with the treating physician.

How to diagnose

How to properly treat prostatitis as well as the results of treatment depend on the correct diagnosis.It is impossible to diagnose prostatitis without specific studies.The fact is that its symptoms and manifestations are similar to other diseases of the prostate and urinary tract.In some cases, it is necessary to carry out differential diagnosis even with diseases of the spine.

Diagnostic measures

• Take a history during consultation with a urologist,
• Digital rectal examination,
• Laboratory tests,
• Transrectal ultrasound of the prostate,
• Urological research,
• Determination of PSA,
• urethroscopy,
• cystoscopy,
• Prostate biopsy.

The list of studies is quite large, but it is not always necessary to carry out a full set.

How are patients examined?

Usually, men who come to see a urologist are most interested in how to quickly cure prostatitis.It depends on the reasons and wishes of the patient himself.At the first appointment with the specialist, a detailed medical history will be obtained and a digital rectal examination will then be performed.It will help determine the pain in the prostate area, its size and degree of swelling.Next, TRUS (transrectal ultrasound) and laboratory tests are ordered.Only after a series of procedures can a specialist understand how to cure prostatitis in a specific case.

What does TRUS bring?

• Reveals the exact size of the prostate and its individual parts,
• Helps examine and evaluate in detail the condition of soft tissues and seminal vesicles.

What tests need to be performed?

• General urine and blood tests,
• Urine bacterial culture,
• Urethral smear
• Prostate secretion.

Other types of studies are prescribed if necessary.It is necessary to determine hemodynamics in cases of marked urinary disorders to assess bladder function.If a prostate tumor or tumor growth is suspected, a blood test will be performed to look for the tumor marker PSA (prostate specific antigen) and a biopsy of the glandular tissue for histological examination.

Treatment of prostatitis

Modern medicine offers many opportunities to deal with prostatitis.The most effective treatment of prostatitis in men is based on a comprehensive approach, which includes several methods.Specific methods of treating prostatitis depend on the stage, duration of the disease, prevalence and severity of symptoms, as well as the individual characteristics of the body in each particular case.As a rule, all treatment is performed on an outpatient basis by a urologist.In rare cases, if there are dangerous complications, the patient must be hospitalized.

Treatment methods

• medicine,
• Massage,
• exercise therapy,
• surgery,
• Minimally invasive method to destroy inflamed tissue and dilate the urethra.

Drug treatment

The first question that arises after the examination is how to treat prostatitis in men.First of all, they turn to drug treatment.It is prescribed according to the cause of prostatitis and the symptoms present.

Medicines to treat prostatitis:

• Antibacterial drugs (for bacterial prostatitis),
• Antiviral drugs (for viral forms),
• Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs,
• alpha blockers,
• Analgesic,
• decongestant,
• Fever reducer.

Many medications for prostatitis are prescribed in suppository form.This form allows you to get faster results.In no case should you self-prescribe medication, because each drug has contraindications and side effects that only a specialist can fully take into account.

Massage

This method of treating prostatitis is used as an additional method when treating with drugs.It provides faster prostatitis treatment and much better results.Internal and external massage methods are used.

The main and most effective way to massage the prostate is digital rectal stimulation.The specialist performing the massage inserts his finger into the patient's rectum, touches the prostate and performs massage movements.

Benefits of massage:

• Improve blood supply,
• gland stimulation,
• Eliminates stagnant secretions.

Thanks to prostate massage, the effect of the drug is enhanced and recovery occurs much faster.

External massage does not involve penetrating the body;Massage movements are performed through the skin of the perineum.This procedure is a good preventive measure for prostatitis in men but is not effective enough to treat the disease.

Exercise therapy

How can prostatitis be treated with therapeutic exercises?When performing exercises, the amount of arterial blood flowing into the prostate increases and the amount of venous blood flowing out improves, that is, stagnation in the organ is eliminated.Of course, this happens gradually with regular exercise.The complex aimed at maintaining men's health is a set of simple exercises performed in lying, sitting or standing positions.One of the simplest and most effective exercises is to periodically tense and relax the muscles of the anus.It can be done at any time, almost anywhere, even at work because it is completely invisible to others.This exercise is a very good way to prevent prostatitis in men;it allows you to maintain good muscle tone of the perineum and active blood circulation.

Minimally invasive method to correct prostate problems

Modern medicine offers minimally invasive methods for treating prostatitis in men, which were developed quite recently.They are used in cases where a series of conservative treatments have failed to resolve the problem.Such methods are indicated in cases where it is necessary to ensure drainage of urine and reduce inflammation.

Recommended techniques:

• Transurethral microwave therapy helps reduce prostate size by applying high temperatures.
• Ultrasound treatment of the prostate helps reduce inflammation.
• The laser method can coagulate tissues, leading to their renewal and strengthening of local immunity.
• Cryoablation is a method of removing areas of inflamed tissue using low temperatures.
• Balloon urethral dilation is the mechanical dilation of the urethra using a special inflatable balloon, inserted using a catheter.
• Urethral stenting can be used alone or in combination with balloon angioplasty.The urethra is dilated using a stent.

Surgical treatment

The definitive treatment for prostatitis is surgery.Today it is used quite rarely, only in difficult cases when other methods do not bring results.The essence of the surgery is to remove the prostate, which helps reduce pressure on the urethra, improve hemodynamics and reduce inflammatory symptoms.

Surgery can be performed openly or transurethral, that is, through the urethra.

Men suffering from this disease are interested in whether it is possible to cure prostatitis and forget about it forever.As long as there are no major scarring changes in the glandular tissue, a complete cure is possible.The most important thing to achieve success in the treatment of prostatitis is to see a urologist promptly.As soon as problems with urination appear, you need to go to a medical facility, get examined and, if necessary, get treatment as prescribed by your doctor.To avoid the question of how to get rid of prostatitis, you should engage in prevention: lead an active lifestyle, eat moderately, do not abuse alcohol and pay attention to everything related to preserving men's health.