Prostatitis refers to a purely male pathology of the urinary and reproductive systems. The disease can be acute or chronic, manifesting itself differently in each patient. Today it is a common ailment of the genitourinary system. At the moment, the disease has become much younger and already occurs in men over 25 years of age. In this article, we will consider the question: how prostatitis manifests itself and its treatment.
Required information
The nature of prostate dysfunction depends on a certain stage of sexual development in men:
- The prostate gland may be damaged in young males. However, such a medical condition is not considered a separate disease due to the undeveloped gland;
- men who have a violent sex life are more likely to suffer from prostatitis in the form of an acute inflammatory process;
- Prostate disease in adult men manifests itself in the form of one of three conditions: benign and malignant tumors, chronic prostatitis.
People who have undergone some type of removal of reproductive organs do not have prostate function.
The prostate is an accessory gland of the reproductive system in the strong half. It is located at the junction of the urinary tract and the ejaculatory tunnel. The importance of the prostate gland in adolescent males before puberty has challenged research. In an adult, the prostate is responsible for:
- the formation of a secretion that makes the seminal fluid less viscous and allows the sperm to survive on the way to the egg;
- formation of prostaglandin in the body. This is a component that is responsible for increased blood flow to the genitals prior to the formation of an erection. It also promotes the production of the hormone testosterone;
- is responsible for the high rate of semen release during ejaculation, and also participates in the appearance of the final moment of sexual intercourse associated with the peak of intimate pleasure;
- with the help of reflexes does not allow the penetration of urine into the semen during intimate intercourse.
The prostate gland is a poorly protected organ from pathogenic microbes. It directly depends on the pathological conditions of the pelvic organs. A large blood and lymphatic flow, which travels through the vessels of the damaged prostate, leads to the phenomenon of stagnation and edema, thus aggravating the inflammation. The gland contains a large number of nerve fibers, therefore the pathology is manifested by pain.
Prostatitis is an inflammatory damage to the prostate gland. The most common cause of this ailment is pelvic infections. But the trapped infection itself is not capable of causing inflammation; this requires the presence of predisposing factors. This category includes:
- measured lifestyle (people with sedentary work are at risk);
- regular stool retention;
- numerous hypothermia;
- overly active intimacy and long periods of abstinence;
The prostate is a small organ and weighs approximately 20-25 grams. But the secret of the gland has the ability to destructively affect microbes, therefore, inflammation in the prostate occurs during stagnation, then the secret loses its bactericidal property.
Manifestations of prostatitis
There are two stages of the disease:
The acute form is manifested by the strongest inflammation in the prostate gland. The patient has a fever of up to 39 degrees, there is pain in the groin area and in the process of excretion of feces and urine from the body. These are the first characteristic symptoms of prostatitis.
In a chronic course, these symptoms soften, therefore, many men do not pay attention to the characteristic manifestations of the disease. The patient may have a temperature rise of up to 37 degrees, painful sensations during desurination and defecation. However, the main symptom of chronic prostatitis is the discharge of a small amount of mucous or purulent contents from the urethra.
Predisposing factors
There are 6 first symptoms of prostatitis: it is a failure in the desurination process due to the complicated urine production of the bladder when the urethra is compressed by an enlarged prostate (dysuria syndrome):
- dropwise urine excretion;
- painful sensations;
- urine stream without pressure and no more than 20 cm;
- jet discontinuity;
- frequent desurination at night;
- feeling of incomplete emptying of the bladder.
Important! It is forbidden to diagnose prostatitis when these symptoms are detected without a full examination. This disease has a very complex process of origin and development, which includes several mechanisms.
Do not treat a disease based solely on clinical manifestations. You should immediately contact a specialist for an accurate diagnosis and prescription of therapeutic measures. Diagnoses and therapy are prescribed taking into account the organs and systems affected by the disease. In some cases, the advice of other specialists is needed.
Signs of illness
Prostatitis can manifest as an acute and chronic form of the inflammatory process. The acute course is characterized by inflammation of the mucous membrane, follicle, and parenchyma, however, they should not be confused with the symptoms of prostate adenoma. And chronic - manifested by concomitant ailments.
Symptoms of prostatitis in men, identified by clinical and functional examinations:
- Frequent urination
A normal man may have the urge to desurinate up to 12 times a day, usually 5 times. The volume of urine in a healthy patient per day is 1 to 2 liters. Desurination desires in a healthy man arise when the bladder is filled with a volume of 120-170 ml. A urine accumulation of more than 350 ml creates the strongest urge to urinate.
In the inflammatory process, the bladder walls are systematically irritated and desurination becomes:
- is not uncommon, while the amount of urine is within normal limits;
- in a small amount: the products of the inflammatory process irritate the receptors of the bladder and there are false desurination desires, a feeling of a full bladder, after its emptying, a feeling of fullness remains;
- painful due to narrowing of the urethra;
- difficult due to compression of the urethra by the gland, sometimes manifested by the inability to empty the bladder when it is overcrowded;
- frequent at night;
- temperature.
Normally, the temperature rises from 37 to 38 degrees. In the initial stage of sepsis with purulent inflammation of the gland, the temperature rises to more than 39 degrees. In the last stage of septic shock, the temperature, on the contrary, drops to 35 degrees. Low temperatures pose a threat to human life due to platelet coagulation disorders. The outcome of prostatitis with complications of sepsis is unfavorable.
- Blood in the urine
This is quite rare, but it is a dangerous sign of the course of the disease. Constant bleeding is almost impossible to stop. There are several reasons for the development of hematuria:
- with perforation of the vessel in the urethra;
- trauma during investigation;
- malignant hyperplasia;
- pain.
Inflammation of the prostate with an associated complication is accompanied by constant pain. It can rarely be intermittent. Most often, the pain is dull or aching and manifests itself in the perineum and anus.
Laboratory methods
Named to clarify the stage of the disease:
- Blood test. With the prostate, an increase in leukocyte content, an increase in erythrocyte sedimentation rate, and a change in leukocyte formula towards stabbing cells are detected;
- Urinalysis. Determine the purulent content in the urine and the presence of bacteria. A 3-vial study is used: 3 portions of urine are taken at the beginning, middle, and end of desurination. Numerous urine studies with an interval of several days reveal a change in the bacterial flora;
- Bacteriological blood culture. It is prescribed to develop blood poisoning with a daily temperature fluctuation of 3-5 degrees.
Instrumental Research
- Ultrasound through the rectum. Clarifying the diagnosis is the most informative method. This study has contraindications.
- X-ray method. Before the exam, a contrast agent is injected into the bladder.
- Excision of a piece of tissue for microscopic examination is used for limited indications.
Reasons for prostatitis
Experts identify several classifications of why a man might have prostatitis:
- complication of the symptoms of any disease that has affected a person before or a negative effect of gynecological ailments in a couple;
- urethral reflex. The malfunction of the prostate is fraught with the inability to stop the back flow of urine. When this fluid reaches the genital canals, it is called the urethral reflex. Subsequently, the bacterial seeding of the gland is formed. This ailment is a consequence of an inflammation in the urethra or an incorrect insertion of the catheter. There is also an expansion of the lumen of the urethral canal;
- an unusual form of intimate life. If a man has a significant increase or decrease in the number of sexual intercourse, this can contribute to the development of prostatitis. Constant delays in ejaculation are also cause for concern;
- Venous blood plug in the genitals in the pelvic area. This happens in the absence of a sufficient amount of active movements, sports;
- hormonal disorders caused by a low production of hormones formed in the gonads. Due to this pathology, general discomfort of the skeletal and smooth muscles and other ailments occur.
Types of prostatitis
There are two divisions of this disease: bacterial and non-bacterial.
The first type is characterized by the fact that the disease arises from the presence of pathogenic microbes that have entered the body from the external environment. Staphylococci, Streptococci, Escherichia coli, and many others fall into the category of harmful microorganisms. Also, this classification of prostatitis includes cases where the disease is caused by a transferred disease transmitted through sex.
For the second non-bacterial species, there are also several divisions:
- Congestive prostatitis. In this case, the gland disease is caused by congestion in the pelvic area. This result is usually caused by incomplete ejaculation, an excessive number of acts of intimacy, prolonged abstinence and incomplete sexual intercourse.
- Sclerotic prostatitis. It is characterized by a decrease in the size and function of the prostate. There is a thickening of the tissue membrane due to the death of prostate cells and their degeneration into hard connective tissue. The reasons of this type are frequent defecation disorders in the form of a slow and difficult intestinal action, the intake of certain drugs and numerous infections. This type of inflammation of the prostate is incurable.
- Calculous prostatitis. With this type of inflammation, the presence of stones in the gland is revealed. Having reached a large size, they provoke severe pain in the urethra. The therapy consists of removing stones by surgical or therapeutic methods.
- Prostatodynia. It is characterized by the presence of constant pain in the pelvic area, the causes of which have not been studied. Presumably it can be caused by backflow of secretions, a disease of the bladder neck, damage to the muscle tissue between the anus and the genital organs, and a psychological factor is also possible.
- Atypical prostatitis. The patient may complain of pain in the lower extremities, lumbar and sacrum, which is not present in the typical forms of prostatitis. The result of therapy is directly related to the duration of the course of the disease, the presence of complications and the severity of the inflammatory process.
If treatment is started at the wrong time or there is a repeated exacerbation of prostatitis, then the inflammation becomes severe, which is fraught with serious complications: decreased potency, inability to conceive, depressive conditions, severe pain, prostate adenoma in men.
Complications
Everything will depend directly on age, immunity, bad habits and timeliness of treatment. So, in older people with a weakened immune system, complicated by excessive consumption of products containing alcohol, the consequences will be very serious.
Action on power. The damaged gland reduces the production of hormones that are responsible for the appearance of an erection. Complications are lack of fullness of sensation during intimacy, weak ejection of seminal fluid, signs of prostate adenoma in men, and impotence.
Influence on the conception of a child. An inflamed prostate greatly reduces the production of normal secretions necessary for the activity of sperm in the female reproductive organs for fertilization. The secret, entering the birth canal of the girl during intimacy, suffers immune rejection, which leads to the impossibility of fertilizing the egg.
Other complications. With an exacerbation of prostatitis, the risk of accumulation of pus in the tissues of the gland increases. Pain increases with prostatitis. When a secondary infection adheres, the epithelium melts, followed by the appearance of a capsule near the inflammation. Also, the consequences include an acutely pronounced form of urinary retention, urolithiasis, the appearance of prostate adenoma in men and others.
Intimacy with inflammation
It has already been proven that the main causes of prostatitis are the lack of sexual relations with increased excitability or excessive sexual activity. Regular ejaculation with normal frequency has a beneficial effect in the early stages of prostatitis. In some procedures and stages of the disease, privacy is temporarily prohibited. More detailed information can be found by consulting a specialist.
Important! During the treatment of prostatitis, you can make love, but only safely and in moderation in the relationship, unless the doctor tells you otherwise.
Prostatitis is a purely male disease. But the inflammation of the gland poses a risk to the health of the couple. It represents a threat to the conception and delivery of a fetus. A healthy lifestyle and reliable birth control is an effective way to protect your partner from complications.
Treatment of prostatitis
It is possible to make a full recovery and stop the further development of the disease only with a timely referral to a specialist. In this case, you will get a positive result. When irreversible changes appear, it is not possible to completely get rid of the disease. As a general rule, repeated inflammation occurs with a transition to a chronic type.
Along with drug treatment, an important point is whether the patient is ready to change her lifestyle (for example, irregular intimate relationships or a sedentary lifestyle). If the patient does not want to change her usual way of life, soon the disease will make itself felt again. It is precisely with the fact that the patient does not want to change these negative factors, and the concept is connected that prostatitis cannot be treated.
Treatment options, the period of time will be prescribed by a specialist after a thorough examination and the establishment of the cause of the appearance. Antibiotics are the main drug used during treatment. Vitamins, physical therapy, pain relievers, and anti-inflammatories are also recommended. The exacerbation of prostatitis requires a longer period of treatment.
Diet
With the right diet and the use of certain foods, you can achieve:
- reduces pain;
- improve the movement of blood and lymph in the vessels of the prostate;
- stimulate the immune system;
- normalization of bowel function;
- reduced urine output at night.
The following foods should be excluded from the diet:
- Coffee and spicy food: increase blood flow to the prostate, increase pain.
- Fats, fatty meats, eggs, flour products - increase the formation of cholesterol plaques on the walls of blood vessels, reduce the movement of blood flow.
- Alcoholic Products: lowers the body's immune system.
- Salty, coarse fiber foods: violates the undulating contractions of the intestinal walls.
- Excessive fluid intake (especially at night) - increases the fluid content in the body, which leads to the appearance of bloating.
Recommended foods: fresh vegetable salads with olive oil, fruits, boiled lean meats, vegetables, juices and nuts.
Prevention
Recommended:
- pedestrian walkway with wide step (physiological gait);
- rational nutrition;
- healthy lifestyle;
- use of male contraceptives;
- moderate intimacy and more.
Conclusion
It is not necessary to wait for any ailment to appear, but it is necessary to visit the doctor once a year for preventive purposes. Treatment for a secondary exacerbation of prostatitis is much more difficult, takes longer, and is also fraught with complications.
In this article, we learned how the inflammation of the prostate gland manifests itself and what pain there is with prostatitis, how to treat this ailment.