One of the most common diseases of the male urogenital region is chronic prostatitis. As medical practice shows, every twelve men with puberty suffer from this disease, while in about 40% of cases it is diagnosed in patients aged 20-40 years. Bringing physical suffering to its owner, chronic prostatitis often leads to a deterioration in the general condition of the patient, preventing his 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 one of the sick?
Causes of chronic prostatitis
Chronic prostatitis is a prolonged inflammatory process in the prostate gland, accompanied by pain and discomfort in the pelvic region, urination disorders and pathologies of male sexual function.
Prerequisites for the onset of chronic prostatitis can be infections, prostate congestion, benign hyperplasia, or a combination of these factors. Infection can enter the prostate in several ways:
- with blood flow from foci of infection present in the body (pneumonia, caries, pustular skin lesions, sinusitis, etc. );
- with the influx of lymph from other organs (with dysbacteriosis, hemorrhoids, inflammatory bowel diseases, etc. );
- through the urethra, sexually (one of the consequences of infectious urethritis).
Non-infectious, or abacterial, prostatitis is diagnosed 8 times more often than bacterial; its occurrence is based on stagnant processes and circulatory disorders in the prostate and adjacent organs.
Among the main causes of stagnation of the secret in the prostate, urologists distinguish the following:
- irregular sex life, prolonged abstinence;
- defective ejaculation, the practice of interrupted coitus;
- often unrealized sexual arousal.
The risk of chronic prostatitis increases in men with reduced physical activity, severe or mild, but regular hypothermia, prolonged exposure to stress, as well as those who suffer from alcoholism.
The main signs of the disease
Chronic prostatitis occurs as a result of lack of timely treatment or ineffective treatment of acute prostatitis, and is a slow inflammatory process in the prostate gland.
In most cases, asymptomatic, the disease is usually detected in patients only during a medical examination, which is why every man is recommended to regularly consult a specialist in urological diseases. However, the so-called "hidden" stage of chronic prostatitis can pass into an acute phase after a man has experienced stress, an inflammatory disease, as a result of hypothermia, a violation of the order of theintimate life, etc. In this case, these symptoms should signal 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 urination, painful urination, urinary retention;
- secretion of prostatic secretion through the external opening of the urethra after urination or defecation;
- a slight increase (up to 37. 5) in body temperature; weakness, sleep disturbances and ability to work;
- sexual dysfunction (unstable or weak erection, decreased libido, rapid ejaculation, orgasmic disturbances, pain in the pelvic region 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 disorders of the nervous system, characterized by neurotic states with the patient's attention focused on his well-being.
Possible consequences of chronic prostatitis in the absence of its treatment
Unlike acute prostatitis, chronic prostatitis is characterized by a change of periodic undulating exacerbations with relatively long remissions, during which a man can feel completely healthy. It is not the patient's appeal to a specialist that provokes the further development of the inflammatory process.
In the event of the spread of inflammation in the genitourinary system, complications are likely in the form of cystitis or pyelonephritis, with possible transformation into urolithiasis. But most often the consequence of advanced chronic prostatitis is vesiculitis (inflammatory disease of the seminal vesicles) or epididymo-orchitis (inflammation of the testicles). Both of these conditions can lead to difficult-to-treat infertility and sometimes irreversible damage to male reproductive function.
One of the most serious consequences of chronic prostatitis is the scarring of the tissues of the prostate with wrinkling of the organ. This process often extends to the back of the urethra and bladder, which leads to a persistent violation of the outflow of urine.
The situation is significantly aggravated by the combination of the disease with prostate adenoma, which is more common in men who have crossed the 50-year mark. Violating the outflow from the prostate, the adenoma provokes the progression of chronic prostatitis, so if the patient is shown surgical removal of a benign tumor, it should be preceded by treatment of prostatitis.
Diagnosis, methods and prospects for the treatment of the disease
The initial appointment with the doctor consists of gathering information about the main symptoms of the disease, followed by a general examination, digital rectal examination and a secret swab from the patient's prostate. Another diagnostic measure to establish an accurate diagnosis is a transrectal ultrasound.
Before starting treatment for a patient with chronic prostatitis, it is necessary to take a urine analysis for culture and conduct a study of prostatic secretion on the sensitivity of flora to antibacterial drugs in order to optimize the method oftreatment.
Modern medicine practices the following methods, traditionally used in combination, to treat chronic prostatitis:
- Antibiotic therapy. The use of antibacterial drugs is necessary to eliminate the pathogenic bacterial flora that causes foci of inflammation. The effectiveness of treatment directly depends on the correct selection of drugs, because if not all microorganisms are destroyed during treatment, sooner or later the disease will make itself felt again. For this reason, antibiotic treatment should be completely followed by the patient, without interrupting admission or other violations of medical recommendations.
- Physiotherapy. Prostate massage is one of the most effective components of treatment in the complex of such procedures. The essence of prostate massage is as follows: the effect on the gland contributes to the extrusion of the inflammatory secret accumulated in it into the ducts and further into the urethra. This improves the quality of blood flow in 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 treatment with laser, ultrasound waves or electromagnetic effects on the inflamed area.
- Immunocorrection. A long-term inflammatory process, such as chronic prostatitis, as well as independent or incorrectly prescribed antibiotics in the past, can contribute to a significant decrease in the patient's immunity. The goal of immunocorrection is to restore the body's protective functions as much as possible. This is facilitated by the normalization of lifestyle and a visit to an immunologist.
Although not every case of chronic prostatitis, due to various forms of its complexity, can lead to a full recovery of the patient, strict adherence by the patient to medical recommendations guarantees him a long-term, even lifelong remission, of the disease.
How to avoid an unpleasant diagnosis?
Preventing chronic prostatitis involves following a few basic rules:
- Change your lifestyle for a more active lifestyle. If there is no opportunity to play sports, do a daily warm-up or gymnastic exercises.
- Avoid hypothermia. Do not sit on stone slabs, metal curbs, etc.
- For constipation, use laxatives and if constipation becomes chronic, see a doctor.
- Try to normalize your sex life. Excessive sexual activity, as well as long abstinence, negatively affect the state and functions of the prostate.
- Do not practice casual sex, otherwise, prefer protected sex.
- At the first suspicion of an STD, immediately consult a specialist, do not self-medicate.
- At least once a year, see a urologist to rule out the possibility of a developing disease.
Pay attention to your male health, and the diagnosis of "chronic prostatitis" will never bother you!