The first signs of prostatitis in men can appear at a young age, and if quality medical care is not provided, the disease can turn into a latent (latent) form and continue with minor symptoms: discomfort during urination and intercourse, painin the medici lower back. If you do not pay attention to these symptoms, chronic prostatitis progresses, which is more difficult 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 turning into a severe recurrent form.
Causes of chronic prostatitis
Chronic prostatitis is the result of poor treatment of the acute inflammatory process. Men are often careless about their health or simply hesitate to turn to experts. As a result, the disease progresses.
A urologist treats the prostate professionally. They 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 do not know what causes chronic prostatitis, which is caused by certain infectious pathogens (E. coli, streptococci, staphylococci, fungi), and some factors are just a driving mechanism.
Predisposing factors
The causes of prostatitis are microbial agents: Pseudomonas aeruginosa, staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli. But the causes of chronic prostatitis can be related to the following predisposing factors:
- decreased immunity;
- hypothermia;
- injuries of genitourinary organs;
- stress;
- drinking alcohol and too much spicy food;
- congestion in the pelvic region;
- prison;
- smoking, chronic intoxication of the body with destructive substances;
- sedentary lifestyle;
- presence of foci of chronic infection;
- sexually transmitted diseases.
Men usually procrastinate with referrals to experts. The wife is often the initiator of 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 start giving complications.
Signs of disease
Signs of chronic prostatitis in men in remission are almost completely absent. The minor pain syndrome is persistent, but the discomfort is moderate. After hypothermia, prolonged abstinence, chronic prostatitis may worsen, the symptoms of which increase depending on the condition of the man.
Every time worsening occurs, the characteristic symptoms of chronic prostatitis appear in men:
- weight and pain in perineum;
- signs of intoxication;
- urination disorder;
- radiation pain to penis or anus;
- the prostate is asymmetrical and painful during palpation;
- anger, weakness, fever.
Characteristically, the pain intensifies at the beginning and end of urination. Unpleasant sensations are usually obtained on the rectum, sacrum and penis. The pain syndrome also appears after intimate contact, it is especially acute during the secretion of sperm. Urination during remission can be painless, but it is usually more frequent. At the same time, there are difficulties in starting the microphone.
The flow of urine becomes intermittent, there is a feeling of incomplete emptying of the bladder. In the morning, a burning sensation is felt in the urethra. Filamentous formations are often found in morning urine. This means that the inflammatory process is chronic.
Influence on sexual performance
Problems with male potency often occur in the background of a long-lasting course of the inflammatory process, which disrupts prostate function, reduces libido and can even cause infertility. With such complications, chronic prostatitis occurs - the causes of erectile dysfunction are often associated with a sluggish infectious and inflammatory process. Until the pathogens are removed, the effect of predisposing factors will not be eliminated and strength will not return.
Diagnosis of chronic prostatitis
A comprehensive diagnosis will help determine the course and causes of chronic prostatitis in men. First of all, experts prescribe a rectal examination of the prostate. During the procedure, the specialist determines the clarity of the contours and boundaries of the organs, the degree of pain. In the future, ultrasound is performed to identify certain functional and structural changes.TRUZI
Prostate ultrasound (TRUS) is a safe, informative method for visualizing the major structures of the prostate and adjacent urogenital organs. Studies are performed through the abdominal wall and transrectally - through the rectum. In case of difficulty urinating, the specialist additionally examines the bladder and determines the residual urine.
Ultrasound diagnostics allows you to choose the most effective treatment for chronic prostatitis in men, as well as to assess the effectiveness of already used methods. The absence of radiation exposure to the body allows the use of ultrasound as often as required by a particular clinical situation.
Examination of prostate secretions and ureteroscopy
Prostate secretion is collected after urination and gland massage. The study of biomaterials allows you to identify pathogenic microflora, determine the levels of leukocytes and the number of lecithin grains. The method allows to classify the nature of the pathological process, to understand the way in which a man should be treated and which drugs to use. The diagnosis is not accompanied by painful feelings, one can easily notice it.
In case of impaired urinary function, blood in the urine and erectile dysfunction, ureteroscopy is recommended. This procedure allows you to assess 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 distinguished from neurogenic bladder and other similar diseases that have similar symptoms. Specialists prescribe electromyography, urodynamic diagnostic methods. They allow qualitative differentiation of chronic inflammation from other diseases.
Chronic prostatitis often leads to hyperplastic processes, proliferation of glandular tissues, growth of adenomas and malignant neoplasms. In order to exclude the carcinogenic process, it is necessary to diagnose PSA. The method involves determining the levels of prostate-specific antigen, with an increase in which malignant cell growth may be suspected. To clarify the nature of the identified formations, a prostate biopsy should be performed, followed by a morphological study of the given material.
Possible complications
Chronic prostatitis significantly reduces a man's quality of life. Prolonged course 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. Constant inflammation changes the tissues of the prostate, contributes to their proliferation, hormonal abnormalities, early onset of menopause and the growth of adenomas.
The chronic course of the disease can lead to urinary incontinence, stones and cysts in the prostate. As the disease progresses, sclerosis of the prostate develops. This pathological condition is the final stage of prostate inflammation. The body accumulates collagen forming dense tissues. The urethra narrows, there are problems with potency. Such changes are characteristic of benign prostatic hyperplasia, which can lead to malignant cell growth and the formation of cancerous tumors at any time.
Treatment characteristics
Chronic prostatitis is not easy to cure. But recovery is possible or the transition of the pathology to a prolonged stage of remission. The effectiveness of medical procedures depends on the timeliness of seeking medical help.
The man must strictly adhere to the recommendations of the attending physician, avoid the action of predisposing factors: hypothermia, scrotal trauma, sexually transmitted diseases, the impact of stress. It is important to remember that even a banal viral infection can exacerbate the disease with the onset of severe pain and urinary tract disorders.
Drug Therapy
Bacterial prostatitis is treated with antibiotics. They are prescribed for a few weeks. To increase the comfort of the patient's life, nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs are used to combat the main acute symptoms. Adrenergic blockers are effective for restoring urodynamics, regular outflow of prostate secretions and relieving muscle tension in the gland. Paraprostatic blockade in combination with acupuncture effectively copes with even an intense pain syndrome.
If a man feels anxious about the background of a chronic inflammatory process, sedatives or tranquilizers may be used. But such drugs should be prescribed by qualified professionals who are well acquainted with the specific clinical case.
Physiotherapy
Physiotherapy uses medical electrophoresis, ultrasound treatment and magnetotherapy. Acupuncture is also used in combination with analgesic blockades. In addition, the use of therapeutic sitz baths, enemas and special instillations in the urethra is recommended. The application of drugs drop by drop is good for chronic inflammatory processes.
The technique ensures that a large amount of agent comes directly into the pathological focus. The high concentration of the drug remains for a long time. This allows you to deal effectively with the sluggish infectious process. The medicine must be kept for 30-40 minutes, limiting urination.
Surgical treatment
In case of inefficiency or impossibility to use conservative techniques and physiotherapy, it is necessary to perform surgical treatment. It is generally needed 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 internal organs that do not allow classical prostatectomy.
In case of repeated phimosis in the background of a chronic infectious process, therapeutic foreskin circumcision is recommended. The operation is performed according to the indications and only in the conditions of 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 accompanying disorders. Depending on medical prescriptions, the implementation of preventive measures, including the normalization of intimate activities and the prevention of sexually transmitted diseases, it is possible to reduce the number of relapses per year and translate the disease into a state of prolonged remission.