How prostatitis manifests itself: symptoms and signs

Inflammation of the prostate is today the leader in the group of male diseases, transmitted mainly through sexual contact. Its complications threaten infertility, decreased libido, impotence.

The first symptoms of prostatitis in men

Prostatitis is an inflammatory disease. This is one of the most common urological pathologies, diagnosed in representatives of the strong half of humanity.

Most often, this anomaly is detected in men over thirty years of age, although recently the disease has become much younger. Treatment of prostatitis should be carried out by qualified specialists (urologists or andrologists), as there is a high probability of developing various complications.

How is prostatitis treated?

With the help of drugs

• NSAIDs - relieve inflammation, fever and fever. They have a mild analgesic effect. With the onset of prostatitis, a short treatment with anti-inflammatories and vitamins is necessary to keep the gland in a normal state. Men are prescribed: Diclofenac, Nise, Voltaren, Nimesulide. Drugs are produced in suppositories, pills, injections.
• Antibiotics - designed to eliminate the infectious or bacteriological factor of inflammation. The prostatitis treatment schedule is signed after identifying the pathogen and proving antibiotic resistance. The course of treatment is 7 to 10 days. In severe cases, therapy is extended to two weeks.
• Hormones are recommended if the usual course of medication has not been beneficial, as well as with a decrease in sexual desire due to advanced disease. It is forbidden to treat with hormones at an early stage. Drugs are taken under the strict supervision of a urologist.
• Symptomatic medications - to eliminate the pain syndrome, take aspirin tablets. The spasms are removed by No-shpa. With persistent severe pain, Novocaine blockade is indicated.
• Vitamins and medications to keep the prostate working. During the period of remission, it is recommended to drink drugs to normalize metabolism and improve blood supply to glandular tissues and juice production. For this, phytopreparations are prescribed: Prostamol-Uno, Prostate-forte and the like. To strengthen the immune system, a complex of vitamins and minerals is shown: Duovit, Vitrum.

Self-medication is dangerous, it does more harm than good. Before taking any of these medications, you need to consult a urologist.

With the use of physical therapy

• UHF and microwave.
• Magnetotherapy.
• Mud cure.
• galvanizing.
• Ultraphonophoresis.
• Laser treatment.
• Heat therapy.

natural remedies

Diagnosis

To start the treatment of inflammation of the prostate in time, you need to contact a competent specialist who will carry out a comprehensive examination and make the correct diagnosis. The list of recommended diagnostic methods includes the following:

• Blood tests - perform a biochemical composition study, for PSA (prostate specific antigen) content, general analysis and PCR if necessary.
• Urinalysis - the man is asked to urinate into several different containers to conduct the study in different ways.
• Scraping the surface of the urethral canal to detect an infectious pathogen.
• Bacteriological culture of prostatic secretion and urethral secretions to determine the bacterial pathogen and its drug resistance.
• Prostate ultrasound - allows assessing the size and shape of the gland, the presence or absence of tissue fusion, adhesions and scarring changes.

A mandatory item in the diagnosis of prostatitis is the digital rectal examination. Examination of the finger allows the doctor to feel the gland and assess its density, structure, shape, and size. Also, during a digital rectal exam, a prostate secret is obtained, which is then sent for analysis. Additional exam methods are assigned to a given patient individually if indicated.

These can be measurements of urinary flow velocity, MRI or CT scans, radiographs of Organs pelvic organs, and other methods.

acute prostatitis

The disease begins with a sharp rise in temperature (up to 40 degrees), excruciating headache, fever. The symptoms that appear are accompanied by pain in the groin, perineum, back, discharge from the urethra, frequent urination and constant urge to urinate.

Bladder emptying occurs with a delay, a burning sensation. The urine itself becomes cloudy and a mixture of blood may appear in it. There is irritability, fatigue.

The result of acute prostatitis can be a complete resolution of the process (with timely treatment). As changes occur in many organs of the small pelvis, they cannot be left to chance, otherwise the corresponding complications will arise:

• Vesiculitis is an inflammation of the seminal vesicles, causing pus in the semen, which not only reduces the quality of the ejaculate, but leads to loss of reproductive function.
• Colliculitis - inflammatory changes in the seminal tubercle become the reason for the development of severe pain during sex, interruption of orgasm, impotence of a psychological nature.
• The formation of an abscess in the body of the prostate, its rupture, purulent damage to the rectum leads to an exacerbation of symptoms, a powerful intoxication of the body, even death.
• Stagnation in the tissues of the prostate leads to a change in its structure, disruption of innervation, blood supply, both to the gland itself and to organs located nearby, with a violation of its functions. Erection becomes insufficient for full sexual intercourse, premature ejaculation is observed, prolonged intercourse without the onset of orgasm.
• Scarring changes in the gland, spermatic cord lead to infertility, decreased qualitative sperm composition and sperm motility. Narrowing of the urethra interferes with the normal process of urination, bladder obstruction can cause acute urinary retention, necessitating emergency surgical care.

main symptoms

As noted above, the disease can be both chronic and acute. One common and one of the most important symptoms is increased urination. A healthy male usually experiences no more than 10 to 11 urges to urinate during the day (the normal number is 5 to 6 urges).

As a result of the development of inflammation of the prostate, a negative effect on the bladder occurs, therefore, in the presence of the disease, the following symptoms will appear:

• An increase in the number of impulses (while the daily volume of urine remains the same).
• Urine comes out in small portions, which is associated with receiving false signals from bladder receptors due to the presence of an inflammatory process. Also, therefore, there may be a feeling that the bladder is full even after emptying.
• Pain during urination, which is due to the narrowing of the urethra due to the inflammatory process in the prostate.
• Difficulty urinating due to compression of certain areas of the urethra by inflammation. In some cases, men are unable to empty their bladder because of this.
• At night, the walls of the bladder begin to give false signals, which increases the number of trips to the bathroom during sleep.

Part of diagnosing prostatitis can also be done by monitoring body temperature, along with problems associated with urination. If these problems are accompanied by an increase in temperature to subfebrile and febrile values, then with a high degree of probability we can talk about the development of pathology. It is important to note that in the later stages of the development of the disease, on the contrary, a decrease in body temperature to 35. 5-36 degrees can be observed, which is an extremely negative and dangerous symptom in any case, which should not be allowed.

In the intermediate stages of the disease, blood can be observed in the patient's urine. This sign is relatively rare and often not indicative, but extremely dangerous. It can begin to manifest itself due to purulent fusion of the prostate, trauma to the prostate, and also in cases of complications of the inflammatory process with hyperplasia. Healing in this case is complicated (surgical intervention is often required).

Treatment should begin immediately after the first symptoms of the disease appear. If there have been at least some, albeit insignificant as it seems, problems with urination, which in some cases are accompanied by fever and pain in the area of simplicity, you should immediately make an appointment with a urologist to clarify the diagnosis. It is imperative to pay attention to the signs of pathology described above, as it is possible to quickly and painlessly defeat prostatitis only with timely treatment.

Why is the prostate inflamed?

In fact, there are only 2 main reasons:

1. Infection. Most often, prostatitis develops precisely because of infection in the prostate. Infection can occur through the bladder, urethra, rectum, blood and lymph. It turns out that often prostatitis itself is a complication of an existing disease. So never self-medicate, you must first cure the source of the infection. Cystitis, pyelonephritis, urethritis, STDs (sexually transmitted infections) - this is understandable, they are directly related to the prostate. Even untreated tonsillitis, sinusitis, flu, cavities can also come back to haunt prostate inflammation.
2. Circulatory disorders. This can be due to structural features and spasms of the urethra, disturbances of nerve conduction and the work of the muscles of the abdomen and pelvis, and also due to external factors.

However, whether or not prostatitis develops depends, in the first place, on predisposing factors:

• Chaotic sex life. The abundance of sexual partners, especially unprotected contacts - this depletes the immune system, which must constantly face foreign microflora in female secretions. And sooner or later it fails.
• Long abstinence. This is the other extreme. Lack of sex has a bad effect on a man's general condition and especially on his prostate. Its secret stagnates, blood circulation is disturbed, an infection develops.
• Masturbation. It turns out that men try to escape the lack of sex through masturbation. However, this causes a decrease in the tone of the prostate, making it lethargic. It is even isolated in a separate type of prostatitis - congestive.
• Overweight. In overweight men, the load on Organs pelvic organs increases greatly, as well as on the entire body in general. The blood supply is disturbed, because of this, prostatitis and hemorrhoids, and a number of other diseases occur.
• Hypothermia. "Don't be out in the cold", they say to all the girls. However, this also applies to men. At risk are lovers of extreme winter entertainment, avid fishermen, owners of vintage cars (oh, how often I see men lying on cardboard under their car in winter), even passengers on icy trains, as well as fashionistas with rolled-up pants and no hats. . Oh yes, and urinating outside in the winter also has serious consequences.
• Inactivity. Basically, this applies to workflow, when you have to sit in one place for a long time: drivers, office workers. It is especially harmful to cross your legs, as the load on the prostate only increases.
• Stress. Psychological problems, chronic lack of sleep, an overworked work schedule are favorites for infections.
• Restricting the urge to urinate. Is the 5 minutes saved in a busy workflow worth the potential problems?
• Bad habits. Well, where without them? Abuse of alcohol and nicotine that only violate.
• Wrong nutrition. Fatty, spicy and salty foods are a magnet for diseases of Organs pelvic organs.
• background diseases. Any untreated infectious diseases can be complicated by prostatitis.
• Tight underwear. As well as "fashionable" excessively tight pants. They tighten the small pelvis, interrupt blood circulation, cause swelling and inflammation.
• Physical overload. Professional athletes, porters, active gym visitors are at great risk.
• Self-treatment. Sometimes men are ashamed to admit their problems even to a doctor, they try to crush the disease with various folk remedies, proven and not so good. However, it turns out that without drugs prescribed by a competent doctor, one cannot cope here.

How is the disease diagnosed?

Diagnosis is established by a urologist or andrologistafter examining the patient, collect a history and study the symptoms. The doctor needs to find out the patient's contraceptive method, the presence of STDs in the sexual partner, the possibility of anal intercourse without a condom. This data facilitates diagnosis and guides the physician's thinking in the right direction. Prescribing the onset of disease symptoms or discomfort in the perineum allows judging the course of prostatitis and its severity. The urologist necessarily examines the patient's genitals and performs a rectal examination of the prostate. To do this, he inserts a finger into the patient's anus and feels the anterior wall of the prostate protruding from the rectum. The pain and its size indicate the intensity of the inflammatory process.

Then the doctor performs a series of instrumental, microscopic, bacteriological and immunological studies to clarify the cause of the disease. The most common diagnostic method is a 4- or 3-glass urine sample. The first method is more time-consuming and difficult to implement in practice, as it requires the patient to deliberately interrupt urination several times. The second modification is simpler: the patient urinates continuously in three different containers in equal portions. The first part talks about the state of the urinary tract, the second about the pathology of the bladder and kidneys, from the third they receive information about the state of the prostate. All material collected is examined under a microscope. With prostatitis, white blood cells and sometimes bacteria are found in the third portion of the urine.

For microscopy, the secret of the prostate is also taken.To do this, the doctor massages the prostate through the wall of the rectum for a while so that it is emptied into the urethra. Smears are made from material collected in the laboratory, stained and studied at high magnification. A sign of inflammation is leukocytes, a bacterial etiology of the disease is bacteria on a smear. To determine the type of pathogen, the prostate secret is sown in nutrient medium. If there are pathogenic microorganisms, after 3-5 days they form microbial colonies, which can be studied. The bacteriological method makes it possible to obtain data on the sensitivity of the microflora to antibiotics.

Of the instrumental diagnostic methods are performed:

• Kidney ultrasound;
• TRUS of the prostate with dopplerography - an ultrasound probe is inserted into the rectum for better visualization of the prostate, its blood flow is further evaluated;
• Ascending urethrography is required for persistent recurrent prostatitis. A radiopaque substance is injected into the urethra, after which a series of consecutive images are taken.

In addition to these methods, all types of STI research are of great importance. Among them are:

1. PCR ejaculation, prostate secretion, scraping of the urethral mucosa - the method allows you to detect a wide range of pathogens;
2. Blood ELISA - to detect specific antibodies to STI pathogens.

types of prostatitis

According to the 1995 American National Institute of Health (NIH USA) criteria, there are four categories of prostatitis:

• Category I: Acute prostatitis;
• Category II: Chronic bacterial prostatitis;
• Category III: Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS);
• Category IIIa: Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome with signs of inflammation;
• Category IIIb: Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome without signs of inflammation;
• Category IV: Asymptomatic (asymptomatic) chronic prostatitis.

Occasionally, chronic granulomatous prostatitis also occurs, not mentioned in this classification.

In turn, most experts distinguish between:

According to the course of the disease:

• acute prostatitis;
• chronic prostatitis;

Depending on the causes of the disease:

• bacterial prostatitis;
• non-bacterial prostatitis

In most cases (especially in men under 40 years of age), bacterial prostatitis is observed.

Based on that, there are:

• acute bacterial prostatitis;
• chronic bacterial prostatitis;
• chronic abacterial prostatitis.

Prevention

To prevent the occurrence of inflammation or recurrence of chronic pathology, you should follow these recommendations:

• Reduce the amount of alcohol consumed;
• Practice sports regularly;
• Avoid hypothermia;
• Stop smoking;
• Avoid stressful situations;
• Treat inflammation in time - first of all, this applies to genital infections;
• Take a contrast bath;
• Avoid lifting heavy objects;
• Use barrier contraceptive methods;
• Have sex regularly;
• Take vitamin preparations;
• Get involved in strengthening immunity;
• Visit a urologist twice a year;
• Eat right and balanced.

Purpose of the prostate in the male body: what is it responsible for?

The prostate is an exocrine gland in the male body.

Iron belongs to the reproductive system and is responsible for the production of several specific substances:

• the main one is the secret (prostatic juice), which provides the necessary viscosity of the ejaculate and, consequently, the normal motility of the sperm. When the sperm is very thick, fertilization is difficult, and a woman simply cannot become pregnant with an apparently healthy man;
• other components maintain the normal composition of sperm. These include biologically active substances, immunoglobulins, enzymes, vitamins, microelements, etc. The norms of these substances are individual, and it is the prostate that regulates their content.

Thus, she is responsible for a man's reproductive abilities, the opportunity to have a regular and full sex life and to have children. This is the main function of the gland, but there are others, no less important.