In men, the first signs of prostatitis can appear at a young age, and if quality medical care is not provided, the disease can take a latent (latent) form and continue with minor symptoms: urinary and sexual discomfort, pain in the perineum and back. If you ignore these symptoms, chronic prostatitis, which is more difficult to treat and lasts longer, progresses.
An experienced urologist will tell you what chronic prostatitis means and how dangerous it is. Without effective treatment, a single inflammation can result in a severe, recurrent form of the disease.
Causes of chronic prostatitis
Chronic prostatitis is the result of poor treatment of acute inflammatory process. Men often neglect their health or avoid contact with specialists. As a result, the disease progresses.
The urologist treats the prostate professionally. It will tell you what chronic prostatitis is in men, why it occurs and how unpredictable it is. The specialist will accurately determine the etiological factors. This directly affects the effectiveness of the applied treatment methods. Many people do not know what causes chronic prostatitis, it is caused by certain infectious pathogens (E. coli, streptococci, staphylococci, fungi), and some factors are only a trigger mechanism.
Predisposing factors
Prostatitis is caused by microbial agents: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli. However, the causes of chronic prostatitis can be associated with the following predisposing factors:
- decreased immunity;
- hypothermia;
- urogenital lesions;
- stress;
- drinking alcohol and excessive spicy food;
- obstruction in the pelvic region;
- constipation;
- smoking, chronic intoxication of the body with destructive substances;
- sedentary lifestyle;
- presence of chronic foci of infection;
- venereal diseases.
Prolonged exposure to one or more predisposing factors can lead to the development of chronic prostatitis in men. The disease occurs at any age, and young men with sexually transmitted diseases, other infectious processes of the prostate gland and organs of the urinary system often suffer.
Men tend to procrastinate by seeking professional help. Often the wife initiates a consultation with a urologist. If the husband has chronic prostatitis, treatment should be started immediately. Otherwise, you can start the course of the disease, which will turn into a severe chronic form and begin to give complications.
Disease Symptoms
Men in remission have almost no symptoms of chronic prostatitis. Minor pain syndrome is persistent, but anxiety is moderate. After hypothermia, long-term abstinence, the symptoms may be aggravated by chronic prostatitis, which increases depending on the condition of the man.
Every time an inflammation occurs, men show the typical symptoms of chronic prostatitis:
- heaviness and pain in the perineum;
- signs of intoxication of the body;
- urinary excretion;
- radiation of pain in the penis or anus;
- The prostate is asymmetrical and painful on palpation;
- chills, weakness, fever.
Typically, the pain intensifies at the beginning and end of urination. Unpleasant sensations are usually transmitted to the rectum, sacrum and penis. Pain syndrome also occurs after intimate contact, especially acute during ejaculation. During remission, urination may be painless, but is generally more frequent. There is also a difficulty in turning on the microphone.
Urine flow is intermittent, there is a feeling of incomplete emptying of the bladder. In the morning there is a burning sensation in the urethra. Filamentous formations are often found in morning urine. This means that the inflammatory process is chronic.
Effects on sexual performance
Male potential problems often occur against the background of a prolonged course of the inflammatory process, which disrupts prostate function, reduces libido and can even lead to infertility. Chronic prostatitis occurs with such complications - the causes of erectile dysfunction are often associated with a slow infectious and inflammatory process. Until the pathogens are eliminated, the influence of predisposing factors will not be eliminated, and power will not be restored.
Diagnosis of chronic prostatitis
A comprehensive diagnosis will help determine the course and causes of chronic prostatitis in men. First of all, specialists prescribe a rectal examination of the prostate gland. During the procedure, the specialist determines the clarity of the contours and boundaries of the body, the degree of pain. Ultrasound is performed to determine specific functional and structural changes in the future.
TRUZI
Prostate ultrasound (TRUS) is a safe, informative method for imaging the main structures of the prostate and adjacent urogenital organs. Studies are performed both from the abdominal wall and transrectally - from the rectum. In case of urinary incontinence, the specialist additionally examines the bladder and determines the residual urine.
Ultrasound diagnosis allows you to choose the most effective treatment for chronic prostatitis in men and evaluate the effectiveness of the methods already used. The absence of radiation exposure to the body allows the use of ultrasound as required by a particular clinical condition.
Examination of prostate secretions and ureteroscopy
Prostate secretion accumulates after urination and glandular massage. Examination of biomaterials allows to determine the pathogenic microflora, determine the level of leukocytes and the number of lecithin granules. The method allows to classify the nature of the pathological process, to understand how a man should be treated and what drugs to use. The diagnosis is not accompanied by painful feelings, it is easily accepted by a man.
In case of urinary dysfunction, ureteroscopy is recommended for blood in the urine and erectile dysfunction. This procedure allows you to assess the urethra and perform special treatments using endoscopic devices.
Additional research methods
Additional diagnostic methods are used to clarify the clinical picture and determine the exact causes of the inflammatory process. Chronic prostatitis should be distinguished from neurogenic bladder and other similar diseases with similar symptoms. Specialists prescribe electromyography, urodynamic diagnostic methods. They allow chronic inflammation to be qualitatively different from other diseases.
Chronic prostatitis often leads to hyperplastic processes, proliferation of glandular tissue, enlargement of the adenoma and malignant neoplasms. PSA diagnosis should be performed to rule out a cancerous process. The method involves determining the level of a specific antigen for the prostate and an increase in the growth of malignant cells that may be suspected. To clarify the nature of the identified formations, it is necessary to conduct 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. Prolonged inflammatory process in one way or another impairs reproductive function, weakens libido and threatens with various infectious complications. The most unpleasant consequences of the disease are impotence and reproductive diseases. Chronic inflammation changes the tissues of the prostate gland, contributing to their proliferation, hormonal abnormalities, early onset of menopause and the growth of adenomas.
Chronic course of the disease can lead to urinary incontinence, prostate stones and cysts. As the disease progresses, prostate sclerosis develops. This pathological condition is the last stage of prostatitis. Collagen accumulates in the body with the formation of dense tissues. The urethra narrows, there are problems with strength. Such changes are characteristic of benign prostatic hyperplasia, which can lead to the growth of malignant cells and the formation of cancerous tumors at any time.
Treatment features
Chronic prostatitis is not easy to treat. However, recovery or pathology may progress to a prolonged remission. The effectiveness of medical procedures depends on the timely receipt of medical care.
A man should strictly follow the recommendations of the attending physician and avoid the influence of predisposing factors: hypothermia, scrotal trauma, sexually transmitted diseases, stress. It is important to remember that a banal viral infection can exacerbate the disease with such severe pain and urinary tract disorders.
Drug treatment
Bacterial prostatitis is treated with antibiotics. Appointed in a few weeks. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are used to increase the patient's comfort and combat the main acute symptoms. Adrenergic blockers are effective in restoring urodynamics, regular flow of prostate secretions and relieving muscle tension in the gland. Paraprostatic blockade, along with acupuncture, effectively combats severe pain syndrome.
If a man feels discomfort in the background of a chronic inflammatory process, sedatives or tranquilizers can be used. However, such drugs should be prescribed by qualified specialists who are well versed in the specific clinical situation.
Physiotherapy
Physiotherapy uses therapeutic electrophoresis, ultrasound therapy and magnetotherapy. Acupuncture is used in combination with analgesic occlusion. In addition, the use of therapeutic sitz baths, enemas and special instillations into the urethra is recommended. Drops are good for chronic inflammatory processes.
The technique allows a large amount of agent to enter the direct pathological focus. High concentrations of the drug remain for a long time. This allows you to effectively fight a slow infection process. The drug should be stored for 30-40 minutes, limiting urination.
Surgical Treatment
Surgery should be considered if conservative methods and physiotherapy are ineffective or impossible. Mainly urethral stenosis is required. In the case of prostate sclerosis, transurethral resection is performed endoscopically. The method is used when the patient has serious concomitant diseases that do not allow a classic prostatectomy of the internal prostate gland.
In case of recurrent phimosis against the background of a chronic infectious process, therapeutic circumcision is recommended. The operation is performed according to the instructions and only in the urology department.
Disease prognosis
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 diseases. If medical prescriptions are followed, preventive measures are taken, including the normalization of intimate activity and the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, it is possible to reduce the number of recurrences per year and bring the disease into a state of long-term remission.