One of the most common diseases of the male urogenital area is chronic prostatitis. As medical practice shows, every twelfth man of puberty suffers from this disease, and in about 40% of cases it is diagnosed in patients aged 20-40 years. By inflicting physical suffering on the owner, chronic prostatitis often causes the patient's general condition to deteriorate, interfering with his or her normal sexual and social activity. What is the nature of this disease, how to avoid an unpleasant diagnosis - and how favorable is the prognosis for treatment if you are among the patients?
Causes of chronic prostatitis
Chronic prostatitis is a prolonged inflammatory process in the prostate gland, accompanied by pain and discomfort in the pelvis, urinary incontinence, and pathologies of male sexual function.
Predisposition to chronic prostatitis can be infections, prostate swelling, benign hyperplasia, or a combination of these factors. There are several possible ways for an infection to penetrate the prostate gland:
- With blood flow from the foci of infection in the body (pneumonia, caries, purulent lesions of the skin, sinusitis, etc. );
- With inflow of lymph from other organs (dysbacteriosis, hemorrhoids, inflammatory bowel disease, etc. );
- Through the urethra, through sexual intercourse (one of the consequences of infectious urethritis).
Non-infectious, ie bacterial prostatitis is diagnosed 8 times more often than bacterial; Its emergence is based on stagnation of the prostate and surrounding organs and circulatory disorders.
Among the main causes of secretion stagnation in the prostate gland urologists distinguish the following:
- Irregular sex life, prolonged abstinence;
- Defective ejaculation, coitus termination practice;
- Often unrealized sexual arousal.
The risk of chronic prostatitis increases in men with reduced physical activity, severe or insignificant but regular, hypothermia, prolonged exposure to stress, as well as those who suffer from alcoholism.
The main signs of the disease
Chronic prostatitis develops as a result of lack of timely or ineffective treatment of acute prostatitis and is a slow inflammatory process in the prostate gland.
In most cases, asymptomatic, the disease usually manifests itself in patients only during a medical examination, which is why all men are recommended to visit a urologist regularly. However, the so-called "hidden" stage of chronic prostatitis can progress to the acute phase after a man has experienced stress, inflammatory disease, hypothermia, intimate lifestyle disorders, etc. In this case, such symptoms should be a signal of the need for an urgent visit to the doctor:
- Increased sweating, especially manifested in the perineal area;
- Itching or discomfort in the groin area;
- Frequent urge to urinate, painful urination, urinary retention;
- Secretion of prostate by external opening of the urethra after urination or defecation;
- Slight increase in body temperature (up to 37, 5); Weakness, sleep disturbance and inability to work;
- Sexual dysfunction (unstable or weak erection, decreased libido, rapid ejaculation, orgasm disorder, pelvic pain during ejaculation, etc. );
- Pain of varying severity and intensity in the perineum, lumbosacral region, external genitalia
Taken together, these symptoms of chronic prostatitis can lead to a disorder of the nervous system characterized by neurotic states, with the patient focusing on his or her well-being.
Possible consequences of chronic prostatitis in the absence of its treatment
Acute, chronic prostatitis is characterized by wavy, periodic exacerbations with relatively prolonged remissions, during which the man feels completely healthy. It is not the patient's referral to a specialist that leads to the further development of the inflammatory process.
If inflammation spreads to the urogenital system, complications in the form of cystitis or pyelonephritis are possible, with possible transformation into urolysis. But most often the result of distant chronic prostatitis is vesiculitis (inflammatory disease of the testicles) or epididymo-orchitis (inflammation of the testicles). Both of these diseases can lead to difficult-to-treat infertility and sometimes irreversible damage to male reproductive function.
One of the most severe consequences of chronic prostatitis is scarring of the prostate gland tissues with organ wrinkles. This process often extends to the back of the urethra and bladder, causing a permanent disruption of urine outflow.
The condition is significantly aggravated by the combination of the disease with prostate adenoma, which is most common in men who have crossed the 50-year mark. By disrupting the outflow from the prostate gland, the adenoma provokes the progression of chronic prostatitis, so if a patient is shown surgical removal of a benign tumor, he or she should be preceded by treatment for prostatitis.
Diagnosis of the disease, methods and prospects
The initial visit to the doctor includes gathering information about the main symptoms of the disease, followed by a general examination, a digital rectal examination, and the secretion of the patient's prostate gland. Another diagnostic measure to make an accurate diagnosis is a transrectal ultrasound examination.
Before starting a course of therapy for a patient with chronic prostatitis, it is necessary to perform a urine test and a study of prostate secretion on the sensitivity of the flora to antibacterial drugs in order to optimize the method of treatment.
Modern medicine uses the following methods that are traditionally used to treat chronic prostatitis:
- Antibiotic therapy. The use of antibacterial drugs is essential to eliminate the pathogenic bacterial flora that causes foci of inflammation. The effectiveness of treatment directly depends on the correct choice of medication, because if not all microorganisms are destroyed during therapy, the disease will sooner or later be felt again. For this reason, the course of antibiotics should be taken by the patient completely, without delay in taking or other violation of medical recommendations.
- Physiotherapy. Prostate massage is one of the most effective components of a complex of such procedures. The essence of prostate massage is as follows: the impact on the gland helps to expel the inflammatory secretion accumulated in it into the duct and subsequently expel it into the urethra. This improves the quality of blood flow to the prostate, which enhances the effect of antibacterial drugs taken by the patient. In addition to prostate massage, a patient diagnosed with "chronic prostatitis" may be prescribed laser treatment, ultrasound waves, or electromagnetic exposure to the site of inflammation.
- Immunocorrection. Prolonged inflammatory processes, such as chronic prostatitis, as well as previously independent or incorrectly prescribed antibiotics, can contribute to a significant impairment of a patient's immunity. The purpose of immunocorrection is to restore the body's protective functions as much as possible. This helps to normalize your lifestyle and visit an immunologist.
Although all cases of chronic prostatitis, due to its various forms of complexity, may not end in complete recovery of the patient, strict adherence to the patient's medical recommendations guarantees him a long and possibly lifelong illness.
How to avoid an unpleasant diagnosis?
Prevention of chronic prostatitis is to follow a few basic rules:
- Change your lifestyle to be more active. If you do not have the opportunity to play sports, do daily warm-up or gymnastics exercises.
- Avoid hypothermia. Do not sit on stone slabs, metal curbs, etc. Sh.
- Use laxatives during constipation, and if constipation becomes chronic, consult a doctor.
- Try to normalize your sex life. Excessive sexual activity, as well as prolonged abstinence, negatively affects the condition and functions of the prostate gland.
- Do not have casual sex, otherwise give preference to safe sex.
- In case of the first suspicion of STDs, consult a specialist immediately, do not conduct self-medication.
- Visit a urologist at least once a year to rule out the possibility of developing the disease.
Take care of your man's health and you will never be diagnosed with "chronic prostatitis"!