The first signs of prostatitis in men can occur at a young age, and if quality medical care is not provided, the disease can develop into a latent (latent) form and continue with minor symptoms: malaise duringurination and intercourse, pain in the perineum and lower back. If you do not pay attention to these symptoms, chronic prostatitis progresses, the treatment of which is more difficult and longer.
An experienced urologist will tell you what chronic prostatitis means and how dangerous it can be. Even a single inflammation without effective treatment can cause the disease to transition to a severe recurrent form.
The causes of chronic prostatitis
Chronic prostatitis is the result of poor quality treatment of an acute inflammatory process. Men are often negligent with their health or simply hesitate to contact specialists. As a result, the disease progresses.
A urologist treats the prostate professionally. He will tell you what chronic prostatitis is in men, why it occurs, and how unpredictable it is. The specialist will accurately establish the etiological factors. This directly affects the effectiveness of the applied treatment methods. Many do not know what chronic prostatitis comes from, which is caused by certain infectious pathogens (E. coli, streptococci, staphylococci, fungi) and some factors are just a trigger mechanism.
Predisposing factors
The causative agent of prostatitis are microbial agents: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli. But the causes of chronic prostatitis can be associated with the following predisposing factors:
- decreased immunity;
- hypothermia;
- lesions of the genitourinary organs;
- stress;
- drinking alcohol and excessively spicy food;
- congestion in the pelvic region;
- constipation;
- smoking, chronic intoxication of the body with destructive substances;
- sedentary lifestyle;
- presence of chronic infection foci;
- venereal diseases.
Long-term exposure to one or more predisposing factors leads to the progression of chronic prostatitis in men. The disease occurs at any age, young men who have a history of sexually transmitted diseases, other infectious processes of the prostate gland and organs of the urinary system often suffer.
Men tend to procrastinate when referring to specialists. It is often the wife who initiates the consultation with the urologist. If the husband has chronic prostatitis, treatment should be started immediately. Otherwise, the course of the disease can begin, which will turn into a serious chronic form and begin to give complications.
Signs of illness
Signs of chronic prostatitis in men in remission are almost completely absent. Mild pain syndrome is permanent, but discomfort is moderate. After hypothermia, prolonged abstinence, chronic prostatitis can worsen, the symptoms of which increase depending on the man's condition.
Every time an exacerbation occurs, the characteristic symptoms of chronic prostatitis in men appear:
- heaviness and pain in the perineum;
- signs of bodily intoxication;
- urination disorder;
- irradiation of pain in the penis or anus;
- the prostate is asymmetric and painful on palpation;
- chills, weakness, fever.
Characteristically, pain intensifies at the beginning and end of urination. Unpleasant sensations are generally transmitted to the rectum, sacrum, and penis. Pain syndrome also appears after intimate contact, it is especially acute during sperm excretion. Urination during remission may be painless, but is usually more frequent. At the same time, there is a difficulty in starting the microphone.
The urine stream becomes intermittent, there is a sensation of incomplete emptying of the bladder. In the morning there is a burning sensation in the urethra. The filamentous formations are often found in morning urine. This means that the inflammatory process is chronic.
Impact on sexual performance
Male potency problems often arise against the background of a prolonged course of the inflammatory process, which disrupts the functionality of the prostate, reduces libido, and can even cause infertility. Chronic prostatitis occurs with such complications: the causes of erectile dysfunction are often associated with a slow infectious and inflammatory process. Until the causative agents of the disease are removed, the effect of predisposing factors is not removed, potency will not be restored.
Diagnosis of chronic prostatitis
Comprehensive diagnostics will help determine the characteristics of the course and causes of chronic prostatitis in men. First of all, experts prescribe a rectal examination of the prostate gland. During the procedure, the specialist determines the clarity of the contours and boundaries of the organ, the degree of pain. In the future, ultrasound is done to identify specific functional and structural changes.
TRUZI
Prostate ultrasound (TRUS) is a safe informational method for visualizing the major structures of the prostate and adjacent urogenital organs. The studies are carried out both through the abdominal wall and transrectally, through the rectum. In case of difficulty urinating, the specialist also examines the bladder and determines the residual urine.
Ultrasound diagnosis allows you to choose the most effective treatment for chronic prostatitis in men, as well as to evaluate the effectiveness of methods already used. The absence of radiation exposure to the body allows the use of ultrasound as often as required by a specific clinical situation.
Examination of prostate secretions and ureteroscopy
Prostate secretion is collected after urinating and massaging the glands. The study of biomaterials allows you to identify the pathogenic microflora, determine the level of leukocytes and the number of grains of lecithin. The method makes it possible to classify the nature of the pathological process, understand how a man should be treated and what drugs to use. The diagnosis is not accompanied by painful sensations, it is easily perceived by a man.
In case of impaired urinary function, blood in the urine and erectile dysfunction, it is recommended to undergo a ureteroscopy. This procedure allows you to evaluate the urethra and perform specific treatments using endoscopic equipment.
Additional Research Methods
Additional diagnostic methods are used to clarify the clinical picture and determine the exact causes of the inflammatory process. Chronic prostatitis must be differentiated from neurogenic bladder and other similar diseases that have similar symptoms. Specialists prescribe electromyography, urodynamic diagnostic methods. They allow the qualitative differentiation of chronic inflammation from other diseases.
Chronic prostatitis often leads to hyperplastic processes, proliferation of glandular tissues, adenoma growth, and malignant neoplasms. To exclude a cancerous process, it is necessary to conduct PSA diagnostics. The method involves the determination of the level of prostate specific antigen, with an increase in which the growth of malignant cells can be suspected. To clarify the nature of the identified formations, it is necessary to perform a biopsy of the prostate gland, followed by a morphological study of the given material.
Possible complications
Chronic prostatitis significantly reduces a man's quality of life. The prolonged course of the inflammatory process, one way or another, disrupts reproductive function, weakens libido and threatens various infectious complications. The most unpleasant consequences of the disease are impotence and reproductive disorders. Constant inflammation changes the tissues of the prostate gland, contributes to its proliferation, hormonal abnormalities, the early onset of menopause and the growth of adenoma.
The chronic course of the disease can lead to urinary incontinence, stones and cysts in the prostate. As the disease progresses, prostate sclerosis develops. This pathological condition is the final stage of inflammation of the prostate. The body accumulates collagen with the formation of dense tissues. The urethra narrows, there are potency problems. Such changes are characteristic of benign prostatic hyperplasia, which at any time can lead to the growth of malignant cells and the formation of cancerous tumors.
Treatment functions
Chronic inflammation of the prostate is not easy to cure. But recovery is possible or the transition from pathology to a prolonged stage of remission. The effectiveness of medical procedures depends on the timeliness of seeking medical help.
A man must strictly follow the recommendations of the attending physician, avoid the action of predisposing factors: hypothermia, scrotal trauma, sexually transmitted diseases, the influence of stress. It is important to remember that even a banal viral infection can exacerbate the disease with the appearance of severe pain and disturbance of the urinary system.
Drug therapy
Bacterial prostatitis is treated with antibiotics. They are prescribed for several weeks. To increase the comfort of the patient's life, to combat the main acute symptoms, non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are used. Adrenergic blockers are effective in restoring urodynamics, the regular flow of prostate secretions, and relieving muscle tension in the gland. Paraprostatic blockade in combination with acupuncture effectively copes with even severe pain syndrome.
If a man is feeling anxious in the context of a chronic inflammatory process, sedatives or tranquilizers can be used. But such drugs must be prescribed by qualified specialists who are well acquainted with the specific clinical case.
Physiotherapy
Physiotherapy uses medicinal electrophoresis, ultrasound treatment and magnetotherapy. Acupuncture is also used in combination with pain relievers. In addition, it is recommended to use therapeutic sitz baths, enemas and special instillations into the urethra. Drip drug administration is good for chronic inflammatory processes.
The technique ensures that a large amount of the agent enters the pathological focus directly. A high concentration of the drug remains for a long time. This allows you to effectively cope with a slow infectious process. The drug must be kept for 30 to 40 minutes, which limits urination.
Surgical treatment
In case of ineffectiveness or inability to use conservative techniques and physiotherapy, surgical treatment is necessary. It is mainly required to remove urethral strictures. In the case of prostate sclerosis, transurethral resection is performed by endoscopic techniques. The method is used if the patient has severe concomitant diseases of the internal organs that do not allow classical prostatectomy.
In the case of recurrent phimosis in the context of a chronic infectious process, a therapeutic circumcision of the foreskin is recommended. The operation is performed as directed and only under the conditions of the urology department.
Prognosis of the disease
The prognosis of the disease is determined by the timeliness and effectiveness of the prescribed treatment, the duration of treatment of the inflammatory process, the age of the man, and the presence of certain concomitant disorders. Subject to medical prescriptions, the implementation of preventive measures, including the normalization of intimate activity and the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, it is possible to reduce the number of relapses per year and transfer the disease to a state of prolonged remission.