Prostatitis: Causes, Symptoms and Signs, Diagnosis, Treatment

Prostatitis is inflammation of the prostate. It is one of the most common diseases in men. Most men over the age of 30 are affected. If left untreated, the disease can progress rapidly and lead to serious complications—infertility, impotence, and cancer.Most commonly, prostatitis presents with painful urination, purulent and bloody discharge in the urine, and sexual dysfunction.The prostate is the organ that produces sperm and regulates urination. It is located below the bladder. It consists of three departments. During ejaculation, the prostate begins to contract, pushing semen into the urethra. This gland is involved in limiting urinary incontinence, the formation of erections, and sperm production.Prostatic fluid contains a large amount of protein, fat, enzymes, and even some vitamins. The juice dilutes the semen, thus promoting sperm motility. The prostate is an active organ. It depends on hormone levels and is itself involved in the formation of sex hormones.

reason

It is difficult to determine the exact cause of prostatitis in a given person. Most likely, a variety of factors contribute to this problem to some extent.Let's consider the causes and factors that may lead to the development of prostatitis:

• Hypothermia and stress. The body's defenses decrease, leading to the emergence of inflammatory processes.
• Hormone imbalance. Sex hormone levels influence the activity of the prostate.
• Sexually transmitted infections and urinary tract infections.
• Various disorders of the body's mechanisms: urinary disorders, pelvic congestion. A low-motivation lifestyle and tight underwear can interfere with blood circulation in the pelvis. Urination problems can irritate glandular tissue and cause prostatitis. Constipation can also be considered a trigger.
• Long-term abstinence, interruption of sexual intercourse or artificially prolonged sexual intercourse. This causes the glands to enlarge and become inflamed.
• Malnutrition and alcoholism.

Prostate infection can occur in four ways:

1. Descend - Enter with the flow of urine.
2. Ascending - rising along the urethra.
3. Lymphogenicity - With the flow of lymph fluid.
4. Hemogenous - With the flow of blood.

Signs and symptoms of prostatitis

The symptoms of prostatitis can vary. According to the nature of the disease course, prostatitis can be divided into acute and chronic.Common symptoms of prostatitis include:

• Urination problems - frequent, intermittent, and difficult;
• worsening of erection;
• burning sensation in groin;
• Urine that is cloudy and contains fiber;
• The climax is not bright;
• increased fatigue;
• decreased effectiveness;
• Depression, anxiety.

Acute prostatitis usually begins with an increase in body temperature to 39-40 degrees. The prostate swells, causing urinary problems. It's difficult and comes with pain. During an exacerbation of prostatitis, patients may experience pain in the perineum, rectum, groin, and sacrum.Acute prostatitis can be catarrhal, follicular, and parenchymal. Characteristics of acute prostatitis:

• Follicular acute prostatitis is characterized by weak water pressure during urination. It is accompanied by severe pain that can radiate to the anal area and is especially aggravated during bowel movements. Temperatures may rise slightly.
• Parenchymal acute prostatitis is characterized by unexpected perineal pain with pulsations. Observe the poisoning situation in the body, the temperature can reach 40 degrees. Often accompanied by urinary retention.
• Catarrhal acute prostatitis can cause perineal pain, frequent urination, and pain during urination.

Chronic prostatitis can develop from an acute form, but more commonly it develops immediately into a chronic form. The symptoms disappeared and there were no obvious signs or manifestations.Signs and symptoms caused by chronic prostatitis:

• Decreased erection and libido;
• Water pressure decreases during urination;
• Cramping and pain during urination;
• Pain in the perineum, anus, and sacrum.

Because the symptoms of chronic prostatitis are not obvious, patients often do not pay attention to the symptoms for a long time, which aggravates its development and may lead to complications.

Diagnosis of prostatitis

Medicine doesn't stand still, and diagnosing prostatitis is not difficult. After taking a medical history, your doctor may prescribe various diagnostic methods to confirm the diagnosis of prostatitis.

• Prostatitis is diagnosed by rectal palpation of the prostate. It will show pain and increase in size, which are characteristic signs of the inflammatory process, and during palpation the secretions of the prostate are released and sent for analysis.
• Ultrasonography.
• Microscopic examination of prostate secretions.
• Urine bacteriological examination.
• Smears of mucosal and glandular secretions used to detect infection.
• Urethral smears are analyzed to identify sexually transmitted infections that may be causing prostatitis.
• Blood tests to determine sex hormones.

These diagnostic measures not only help confirm the diagnosis (since the symptoms are generally quite obvious) but also help determine the cause of the disease.

Treatment of prostatitis

Currently, there are many treatment options for prostatitis. These include traditional and folk medicine methods. Traditional medicine can complement basic therapies. Treating prostatitis on your own is dangerous because it can lead to complications.Doctors always use traditional pharmaceutical methods to treat prostatitis. This helps relieve swelling, severe inflammation, and normalizes prostate function. A combination of multiple methods is usually prescribed:

• Rectal suppository. Reduce pain and relieve inflammation;
• injection;
• nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs;
• Instillation – Injecting medication directly into the prostate;
• microenema;
• Tablet drugs. The most common are antibacterial drugs;
• Alpha-blockers.

Treatment measures are selected individually based on the extent of the disease, the manifestation of symptoms and the patient's expected therapeutic effect.If a bacterial cause of prostatitis is identified, broad-spectrum antibiotics are prescribed that can destroy a variety of bacterial strains. They can be in the form of suppositories, tablets and injections.Painkillers are used to relieve pain.Alpha-blockers - help relax the urethra muscles, a result of prostatitis. To relieve tension in the perineal area, various muscle relaxants are available.Necessary steps are improving circulation to relieve congestion and taking vitamins.Various physical therapy procedures and prostate massage are necessary to treat prostatitis. Prostate massage is suitable for all forms and stages of the development of the disease; it improves blood circulation and pushes secretions with a pathogenic environment into the urethra.Some scientists are skeptical of this approach to treating prostatitis, believing that the pathogenic environment can further penetrate into the genitourinary system and cause inflammation in other organs. Experiments are currently underway and this view has not been clinically refuted or confirmed, so massage is an indispensable method for treating prostatitis.

Traditional treatments at home

Traditional medicines are often used to treat prostatitis at home. If chronic prostatitis is diagnosed, additional treatment with folk remedies can be very helpful. In case of acute prostatitis, this is not superfluous, however, treatment only at home is unacceptable.Among the popular methods, the following can be said to be quite effective:

• Treat prostatitis with pumpkin seeds. Pumpkin seeds contain a lot of zinc, which is necessary for men, whether they have prostatitis or not.
• Treat prostatitis with parsley - helps relieve inflammation and normalize sexual function. Contains lots of vitamins.
• Treatment of prostatitis with hemlock and celandine infusion. This method should be used with caution as these herbs are toxic and dosage and dosing regimen must be strictly adhered to.
• Use mugwort to treat prostatitis. Used to relieve inflammation and clear purulent infections.
• Use garlic, dill, hazelnuts, chestnuts, propolis, herbs, etc. to treat prostatitis.

Most of these methods aim to relieve the inflammatory process and normalize sexual function. A large number of different vitamins fill the body and play a role in preventing the progression of prostatitis.

consequences of prostatitis

If you refuse and do not start treatment for prostatitis promptly, serious complications are likely to occur. Complications include:

• infertility;
• Impotence;
• enlarged prostate;
• Prostate cancer, etc.

If treatment is refused, the infection will further penetrate into nearby tissues. Other prostate disorders may also occur, including stones and cysts.When you have prostatitis, sex hormone levels drop, causing a decrease in libido (libido). Erectile dysfunction begins and premature ejaculation may occur. Impotence is possible.Prostatitis can also cause infertility. This problem is especially common in patients with chronic prostatitis. This complication was observed in half of these patients.The prostate may become hardened. In this case, the gland partially or completely stops functioning. The problem is accompanied by severe pain, sexual dysfunction and urinary problems.Prostatic adenomas and prostate cancer are the most dangerous complications of prostatitis.Problems and complications caused by prostatitis can affect a man's sex life in some way. This can lead to psychological problems, stress and depression.It is important to monitor symptoms carefully to identify chronic prostatitis promptly.

Prevent prostatitis

The purpose of preventing exacerbations is to monitor health conditions and detect problems promptly. Since prostatitis is in most cases the result of untreated genitourinary diseases, close attention should be paid to the treatment of such diseases.Prostatitis is considered a disease that is easier to prevent than to treat.Among prevention methods, the most important are:

• Sports activities. They help improve blood circulation in the pelvis, prevent congestion, and strengthen the pelvic muscles.
• Sex life rules. It is not advisable to artificially prolong sexual intercourse, interrupt sexual intercourse, or use drugs to inhibit ejaculation.
• Say no to promiscuity. Violent sex can lead to sexually transmitted infections.
• Proper, healthy nutrition.
• Quit drinking.
• Strengthen the body's defenses to avoid hypothermia.
• Minimize stress.

The self-healing rate or home treatment rate for prostatitis is very low. Therefore, as soon as the first signs appear, you should contact a urologist immediately for appropriate treatment. Careful monitoring of signs suggestive of chronic prostatitis and prompt medical attention are also required.