The first signs of prostatitis in men can occur at a young age, and if they do not provide quality medical care, the disease can become a latent (latent) form and have minor symptoms: discomfort during urination and intercourse, pain in the perineum and lower back. If you don’t pay attention to these symptoms, chronic prostatitis progresses, which is harder and longer to treat.
An experienced urologist will tell you what chronic prostatitis means and how dangerous it can be. Even a single inflammation without effective treatment can result in the disease becoming a severe recurrent form.
Causes of chronic prostatitis
Chronic prostatitis is the result of poor quality treatment of the acute inflammatory process. Men often neglect their health or simply hesitate to contact professionals. As a result, the disease progresses.
The urologist treats the prostate professionally. It tells you what chronic prostatitis is in men, why it appears and how unpredictable. The person skilled in the art will determine the etiological factors precisely. This directly affects the effectiveness of the treatment methods used. Many people do not know what chronic prostatitis is caused by certain infectious pathogens (E. coli, streptococci, staphylococci, fungi) and some factors are just triggers.
Predisposing factors
The pathogens 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 urogenital organs;
- stress;
- drinking alcohol and overly spicy foods;
- congestion in the pelvic region;
- constipation;
- smoking, chronic poisoning of the body with destructive substances;
- sedentary lifestyle;
- presence of foci of chronic infection;
- venereal diseases.
Prolonged exposure to one or more predisposing factors leads to the progression of chronic prostatitis in men. The disease occurs at any age, and often affects young men with a history of sexually transmitted diseases, other infectious processes of the prostate, and organs of the urinary system.
Men tend to procrastinate with reference to professionals. Often the wife initiates a consultation with the urologist. If the husband has chronic prostatitis, treatment should be started immediately. Otherwise, it can start the course of the disease, which becomes a severe chronic form and starts to give complications.
Signs of Illness
Signs of chronic prostatitis in men in remission are almost completely absent. Minor pain syndrome is persistent, but the discomfort is moderate. Hypothermia, prolonged abstinence, chronic prostatitis may worsen, the symptoms of which increase depending on the condition of the man.
Whenever an exacerbation occurs, the characteristic symptoms of chronic prostatitis in men appear:
- difficulty and pain in the perineum;
- signs of body poisoning;
- urinary disorder;
- irradiation of pain in the penis or anus;
- the prostate is asymmetrical and painful to the touch;
- chills, weakness, fever.
It is common for pain to increase at the beginning and end of urination. Discomfort is usually caused by the rectum, sacrum and penis. Pain syndrome also occurs after intimate contact, it is especially acute during sperm secretion. During remission, urination may be painless, but is more common. However, there are difficulties in starting the microphone.
The flow of urine becomes intermittent, with incomplete emptying of the bladder. There is a burning sensation in the urethra in the morning. Fibrous formations are often found in morning urine. This means that the inflammatory process is chronic.
Effect on sexual performance
Male potency problems often arise from a prolonged course of the inflammatory process that disrupts prostate function, reduces libido, and can even cause infertility. Chronic prostatitis occurs in such complications - erectile dysfunction is often caused by slow infectious and inflammatory processes. Until the pathogens of the disease disappear, the effect of predisposing factors disappears, efficacy is not restored.
Diagnosing chronic prostatitis
Comprehensive diagnostics will help determine the course and causes of chronic prostatitis in men. First, experts prescribe a rectal examination of the prostate gland. During the procedure, the specialist determines the purity of the contours and boundaries of the organ, the degree of pain. In the future, we will perform ultrasound to identify specific functional and structural changes.
TROUSERS
Prostate Ultrasound (TRUS) is a safe, informative method for visualizing the major structures of the prostate and adjacent urogenital organs. The tests are performed both on the abdominal wall and transrectally, through the rectum. In addition, in case of difficulty urinating, the person skilled in the art examines the bladder and determines the remaining urine.
ultrasound diagnostics allows you to select the most effective treatment for chronic prostatitis in men and to evaluate the effectiveness of the methods already used. The lack of radiation exposure to the body allows the use of ultrasound as often as a particular clinical situation requires.
Examination of prostate secretions and ureteroscopy
Prostate secretion is collected after urination and glandular massage. Examination of biological materials makes it possible to identify the pathogenic microflora, to determine the level of leukocytes and the number of lecithin particles. The method makes it possible to classify the nature of the pathological process, to understand how to treat a person and what drugs to use. The diagnosis is not accompanied by painful feelings, it is easily perceived by the man.
It is recommended to undergo ureteroscopy in case of impaired urinary function, blood in the urine and erectile dysfunction. This procedure allows the urethra to be evaluated and specific treatments to be performed using endoscopic equipment.
Additional research methods
Additional diagnostic methods are used to clarify the clinical picture, to determine the exact causes of the inflammatory process. Chronic prostatitis should be distinguished from neurogenic bladder and other diseases with similar symptoms. Specialists prescribe electromyography, urodynamic diagnostic methods. They allow a qualitative distinction between chronic inflammation and other diseases.
Chronic prostatitis often leads to hyperplastic processes, glandular tissue proliferation, adenoma and malignancy. To rule out the cancerous process, a PSA diagnosis should be performed. The method involves determining the level of prostate-specific antigen, the increase of which is suspected in the proliferation of malignant cells. In order to clarify the nature of the identified formations, it is necessary to perform a biopsy of the prostate gland and then to morphologically examine the given substance.
Possible complications
Chronic prostatitis significantly impairs a person's quality of life. The protracted process of the inflammatory process in 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. Persistent inflammation alters the tissues of the prostate gland, contributing to their proliferation, hormonal disorders, the early onset of menopause, and the growth of adenoma.
Chronic course of the disease can lead to urinary incontinence, stones and cysts in the prostate. As the disease progresses, prostate sclerosis develops. This condition is the last stage of inflammation of the prostate. The body accumulates collagen by forming dense tissues. The urethra narrows, there are problems with potency. Such changes are characteristic of benign prostatic hyperplasia, which at any time can lead to malignant cell growth and the development of cancerous tumors.
Treatment Features
Chronic prostatitis is not easy to cure. But it is possible for healing or pathology to transition to a phase of prolonged remission. The effectiveness of medical procedures depends on the timeliness of seeking medical help.
The man should strictly follow the doctor's recommendations, avoid the influence of predisposing factors: hypothermia, scrotum trauma, sexually transmitted diseases, stress. It is important to note that even a banal viral infection can aggravate the disease with the appearance of intense pain and disruption of the urinary system.
Drug therapy
Bacterial prostatitis is treated with antibiotics. They are prescribed for several weeks. Non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) are used to increase the comfort of the patient's life and to combat the main acute symptoms. Adrenergic blockers are effective in restoring urodynamics, regular outflow of prostate secretions, and relieving muscle tension in the gland. Paraprostatic blockade in combination with acupuncture can also effectively cope with intense pain syndrome.
Sedatives or sedatives may be used if a man feels anxiety in the background of a chronic inflammatory process. But such drugs should be prescribed by qualified professionals who are well versed in the particular clinical case.
Physiotherapy
Physiotherapy uses medical electrophoresis, ultrasound treatment, and magnetotherapy. Acupuncture is also used in combination with analgesic occlusions. In addition, it is recommended to use therapeutic sitting baths, enemas and special drips into the urethra. Dropping drugs is good for chronic inflammatory processes.
The technique ensures that large amounts of the agent are brought directly into the pathological focus. High concentrations of the drug persist for a long time. This allows you to effectively cope with the slow infectious process. The drug should be kept for 30-40 minutes, restricting urination.
Surgical treatment
In case of ineffectiveness or impossibility of conservative techniques and physiotherapy, surgical treatment should be performed. It is mainly necessary to remove the narrowing of the urethra. In prostate sclerosis, transurethral resection is performed using endoscopic techniques. The method is used when the patient has severe concomitant internal diseases that do not allow classical prostatectomy.
In case of recurrent phimosis in the background of a chronic infectious process, therapeutic circumcision of the foreskin is recommended. The operation is performed according to the indications and only under the conditions of the urology department.
Disease prediction
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 person and the presence of certain concomitant disorders. Depending on medical prescriptions, the implementation of preventive measures, including the normalization of intimate activity and the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, can reduce the number of relapses per year and bring the disease into a state of prolonged remission.