Medical statistics claim that most of the men on our planet know firsthand what prostatitis is. However, the disease is not always quickly detected and treated. If we talk about the age category of the disease, the symptoms of prostatitis can be diagnosed even at the age of 18, but the long chronic course of the disease with inflammation of the gland (prostate) is characteristic of older patients.
What is prostatitis in men
The name of the disease comes from the Latin "prostatitis", which literally translates as the prostate gland and inflammation. Prostatitis in men is a generalized name for inflammation in the prostate, the complete picture of the causes and mechanisms of development of which is not fully understood. Symptoms of prostate inflammation are not difficult to recognize, but it should be borne in mind that in all patients the disease proceeds according to an individual scenario, can develop without special symptoms, imperceptibly flowing into a chronic form.
How prostatitis manifests itself in men
Doctors divide the disease into different forms according to the patient's symptoms and clinical picture. It is acute, chronic, bacterial, calculous, congestive, infectious, purulent, and depending on this, prostatitis manifests itself in the form of various symptoms.
It can be diagnosed by sudden attacks of severe pain in the scrotum, by difficulty urinating, weak potency. In the presence of a disease, the properties of sperm and the quality of ejaculation deteriorate. If at least one of the listed symptoms appears, you need to see a doctor.
Signs of prostatitis
Symptoms can be diagnosed by having a general urine and blood test. Research will help identify the culprit for the appearance of the disease, and it may be some infections: for example, trichomoniasis, gardnerellosis, chlamydia, and even gonorrhea. Bacteria enter the site through the blood vessels from the bladder or rectum and cause health problems. The non-bacterial form of the disease is not detected through tests, however, this is not an indicator of the absence of bacteria. The consequences of both forms can be dire.
Signs of prostatitis in men are divided into two phases - latent and active. The first phase has minor symptoms, but already indicates the presence of the disease. The latent phase can last for years, and it is characterized by discomfort in the scrotum, sometimes in the head of the penis, anus. As a rule, men attribute this to simple fatigue. When the pain becomes more intense, and the emptying of the bladder begins to cause great problems, this means that the inflammation is progressing, and the disease has entered an active phase.
First signs
The disease has several stages of development. At first, it may cause a constant urge to urinate, and pain and burning may be present in the toilet during this procedure. The lower back, the pelvic area and the groin hurt.
Having discovered the first signs of prostatitis in men, you need to go for a consultation with an andrologist or urologist, so as not to complicate the situation and to maintain men's health.
Prostatitis Symptoms
Illness can manifest itself in three main symptoms:
- frequent urge to go to the toilet;
- pain;
- weak or absent erection.
External symptoms of prostatitis include urinary problems. The urine pressure is low, the emptying of the bladder occurs with pain, and there may be a complete absence of urine outflow (in medicine, this phenomenon is called ishuria). This is due to the compression of the urethra by the inflamed gland. If the inflammation is allowed to develop, it engulfs the urethra, rectum, genitourinary system or provokes the development of a tumor. After 30 years, all men need to be examined by a specialist annually.
Inflammation of the prostate causes quite different symptoms of prostatitis. Symptoms of acute prostatitis can be severe and cause a very strong general feeling of malaise, with chronic prostatitis the symptoms are usually milder. Not every sick person necessarily has all the characteristic signs of the disease, the severity of symptoms may vary depending on the state of the body and other factors.
In order to protect himself from the onset of illness, a man should avoid:
- hypothermia;
- unbalanced diet (exclude fried food, canned food, alcohol);
- sedentary lifestyle;
- bad habits;
- irregular sex life,
- Frequent sexual erections without ejaculation.
Pains
The main symptom related to local symptoms is pain. By their nature, they are aching, pulling, bursting or pressing. According to the sensations of pain in prostatitis in men, they are insignificant or strong, and they are always concentrated in the perineum, in the region of the anus or sacrum.
The cause of the pain symptom is the irritation of the prostate gland by the products of the inflammatory process. What other symptoms are there for prostatitis?
Highlights
Pain may be accompanied by discharge. From the external opening of the urethra, discharge of varying degrees of transparency, different density and color, for example, thick milky white at the end of urination or defecation, often appears. In the chronic form, the patient may experience spermatorrhea - the discharge of sperm in small portions during bowel movements and muscle tension in the perineum.
Discharge from prostatitis in men may be purulent greenish. They are also observed with a sluggish course of the disease, when they consist of damaged epithelium, mucus, leukocytes. This type of discharge, the presence of a pain symptom, chills and high body temperature indicate the transition of the disease into an acute form. If a sick man does not go to a urologist, the disease can provoke serious pathologies: prostate sclerosis, infertility.
Chronic prostatitis symptoms
The first symptoms of chronic prostatitis can be considered the appearance of discomfort, pain in the lower abdomen, sometimes in the lower back and hip. Sexual dysfunction progresses within a few days. At the end of intercourse, a pulling pain may occur at the tip of the penis, which disappears on its own in a few minutes. Finally, each urination begins to be accompanied by a burning sensation and pain, which will gradually increase.
Symptoms of acute prostatitis in men
In this form, the disease is divided into catarrhal, follicular, purulent. In the first case, the symptoms of acute prostatitis in men are characterized by problems with urination, in the second they are supplemented by pain in the scrotum and fever. In the third case, the disease manifests itself in the form of abscesses of the gland and the strongest manifestation of all the above symptoms.
Treatment of prostatitis in men
The treatment process includes measures to eliminate inflammation and congestion in the prostate. Success depends on getting rid of them quickly. Treatment of prostatitis in men begins with a diagnosis, with the identification of the root of the problem. The doctor will take a swab from the urethra and, if the result is positive, prescribe antibiotic therapy. The duration of treatment will depend on the degree of damage to the body and on how effectively the existing symptoms disappear.
Young people get sick, in most cases, due to elementary hypothermia. As a result, the acute form of the disease progresses, to combat which antibiotic therapy is carried out. If prostatitis is provoked by stress, then the root of the disease is treated by a neurologist. In such cases, the doctor prescribes relaxing massages, electrophoresis, and taking vitamins. Without eliminating the cause of the disease, it will not be possible to get rid of it.
When symptoms of prostatitis and prostate adenoma appear, the following treatment mechanism is applied:
- Antibiotics are an important component in the treatment of infectious disease. The composition of drugs should have a wide spectrum of action.
- To improve blood circulation, alpha-blockers may be prescribed for a quick recovery of the prostate gland.
- To restore the hormonal system, the doctor may recommend taking hormonal medications.
- Muscle relaxants prescribed by a specialist will reduce tension in the striated muscles of the gland.
Herbal remedies are often used in the complex treatment of prostatitis.
If the above methods do not bring the required results, surgical intervention is used. Sometimes it can be the only possible treatment.
Acute and chronic prostatitis syndromes in men can be treated with laser therapy. This method heals the acini (functional units of the gland) and increases the patient's defenses. Chronic prostatitis can be treated with both laser and medication. With a severe form of the disease without particularly pronounced signs, the laser helps the patient to quickly improve his condition: after two or three procedures, pain disappears, potency is fully restored.