Prostatitis is one of the most common urological diseases in which an inflammatory process develops, covering the tissues of the prostate gland. Prostatitis can manifest itself in men of all ages and is often accompanied by other ailments of the reproductive system. The causes of prostatitis in men can be different, and in order to reduce the likelihood of developing this disease, they should be considered in more detail.
Classification
Regarding the development of the pathological process, there are three main forms of prostatitis:
- Sharp.Symptoms come on suddenly and appear as bright as possible. Therefore, most men with an acute course of prostatitis go to the doctor in the first days of the open course of the process. A typical symptom of the disease is severe low back pain, which occurs against the background of an increase in body temperature to 39 degrees. Most often, the cause of prostatitis is an infectious focus, which can develop in distant organs.
- Chronic.If acute prostatitis is not treated in time, the disease turns into a chronic form. It is characterized by less severe symptoms, and the general condition of the patient can be called satisfactory. The temperature drops to normal limits.
- Stagnant.Non-infectious inflammatory process. It is caused by stagnant processes observed in the pelvic organs. The disease is characterized by progressive development with a gradual increase in pathological symptoms. Today, this form of the disease is extremely rare.
The chronic form of the disease is considered very dangerous, since most men ignore mild symptoms, postponing a visit to a specialist. With this approach, the development of numerous complications of the disease is possible.
The disease has “gotten younger” over time, so it can occur at any age.
What causes prostatitis?
This disease develops in one third of men aged 20-60 years. Therefore, unlike a number of ailments of the genitourinary system, this ailment cannot be called age-related. There are a number of causes of prostatitis in men, the main of which will be discussed below.
Acute and chronic infections
Infectious lesions are the first cause of prostatitis. When the infection enters the prostate, an inflammatory process develops. Most often, such diseases as gonorrhea and urethritis become provocateurs of these forms of prostatitis.
Pathological processes such as caries, tonsillitis, tuberculosis and so on can provoke the development of infectious prostatitis.
In order to cure this form of the disease, it is necessary to eliminate the infectious agent that became the primary cause of its development. Only after neutralization of the main causative agent of infection can prostatitis be completely cured.
Congestion
Every man should have enough sex in his life - otherwise he will not escape problems with his prostate.
The consequence of the lack of regular sex life can be the development of congestion in the prostate. At the same time, blood circulation in the organ is disturbed, as a result of which the secret stagnates, which disrupts its functioning. All this can lead to deformation of the prostate and the development of the inflammatory process.
Regular sexual activity helps to avoid stagnation of prostate secretions. Moreover, experts recommend that their patients refrain from promiscuous relationships by finding a permanent sexual partner.
Sedentary work
In recent decades, there has been an acute trend of transition from manual to mental labor. And it is a sedentary lifestyle that is one of the main causes of prostatitis in men.
In addition, a sedentary lifestyle leads to a deterioration in the functions of the nervous, endocrine and cardiovascular systems. As a result, the cells of the prostate gland receive less oxygen, which leads to the creation of optimal conditions for the reproduction of pathogenic microflora.
And while sedentary work is not a direct cause of prostatitis, it creates optimal conditions for infection of the prostate gland. Therefore, to prevent prostatitis, the body should provide regular physical activity.
When leading an active lifestyle, a person's blood flow normalizes, the endocrine and nervous systems work better. Therefore, the tissues of the prostate gland are protected from oxygen starvation.
Prolonged abstinence
In the absence of regular sexual activity, secretion stagnates in the organ. In view of this, blood circulation in the tissues of the prostate becomes difficult. The result is the same as when leading a passive lifestyle.
Oxygen starvation leads to the fact that in the tissues of the prostate gland there are ideal conditions for the reproduction of pathogenic microflora. As a result, only a slight infection of the body will be enough to ensure the guaranteed development of prostatitis.
Hypothermia
Freezing is a sure way to the appearance of pathology.
Scientists argue that hypothermia is one of the main provocateurs of the development of prostatitis. Prostatitis from hypothermia develops for several reasons:
- Due to hypothermia, vasoconstriction occurs, which leads to a weakening of tissue nutrition and deterioration of the functioning of organs.
- With a significant freezing of the body, a person's immune system is weakened. This leads to the fact that the body becomes susceptible to various types of infectious lesions.
Hypothermia becomes especially dangerous for those men who have already developed prostatitis earlier. Even if the disease has been treated, it can recur.
In order to avoid the development of prostatitis, it is necessary to dress warmly during the cold season, to avoid sitting on cold and cold surfaces. It is also forbidden to walk barefoot on an insufficiently warm floor.
Other reasons
The development of prostatitis can occur not only due to the above reasons, but also under the influence of such factors:
- obesity;
- poor working conditions, in which there is a strong load on the perineal area or significant shaking;
- hormonal disorders;
- ARVI transferred on the legs;
- Chronic constipation.
The best prevention of this disease is to avoid the above factors. Those men who have previously had prostatitis are especially susceptible to the development of this disease.
Who is at risk
Anyone who has previously had problems with the prostate gland may face the disease again.
Having considered what causes prostatitis, it is necessary to determine the group of persons predisposed to its appearance. The following men are susceptible to prostatitis:
- leading a sedentary lifestyle;
- suffering from frequent constipation;
- obese;
- engaged in sedentary work;
- subject to severe stress and hard physical labor;
- having irregular sex or frequently changing sexual partners;
- previously had prostatitis;
- suffering from immune disorders;
- alcohol and cigarette abusers.
Features of development in young and old age
Prostatitis can develop in young people for a number of factors. The main ones are: sedentary work, lack of a full-fledged intimate life, a sedentary lifestyle. To minimize the development of this disease, you must exclude these factors from your life.
In the elderly, the disease most often develops against the background of the extinction of sexual function. As the body ages, the reproductive system undergoes changes, as a result of which it sooner or later ceases to function. A noticeable decline in fertility is observed in men aged 45-50 years.
In addition, this can occur under the influence of hormonal changes in the body, due to which the volume of testosterone production decreases. And it is these changes that are one of the main causes of prostatitis.
Reasons for the transition from the acute stage of the disease to the chronic
While acute prostatitis is characterized by vivid symptoms, forcing the patient to see a specialist, the chronic form usually has no characteristic symptoms. In most cases, men are in no hurry to see a doctor, noticing a slight discomfort. And as a result of this, the disease develops into more severe forms.
But how does the disease become chronic? Most often, the cause of the development of a chronic process is an insufficiently treated acute form of the disease. In this case, the transition from one form to another occurs under the influence of the following factors:
- Treatment was started late.
- Ineffective therapy was given or the wrong technique was chosen.
- The patient's immune response has significantly decreased.
- There was no treatment for acute prostatitis.
It should be understood that the asymptomatic chronic course of the inflammatory process sooner or later ends with an exacerbation. Then the patient has all the signs of the disease, including severe pain in the perineum and lower back, difficulty urinating and depression of sexual function.
Chronic prostatitis has one important feature: when primary inflammation of the prostate occurs, there is a deterioration in the innervation of this organ. This, in turn, has an extremely negative effect on his work, often causing autoimmune processes. In this case, the immune system begins to produce antibodies against the prostate tissue. Therefore, even if the primary infection is eliminated, it will not be possible to avoid the progression of such prostatitis.
Symptoms
The main symptom of the development of prostatitis is pain. It indicates that an inflammatory process develops in the prostate. In this case, unpleasant sensations can be of a different nature and intensity. Urination causes severe pain.
This disease is especially uncomfortable, being in the acute stage of its development. Against the background of severe pain, the patient has sleep disturbances, his performance is significantly reduced, just like the overall quality of life.
Pain in prostatitis has the following character:
- localized in the perineum, lower abdomen, lower back;
- radiate to the genital area;
- unpleasant sensations intensify when visiting the toilet, during arousal and in the process of ejaculation;
- are accompanied by sexual dysfunction.
Erection problems are a common symptom of a chronic form of the disease. Due to the fact that such dysfunctions can have varying degrees of manifestation, then their therapy has some differences.
It is not uncommon for men to have a sluggish erection with prostatitis. Most patients are unable to complete sexual intercourse at all or ejaculation is premature. Such disorders negatively affect the composition of the sperm.
Treatment methods
The specific type of therapy is determined by a specialist based on the characteristics of the course of the disease. In this case, the reasons why this disease develops should be taken into account. So, the main method of treating the acute form of the disease is antibiotic therapy. These drugs are taken even if the disease is not bacterial in nature.
Complex treatment is provided for chronic prostatitis. It includes the following procedures:
- drug therapy;
- physiotherapy;
- taking immunomodulators;
- prostate massage.
If chronic prostatitis has a non-bacterial nature, then its treatment is carried out by taking non-steroidal drugs. Sedatives are used as an additional treatment.
Prevention of prostatitis is reduced to an active lifestyle, regular sexual intercourse with a regular partner and timely treatment of infectious diseases.