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 the age of 25. 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 males:
- Damage to the prostate gland in juvenile males is possible. However, such an ailment is not considered to be a separate disease due to the undeveloped gland;
- men who have a violent sex life are more likely to undergo prostatitis in the form of an acute inflammatory process;
- prostate disease in adult men manifests itself in the form of one of three ailments: benign and malignant tumors, chronic prostatitis.
People who have undergone any type of reproductive organ removal have no prostate function.
The prostate is an accessory gland of the reproductive apparatus 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 defied research. In an adult, the prostate is responsible for:
- the formation of a secretion that makes the seminal fluid less viscous and allows sperm to survive on the way to the egg;
- formation of prostaglandin in the body. It is a component that is responsible for the increased blood flow to the genitals before the formation of an erection. It also promotes the production of the hormone testosterone;
- is responsible for the high rate of release of semen 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 relationships.
The prostate gland is a poorly protected organ for pathogenic microbes. It directly depends on the pathological conditions of the pelvic organs. A large flow of blood and lymph, which moves through the vessels of the damaged prostate, entails the phenomenon of stagnation and edema, thereby aggravating the inflammation. The gland contains a large number of nerve fibers, so 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 in size 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 up to 39 degrees, there is soreness in the groin area and in the process of excretion of feces and urine by the body. These are the first characteristic symptoms of prostatitis.
In a chronic course, these symptoms are smoothed out, therefore, many males do not pay attention to the characteristic manifestations of the disease. The patient may have a rise in temperature up to 37 degrees, painful sensations during deurination 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 - this is a failure in the deurination process due to complicated urine output from the bladder when the urethra is compressed by the enlarged prostate gland (dysuria syndrome):
- excretion of urine drop by drop;
- painful sensations;
- urine stream without pressure and no further than 20 cm;
- jet discontinuity;
- frequent deurination at night;
- sensation of incomplete emptying of the bladder.
Important! It is forbidden to diagnose prostatitis when these symptoms are detected without a thorough examination. This ailment has a very complex process of inception and development, which includes various 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. Diagnostics and therapy are prescribed taking into account the organs and systems affected by the disease. In some cases, you need to consult other specialists.
Signs of illness
Prostatitis can manifest as an acute form of the inflammatory process, and chronic. 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 - is manifested by concomitant ailments.
Prostatitis symptoms in men, identified by clinical and functional examinations:
- Frequent urination
A normal man may have the urge to deurine up to 12 times a day, usually 5 times. The volume of urine in a healthy patient per day is from 1 to 2 liters. Desires for deurination in a healthy man arise when the bladder is filled with a volume of 120-170 ml. An accumulation of urine in excess of 350 ml creates the strongest urge to urinate.
In the inflammatory process, the walls of the bladder are systematically irritated and deurination becomes:
- not uncommon, while the amount of urine is within normal limits;
- in a small amount: products of the inflammatory process irritate the receptors of the bladder, and there are false desires for deurination, a feeling of a full bladder, after its emptying, a feeling of its 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.
Typically, the temperature rises from 37 to 38 degrees. At the initial stage of sepsis with purulent inflammation of the gland, the temperature rises over 39 degrees. At the last stage of septic shock, the temperature, on the contrary, drops to 35 degrees. Low temperature poses a threat to human life due to platelet clotting disorders. The outcome in prostatitis with sepsis complications is unfavorable.
- Blood in 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 into the urethra;
- trauma received during the research;
- malignant hyperplasia;
- soreness.
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
Appointed to clarify the stage of the disease:
- Blood test. With the prostate, an increased content of leukocytes is detected, an increase in the erythrocyte sedimentation rate and a shift in the leukocyte formula towards stab cells;
- Urinalysis. Determines the purulent contents in urine and the presence of bacteria. A study of 3 jars is used: 3 servings of urine are taken at the beginning, middle and end of deurination. Numerous studies of urine with an interval of several days reveal a change in the flora of bacteria;
- Bacteriological blood culture. It is prescribed for developing blood poisoning with a daily temperature fluctuation of 3-5 degrees.
Instrumental research
- Ultrasound through the rectum. To clarify the diagnosis is the most informative method. This study has contraindications.
- X-ray method. Before the examination, a contrast agent is injected into the bladder.
- Excision of a piece of tissue for microscopic examination is used for limited indications.
Prostatitis reasons
Experts identify several classifications of why a man could have prostatitis:
- complication of symptoms of any diseases that affected a person before or a negative effect of gynecological ailments in a partner;
- urethral reflex. Failure of the functioning of the prostate is fraught with the inability to stop the return flow of urine. When this fluid reaches the genital tract, it is called a urethral reflex. Subsequently, bacterial seeding of the gland is formed. This ailment is a consequence of inflammation in the urethra or improper insertion of the catheter. There is also an expansion of the lumen of the urethral canal;
- an unusual way of intimate life. If a man has a significant increase or decrease in the number of sexual relationships, this can contribute to the development of prostatitis. Constant delays in ejaculation are also cause for concern;
- stopper of venous blood in the genitals in the pelvic area. This happens in the absence of a sufficient number of active movements, sports;
- hormonal disorders caused by low production of hormones that form in the gonads. Because of this pathology, general malaise of skeletal and smooth muscles and other ailments occurs.
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. In addition, this classification of prostatitis includes cases when 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 disease of the gland is caused by congestion in the pelvic area. This outcome is usually led by incomplete ejaculation, an excessive number of acts of intimacy, long abstinence, 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 a solid connective tissue. The reasons for this type are frequent defecation disorders in the form of a difficult, slow bowel action, taking certain medications and numerous infections. This type of prostate inflammation 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. 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 a backflow of secretions, a disease of the bladder neck, damage to muscle tissue between the anus and genital organs, and a psychological factor is also possible.
- Atypical prostatitis. The patient may complain of soreness in the lower extremities, lumbar region and sacrum, which is not present in 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 the treatment is started at the wrong time, or there is a repeated exacerbation of prostatitis, the inflammation turns into a severe form, which is fraught with serious complications: decreased potency, inability to conceive, depressive conditions, severe pain, prostate adenoma in men.
Complications
Everything will directly depend on age, immunity, bad habits and timeliness of treatment. So, in elderly people with a lowered immune system, complicated by excessive consumption of alcohol-containing products, the consequences will be very severe.
Action on potency. The damaged gland lowers the production of hormones that are responsible for the onset of an erection. Complications are a lack of fullness of sensations during intimacy, a weak ejection of seminal fluid, signs of prostate adenoma in men and impotence.
Influence on conception of a child. An inflamed prostate greatly reduces the production of normal secretions required for the activity of sperm in the female reproductive organs for fertilization. The secret, getting into the birth canal of the girl during intimacy, undergoes immune rejection, which leads to the impossibility of fertilization of the egg.
Other complications. With an exacerbation of prostatitis, the risk of accumulation of pus in the tissues of the gland increases. Pain with prostatitis increases. When a secondary infection is attached, the epithelium melts, followed by the appearance of a capsule near 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 lack of sexual relations with increased excitability or excessive sexual activity. Regular ejaculation with normal frequency has a beneficial effect in the initial stages of prostatitis. In some procedures and stages of the disease, it is temporarily prohibited to engage in intimacy. More detailed information can be found in consultation with a specialist.
Important! During the treatment of prostatitis, you can make love, but only with the observance of safety and moderation in the relationship, unless otherwise prescribed by the doctor.
Prostatitis is a purely male disease. But inflammation of the gland poses a health risk to the partner. It poses a threat to the conception and bearing of an unborn child. A healthy lifestyle and reliable contraception is an effective way to protect partners from complications.
Prostatitis Treatment
It is possible to completely recover and stop the further development of the disease only with timely referral to a specialist. In this case, you will achieve a positive result. When irreversible changes appear, it is not possible to completely get rid of the disease. As a 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 his lifestyle (for example, irregular intimate relationships or a sedentary lifestyle). If the patient does not want to change his usual way of life, then soon the disease will again make itself felt. It is precisely with the fact that the patient does not want to change these negative factors, and the concept that prostatitis cannot be treated is connected.
Treatment options, its period of time will be prescribed by a specialist after a full examination and establishing the cause of the occurrence. Antibiotics are the main drug used during treatment. Also recommended are vitamins, physiotherapy, taking analgesics and anti-inflammatory drugs. Exacerbation of prostatitis takes a longer period of treatment.
Diet
With the right diet and the use of certain foods, you can achieve:
- reduce pain;
- improving the movement of blood and lymph in the vessels of the prostate;
- boosting the immune system;
- normalization of bowel function;
- reduction of urine production at night.
The following foods should be excluded from the diet:
- Coffee and spicy foods - increase blood flow to the prostate, increase soreness.
- 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.
- Food with coarse fiber and salted - violates the undulating contractions of the intestinal walls.
- Excessive fluid intake (especially in the evening) - increases the fluid content in the body, which leads to the appearance of puffiness.
Recommended foods: fresh vegetable salads with olive oil, fruits, boiled lean meats, vegetables, juices and nuts.
Prevention
Recommended:
- walking promenade with a wide step (physiological walking);
- rational nutrition;
- healthy lifestyle;
- use of male contraceptives;
- moderate intimacy and more.
Conclusion
There is no need to wait for any ailments to appear, but it is necessary to visit a doctor once a year for preventive purposes. Treatment for a secondary exacerbation of prostatitis is much more difficult and takes a longer period of time, and is also fraught with its own complications.
In this article, we learned how inflammation of the prostate gland manifests itself, and what pains there are with prostatitis, how to treat this ailment.