What is chronic prostatitis? First of all, you need to understand what the prostate is, it is also the prostate gland. This is an organ that only men have in their bodies, it develops during fetal development and lasts a lifetime. The prostate is a gland with external secretion, ie it unfolds its secret and reveals it.
Due to its location it is not visible externally, aslocated in the pelvis in men. It is a rounded formation that is located below the bladder and at the same time is located next to the muscles of the pelvic floor, rectum, ureters, urethra and vascular and nerve plexuses of the pelvis. Since this organ is an exocrine gland, it is necessary to understand what functions it performs. First of all, it produces secretion, which is one of the important components of sperm in men. This secret contains a lot of proteins, amino acids, etc.
Unfortunately, little attention is paid to the prostate by both men and doctors.
So, what is chronic prostatitis in particular
It is an inflammatory disease of the prostate gland. This inflammation can be both acute and chronic.
No chronic disease begins spontaneously; it is always preceded by a degree of acute inflammation.
In some cases, a person may not notice the onset of the disease, but it will last a long time and remain untreated, and then lead to serious morphological and functional disorders.
Chronic prostatitis usually develops at least three months after acute inflammation of the prostate gland.
As a result of this inflammation, the morphology of the cell composition is disturbed, and the functions in the prostate suffer.Epidemiology
This disease is one of the most common inflammatory diseases in men. The disease is quite young, ie they are affected by men of different ages. If prostate adenoma occurs more often in old age, then chronic prostatitis can occur in men as young as 20 years of age. The average age at which the symptoms of this disease are detected is 40-50 years.
Until old age, almost every man suffers from this disease, but many of them can not even treat it and not go to the doctor with complaints of certain symptoms.
At the same time, in chronic prostatitis, the symptoms may not be immediately apparent and the man may turn to other problems that he thinks are more serious. And only before the treatment of another disease is revealed the original cause. If improper treatment is given in case of acute inflammation, chronic prostatitis is inevitable.
Causes of chronic prostatitis
First of all, when identifying the cause of the development of inflammation in the prostate, it is necessary to determine the predisposing factors. There are many of them and they are very common in the modern world.
These are mostly infectious agents. The most common cause is microbial etiology. The microbial infection may be either nonspecific or carry a specific pathogen. Specific agents include sexually transmitted infections. And given that in men many of these infections can be completely asymptomatic, then they can persist in the body for a long time. Even the most mild chronic infection can lead to prostatitis.
The appearance of non-specific pathogens in the causative agents may be due to non-compliance with the rules of personal hygiene, infrequent washing of the glans penis both after urination and shortly after intercourse.
In some cases, vaginal dysbiosis in a partner or some of the woman's opportunistic pathogens play a huge role in the development of prostate inflammation in men.
Among the most common causes of inflammation are the following: chlamydia, trichomonads, gonococci, gardnerella, E. coli, staphylococci and enterococci.
Do not forget about the possibility of the participation of viruses and fungi
In this case, the pathogen enters the body in an ascending way, ie through the urethra.
In addition, there is another important way of penetration of an infectious agent - hematogenous. Many men have an inflammatory disease, sometimes the flu or SARS can also provoke an inflammatory process.
Hypothermia, reduced immunity and even overheating on the background of an infection already present in the body can also provoke the development of inflammation.
Sexual behavior also plays an important role in the development of the inflammatory response. In this case, prolonged sexual abstinence has a negative effect on the condition of the gland, contributes to stagnation of blood in the pelvic organs, disrupts blood supply and slows blood perfusion of the organ.
Interrupted intercourse, incomplete ejection of sperm leads to stagnation of secretions in the body, as well as crowded, enlarged organ affects the blood supply and may even cause mild swelling of the surrounding tissues. In rare cases, the disease is immunological in nature. Autoimmune factor is not excluded. Chronic somatic infection should also be ruled out.
Symptoms and treatment of chronic prostatitis
Symptoms of chronic prostatitis in many men may not be present at all. Some may not even be able to pinpoint one or another predisposing factor. However, there are many symptoms of this disease. The most popular of these is pain. The pain syndrome can be quite long, sometimes months.
The pain is often not localized. It is usually diffuse in nature, with a tendency to irradiate the lower back, perineum, scrotum, inguinal areas. But by no means are they in place. Most often they are pulling and aching, the pain is not constant. They tend to increase or decrease depending on the condition of the body and the influence of environmental factors.
Another important sign is sexual disorders. Men can often complain of erectile dysfunction, at first it may be almost invisible, and in the later stages it comes much later, even when exposed to all predisposing factors.
But with chronic prostatitis, there is never complete impotence. It's the same with ejaculation. In the beginning it can happen much faster than planned, but at a later stage, on the contrary, it slows down, almost to the point of complete cessation. Orgasm becomes less vivid and emotional. Sometimes sexual problems can affect a partner. A very common reason why men are diagnosed with chronic prostatitis is infertility.
Also, men can often have problems urinating. It happens quickly, sometimes reminiscent of signs of cystitis. The urge to urinate can bother a man at night. Sometimes they are accompanied by pain, cramps and more. The man can detect the symptoms of chronic prostatitis on his own.
How to diagnose chronic prostatitis in time and start immediate and effective treatment?
It usually does not create difficulties among specialists in this field. When a man is associated with any symptoms, the doctor can make this diagnosis without further examination.
The minimum examination is usually limited to a medical history, laboratory tests, and a digital rectal examination. Digital rectal examination does not require additional training for a man. The doctor can determine the size of the prostate, its consistency, pain in a particular area.
Laboratory parameters are not limited to a general blood test. Urine analysis is also necessary, in which case it has certain characteristics. One has to excrete the last portion of urine, the so-called terminal. In it, the laboratory assistant must determine the number of leukocytes and the presence of bacterial cells. In some cases, the pathogen is not detected and you should be tested for sexually transmitted infections.
They also take a smear from the urethra. Another very important diagnostic plan is ultrasound. It is performed through the rectum using a special sensor. The size of the gland, the presence of scars, tumors, edema, etc. are determined. It is also important to check the blood supply to the organ.
In some more severe and asymptomatic cases, an invasive biopsy procedure may be needed.
To rule out cancer, a man may be sent to determine a tumor marker for prostate cancer in the blood. It's called PSA. But you should take it no earlier than 10 days after the digital rectal examination.
Treatment of chronic prostatitis
The earlier the treatment of chronic prostatitis is started, the more likely the disease is to be removed from its chronic form. You should never resort to self-medication, because prostatitis should be treated by a qualified specialist.
The treatment of this pathology is performed by a urologist. Treatment usually does not require hospitalization. All existing chronic diseases need to be treated.
First of all, you need to start with a change in lifestyle. It is necessary to exclude casual sexual relations, diseases of the partner.
You must follow the rules of personal hygiene. Rinse the head of the penis thoroughly to prevent bacteria from accumulating under the foreskin. Sex life should be regular, with complete ejaculation. Interrupted sex should be avoided.
In addition, physical activity should be increased. Exercise more often to prevent blood stagnation in the pelvis and prostate.
Nutrition also needs to be adjusted. Try to avoid eating fast food, spicy, smoked and salty. Sweets should also be limited. Alcohol and drugs should be completely avoided. Men must also stop smoking.
The treatment of prostatitis is also divided into medical and surgical. In the first place, in chronic prostatitis, they begin to treat, of course, the cause. And because it is most often infectious, antibiotics are the main drug. His choice depends primarily on the pathogen that was discovered at the time of diagnosis. It is best to immediately determine the susceptibility of the microorganism to antibacterial agents.
Then the treatment will be more effective and shorter. Antibiotics can be prescribed in different ways. In the asymptomatic course of the process, tablet forms are usually prescribed. If there is an exacerbation of the chronic process, then they resort to injectable drugs. Treatment for chronic prostatitis may involve several agents at once.
An important component in the complex treatment are anti-inflammatory drugs. This is usually a class of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Vasodilators are usually also very necessary, they are used to improve blood supply to the pelvic organs, restore microcirculation. They prevent congestion.
Another class of agents used are immunomodulators. Vitamin therapy should also be included in the complex treatment.
Surgical methods are rarely used, but sometimes this is the only way out. Among these methods, prostate resection is used. In some cases, surgical treatment of the complications is required. This may be cutting out a cyst or opening an abscess.
The treatment of chronic prostatitis includes various physiotherapy procedures. In order to have a favorable prognosis for a disease such as chronic prostatitis, the identified disease must be treated immediately. After some time, the effectiveness of treatment should be monitored by a specialist.