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 males have in their body, it develops during fetal development and persists throughout life. The prostate is a gland of external secretion, that is, it develops its secret and brings it to light.
Due to its location, it is not visible externally, because. located in the pelvis in men. It is a formation of a rounded shape, which is located under the bladder, and at the same time is in close proximity to the muscles of the pelvic floor, rectum, ureters, urethra, and vascular and nerve plexuses of the small pelvis. Since this organ is an exocrine gland, it is necessary to understand what functions it performs. First of all, it produces a secret, which is one of the important components of sperm in men. This secret contains many proteins, amino acids, etc.
Unfortunately, both men and doctors pay little attention to the prostate.
So what is chronic prostatitis prostatitis in particular
This is an inflammatory disease of the prostate. This inflammation can be acute or chronic.
No chronic disease begins spontaneously, it is always preceded by some degree of acute inflammation.
In some cases, a man may not notice the onset of the disease, but it will exist for a long time and will not be cured, and then it will lead to serious morphological and functional disorders.
Chronic prostatitis usually develops at least three months after the acute inflammation of the prostate gland.
As a result of this inflammation, the morphology of the cellular composition is altered and functions in the prostate also suffer.Epidemiology
This disease is one of the most common inflammatory diseases among men. The disease is quite young, that is, men of various age categories are subject to it. If prostate adenoma occurs more often in old age, then chronic prostatitis can appear in men and at the age of 20 years. The average age at which the symptoms of this disease are detected is 40-50 years.
In old age, almost all men suffered from this disease, but many of them could not even treat it and did not go to the doctor with complaints about the appearance of certain symptoms.
At the same time, in chronic prostatitis, the symptoms may not immediately reveal themselves, and a man may turn to other problems that, in his opinion, are more serious. And only before the treatment of another disease, the initial cause is revealed. If in case of acute inflammation an incorrect treatment was carried out, then chronic prostatitis is inevitable.
Causes of chronic prostatitis
First of all, 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 mainly infectious agents. Most often, the cause is microbial etiology. The microbial infection can be nonspecific or carry a specific pathogen. Specific agents include sexually transmitted infections. And since in men many of these infections can be completely asymptomatic, then they can persist in the body for a long time. Even the most apparently unexpressed chronic infection can lead to prostatitis.
The appearance of non-specific pathogens in the causative factors may be due to non-compliance with the rules of personal hygiene, rare washing of the glans penis both after urination and shortly after sexual intercourse.
In some cases, vaginal dysbiosis in a partner, or some of the woman's opportunistic pathogens, play a very important role in the development of prostate inflammation in a man.
Among the most common inflammation-causing agents are the following: chlamydia, trichomonas, gonococci, gardnerella, E. coli, staphylococci, and enterococci.
Do not forget about the probability of involvement of viruses and fungi.
In this case, the pathogen enters the body ascending, ie. through the urethra.
In addition, there is another important way of penetration of an infectious agent - hematogenous. Many men have some kind of inflammatory disease, sometimes the flu or SARS can also provoke an inflammatory process.
Hypothermia, reduced immunity, and even overheating against 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 reaction. In this case, prolonged sexual abstinence has a negative effect on the state of the gland, contributes to stagnation of blood in the pelvic organs, blood supply is disturbed, and blood perfusion of the organ is also slowed down.
Interrupted sexual intercourse, incomplete expulsion of sperm leads to stagnation of secretions in the organ, as well as an enlarged and overcrowded organ affects the blood supply processes and can even cause a slight swelling of the surrounding tissues. In rare cases, the disease is immunological in nature. The autoimmune factor is not excluded as well. Chronic somatic infection should also be excluded.
Symptoms and treatment of chronic prostatitis.
Symptoms of chronic prostatitis in many men may not be present at all. Some cannot even name exactly one or another predisposing factor. However, there are many symptoms of this disease. The most popular of these is pain. Pain syndrome can be quite long, sometimes it is months.
The pain is often not localized to a specific place. It usually has a diffuse character, with a tendency to radiate to the lower back, perineum, scrotum, and inguinal regions. But they are by no means spot on. Most of the time they pull and hurt, the pains are not permanent. They tend to increase or decrease depending on the state of the body and the influence of environmental factors.
Another important sign is violations in the sexual sphere. Men can often complain of erectile dysfunction, at first it can be almost unnoticeable and in later stages it comes much later, even when exposed to all predisposing factors.
But never with chronic prostatitis is there complete impotence. So does ejaculation. At first, it can happen much faster than planned, and at a later stage, on the contrary, it slows down, almost to the point of completely ceasing. The orgasm becomes less vivid and emotionally expressed. Sometimes problems related to the sexual sphere can affect the couple. A very common reason why men are diagnosed with chronic prostatitis is infertility.
Also very often men can experience problems with urination. It becomes rapid, sometimes reminiscent of signs of cystitis. The urge to urinate can bother a man at night. Sometimes they are accompanied by pain, cramps, etc. A man can detect the symptoms of chronic prostatitis on his own.
How to diagnose chronic prostatitis in time and start an immediate and effective treatment?
Usually it does not cause difficulties among specialists of this profile. When a man comes into contact with any symptoms, the doctor can make this diagnosis without further examination.
The minimum exam is usually limited to history taking, laboratory tests, and a digital rectal exam. The digital rectal exam requires no additional preparation for a man. The doctor can determine the size of the prostate, its consistency, pain in a particular area.
Laboratory indicators are not limited to a general blood test. Urinalysis is also necessary, in this case it has certain features. A man needs to pass 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 found and you have to be tested for sexually transmitted infections.
They also take a smear from the urethra. Another very important part of the diagnostic plan is ultrasound. It is carried out 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 necessary.
To exclude cancer, a man may be sent for determination of a prostate cancer tumor marker in the blood. It's called PSA. But he should take it no earlier than 10 days after the digital rectal exam.
Treatment of chronic prostatitis
The sooner treatment for chronic prostatitis is started, the more likely it is that the disease will come out of its chronic form. You should never resort to self-treatment, because prostatitis must be treated by a qualified specialist.
The treatment of this pathology is carried out by a urologist. Treatment usually does not require hospitalization. Treatment of all existing chronic diseases is required.
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 glans penis well to prevent bacteria buildup under the foreskin. Sex life should be regular, with full ejaculation. Coitus interruptus should be avoided.
In addition, physical activity should be increased. Move more often to prevent pooling of blood in the pelvis and prostate.
Nutrition must also be adjusted. Try to avoid the use of fast, spicy, smoked and salty foods. Sweets should also be limited. Alcohol and drugs should be completely avoided. Men should also stop smoking.
The treatment of prostatitis is also divided into medical and surgical. First of all, with chronic prostatitis, they begin to treat, of course, the cause. And since it is most often infectious, antibiotics are the main drug. Their choice depends primarily on the pathogen that was detected during diagnosis. It is best that they immediately take the determination of the sensitivity of the microorganism to antibacterial agents.
Then the treatment will be more effective and shorter. Antibiotics can be prescribed with various routes of administration. With an asymptomatic course of the process, tablet forms are usually prescribed. If there is an exacerbation of the chronic process, they resort to injection drugs. Treatment of chronic prostatitis can include several means at once.
An important component in complex treatment is anti-inflammatory drugs. This is usually a class of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Vasodilators are also often very necessary, they are used to improve the blood supply in the pelvic organs and restore microcirculation. They avoid congestion.
Another class of agents used are immunomodulators. Vitamin therapy should also be included in the complex treatment.
Surgical methods are rarely resorted to, but sometimes this is the only way out. Among these methods, resection of the prostate gland is used. In some cases, it is necessary to surgically treat the complications that have appeared. This may be the excision of a cyst or the opening of an abscess.
The treatment of chronic prostatitis also includes various physiotherapies. For a disease such as chronic prostatitis to have a favorable prognosis, the identified disease must be treated immediately. The effectiveness of the treatment must be supervised by a specialist after a while.