This insidious disease is one of the most common ailments in the male half of humanity. Many close their eyes to the emerging malaise and wait for the inevitable development of all kinds of consequences that make normal life impossible. We will tell you about the symptoms of prostatitis in men and its treatment.
Prostatitis is an inflammation of the prostate gland, which, according to statistics, affects a huge number of men of any age. Already at the age of thirty, one in three suffers from this disease, over the years the number of patients is inexorably increasing, and almost everyone who has changed his sixties is faced with one form or another of the disorder. And this is only official data, but in fact, the incidence rate is much higher, but due to the reluctance of men to go to doctors, doctors simply cannot give exact numbers.
From early childhood, boys are taught that a real man should be persistent, endure pain and not pay attention to ailments. And there is no question of running to the doctor at the slightest discomfort. This rule is strictly followed by the majority of adult men who talk about their problems to doctors in the most extreme case, and sometimes even in an ambulance or in a hospital.
Alas, this also applies to prostatitis. The first alarming "bells" like the frequent need to visit the toilet, sometimes mild pain and discomfort when urinating, some problems with libido and potency, are explained by anything: a hard working day, a scandal with the boss, too stormy a party the day before.
And the main thing - there is nothing to think about, everything will pass by itself. There is some logic in this: the first signs of prostatitis in men are not very pronounced, cause the patient a minimum of inconvenience and soon disappear. Only one thing is not taken into account: the painful symptoms have passed, but the disease itself has not disappeared. It just turns into a chronic form, which does not manifest itself for a long time, and then, under the influence of negative factors, it becomes aggravated and causes much more suffering.
Even if it seems to you that the emerging health problems are not worth a damn and will soon pass without any treatment, know that they can be harbingers of a serious illness. Be sure to see a doctor, go through the examination and the necessary examinations. Remember that any disease is easier and faster to cure if you do it urgently.
Causes of the disease
Prostatitis can be caused by a wide variety of factors that often have nothing to do with the reproductive system. This is one of the most insidious properties of the disease.
Let's list the reasons that lead to inflammation of the gland most often:
- Pathogenic microorganisms are one of the main causes of the disease. Initially, a person can get sick with any infectious disease: from infectious inflammation of the urinary tract, sexually transmitted diseases, and ending with tonsillitis, sinusitis, bronchitis or hemorrhoids, which are unexpected in this case. Even untreated dental caries can cause prostate problems in the future. From the most distant parts of the body from the prostate gland, pathogens enter it with the flow of blood, lymph, and other biological fluids. To this should be added the weakened immune system in almost everyone, because with normal immunity, a common cold is unlikely to entail inflammation of one of the organs of the reproductive system.
- Circulatory disorders in the small pelvis - this reason rightfully ranks second in the list. Stagnation of blood, disruption of normal blood supply, and, consequently, organ hypoxia occurs due to physical inactivity, constant sitting at work and at home. This leads to a significant increase in the size of the prostate. Similar changes are observed in overweight people.
- Frequent shaking and tension of the muscles of the perineum - people of some professions, for example, drivers, are prone to this.
- Hormonal imbalance - occurs in many diseases and has a very negative effect on the health of the prostate.
- Hypothermia.
- Frequent constipation.
To reduce the likelihood of illness, it is necessary to monitor the regularity of sex. Do not forget that both prolonged abstinence and excessively frequent intimate contact have a negative impact.
What forms of the disease are isolated
- Bacterial prostatitis- caused by pathogenic bacteria. It can be acute (more common in young people) and chronic. Recent studies have shown that, as a rule, the infection affects the already pathologically altered tissues of the gland, with severe circulatory disorders.
- Non-bacterial or abacterial prostatitis- although laboratory examinations do not show the presence of pathogenic microorganisms in the diseased organ, their participation in the process cannot be completely ruled out.
- Prostatodynia- all symptoms of prostatitis are present, but the inflammation of the gland is not detected.
How prostatitis manifests itself
In order to detect the disease in time, you need to know what are the symptoms of prostatitis in men. The most characteristic features are the acute form of the disease.
- Weakness and general malaise.
- Chills and fever.
- Increased body temperature.
- Headache.
- Severe pain in the perineum and groin area, which becomes even worse when urinating and defecating.
- The need to frequent the toilet, and soon after urinating the patient again feels the urge, because the bladder has not been completely emptied.
- Severe conditions requiring urgent medical attention are expressed in acute urinary retention.
- Nervous tension, irritability.
Chronic prostatitis symptoms
In its chronic form, the disease can be asymptomatic for many years, and its symptoms can be easily confused with the manifestations of other diseases.
Let's figure out how this ailment manifests itself:
- Pulling pains in the pelvic and lower back- the pain comes from the perineum, felt in the lower abdomen, urethra, testicles. In addition, the patient feels lower back pain radiating to the leg, which can often be mistaken for sciatica or other neuralgia. The pain may be concentrated in one place, or it may seem that it hurts all together.
- Difficulty and frequent urination- pain usually occurs when the patient starts or stops urinating. At the same time, it is impossible to endure and retain urine: despite the fact that the man recently went to the toilet, the sensations are as if the bladder is full to capacity. When urinating in a weak stream, very little urine is released.
- Decrease in sexual activity- a long-lasting inflammatory process, circulatory disorders, pathological changes in prostate tissue cannot be wasted and ultimately lead to a noticeable decrease in libido and potency. This is because nerves pass through the gland, which transmit impulses to the centers in the brain responsible for erection. One of the consequences of the disease is damage to these nerves, a decrease in their sensitivity and the development of disorders in the intimate sphere. At first, the erection does not lose its strength, but at the same time, premature ejaculation is observed, then the erection itself becomes much weaker, and the orgasm becomes sluggish. Testosterone synthesis is gradually inhibited and sexual desire is catastrophically reduced. In some cases, when ejaculating, a man feels a sharp pain in the head of the penis.
- Scarring of prostate tissue and reduction of organ size.In advanced cases, this process spreads to the urinary tract and bladder, causing severe urination disorders. All this leads to the development of renal dysfunction, the development of urolithiasis and other serious conditions.
Treatment of various forms of the disease
We have seen the most common symptoms of prostate inflammation in men, now let's look at ways to treat this disease.
Despite the fact that there are many studies devoted to the treatment of prostatitis, to date, the general scheme of therapy is not known. Treatment may differ in each case, however, there is no doubt that it is of great importance to correctly determine the cause of the disease and start therapy at the early stages of the development of pathology.
In acute prostatitis of bacterial genesis, the patient must be hospitalized, given antibiotic therapy, prescribed anti-inflammatory drugs, analgesics, drugs that normalize blood circulation.
The chronic form of the disease is very difficult to treat, and it is usually not completely cured. In the case of successful treatment, a long period of remission is achieved, during which the signs of prostatitis in men and its symptoms do not appear.
The complex of therapeutic procedures is selected individually for each patient. The patient is prescribed non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, drugs that improve blood circulation in the prostate, immunomodulatory drugs, vitamins. Also, a man should undergo a course of physiotherapy, prostate massage, and regularly perform physical exercises aimed at maintaining the health of the prostate gland.