The dangers of smoking are well understood. Smoking and prostatitis, at first glance, seem to be a completely harmless combination, but in fact this is far from the case. Men who smoke are 2 times more likely to visit doctors with prostate diseases. This also applies to men under 55 years of age.
The number of cigarettes per day and the duration of the smoker’s experience are also important. The more and longer – the more likely the onset of the disease, the more difficult it is.
Quitting smoking with prostate adenoma or prostatitis is recommended for all patients without exception, not only in order to alleviate the course of the disease, but also because it directly counteracts the ongoing treatment, making it difficult.
Types of disease, symptoms, course
There are two main types of prostatitis: acute, caused by infection, and chronic. The latter may be bacterial or non-bacterial. Chronic bacterial has periods of exacerbation and remission, when the patient is almost not bothered by anything.
Symptoms are far from always noticeable immediately, they develop gradually: impaired urination, difficulty, discharge, feeling of heaviness, frequent urges, pain in the organs of the genitourinary system, pain in the lower abdomen when needed.
Smoking both provokes the disease and exacerbates its course. It is harmful at any stage.
The effect of nicotine on prostate health
Nicotine, other 5000 substances contained in tobacco smoke do not target the prostate gland. Their impact is complex, indirect – by affecting the work of the hormonal, circulatory, immune, nervous systems, they put the body in unfavorable conditions. This is aggravated by the fact that the pelvic area is especially sensitive to these failures.
Vessels and circulation
Nicotine constricts blood vessels, causes their spasms, increases blood pressure, and impedes the outflow of venous blood. This always leads to congestion in the area of the organ, whether it is the prostate gland, leg or anus. A decrease in the quality of nutrition of an organ negatively affects all its functions.
Changing the sexual constitution
Of all the substances in cigarette smoke, about 60 are capable of causing impotence. What happens in the body of a smoker? Vessels constrict, blood flow becomes more difficult, adrenal glands secrete more adrenaline, which can lead to vasospasm – this leads to a noticeable decrease in the quality of potency, it changes in all respects: attraction, desire, duration of sexual intercourse, frequency, strength of erection.
Reproductive function suffers – the secretion of androgens, hormones that are responsible for sexual desire, and sperm activity decrease. By nature, potency is provided for reproduction in the first place. The probability of sexual intercourse and its successful completion with the birth of a child decreases, its quality decreases.
If you smoke 1 pack of cigarettes a day, the likelihood of impotence increases by 60%. The ability of sperm to be fertilized in smokers is 75% lower than in non-smokers. Indicators of the sexual constitution suffer: the frequency of sexual activity, the average duration of sexual intercourse, satisfaction from sex. Non-smoking 45-year-old men have sex twice as often and last about the same number of times longer.
Fact! If you refrain from smoking cigarettes for at least 5-7 hours before sexual intercourse, you can expect an increase in potency.
Hormonal disorders
Tobacco smoke contains not only nicotine, but also a lot of carcinogens. They suppress the function of the testicles, reducing the production of the main male hormone – testosterone. At the same time, more female hormones, estrogen, are produced. Imbalance negatively affects the work of the prostate: its tone decreases, stagnant processes develop or worsen, cells grow. The longer the negative impact of nicotine and carcinogens on the hormonal background, the higher the likelihood of developing inflammation or the appearance of malignant tumors.
Stone formation
Stones in the prostate – this complication of chronic prostatitis occurs in 70% of patients. Prolonged stagnation in the organ leads to the fact that calcium and phosphate salts accumulate around the so-called amyloid bodies, which are secreted by the prostate during its thickening. If, after the diagnosis, the patient continues to smoke, the appearance of stones is more than likely.
Change at the cellular level
How do prostate cells change under the influence of tobacco? Tobacco smoke contains heavy metals that cause cellular mutations and, with regular exposure, tissue changes, including the prostate gland. Oncologists consider hormonal imbalances to be one of the most significant factors in the development of prostate cancer. The second is age and hereditary predisposition.
Smoking is not the most significant factor, so far there is only a weak relationship between the development of the disease and this bad habit. But it exists, it is impossible not to take it into account – cigarette smoke negatively affects the hormonal background, the state of the cells. Perhaps it will be the last straw that will provoke prostate cancer – a dangerous and difficult to diagnose disease, which among all types of cancer is in second place in terms of mortality.
Decreased immunity
Nicotine is a strong neurotoxin. It kills nerve cells, weakens the immune system. Cigarettes also contain other toxins: polonium-210, formaldehyde. The immune system has to fight daily against the poisonous effects of cigarette smoke. And this means that a person feels less and less the effect of smoking – he needs more and more significant doses.
The immune system fails, the body becomes more vulnerable to attack by various microorganisms. The genitourinary system is exposed to infections, as a result, inflammatory processes in the prostate gland can worsen.
How to reduce the impact of nicotine
There is only one answer – refuse. No filtered cigarettes are the solution. You can buy electronic cigarettes, they will help you get rid of a bad habit, compensating for lost sensations. But their benefits and harms cause a lot of controversy. In addition, you need to choose the right electronic cigarette, not all of them get rid of nicotine. Do not deceive yourself with half measures: the most reasonable thing is to give up a bad habit for good, find healthy substitutes for it.
Treatment of smokers
Smoking cessation is highly recommended for any disease of the prostate gland in men. Parting with a bad habit is desirable before treatment is started so that it can be as effective as possible .
Is it enough to just quit smoking?
Yes, indeed, in some cases, the symptoms of exacerbation disappear along with nicotine addiction. But this does not mean that other methods of treatment are not needed. Antibacterial drugs, lifestyle changes, diets (especially if stones are found), and a potency recovery program if she is seriously affected will be required.
Can I smoke with prostatitis? Do not ask doctors for permission. Anything is possible. However, you should be aware of the consequences of your actions. Yes, quitting smoking is not easy – but you need to understand that it will not be easy. The body is used to it. Modern doctors sometimes consider smoking not as a bad habit, but as a disease, addiction, akin to that which is formed with alcoholism.
Important! Experts say that when quitting smoking, the symptoms of withdrawal (withdrawal) last 2-3 weeks, discomfort will be felt for 2-3 months, and you can talk about getting rid of the habit only after 6 months without cigarettes.
In the reviews on the forums, there are sometimes complaints: I quit smoking, my prostatitis immediately worsened. It should be understood that the body and the disease in the later stages are a system. They have already adapted to each other. Having started treatment, improvement can not always be felt immediately, especially since refusal is very often difficult psychologically. This enhances the discomfort from any ailments.
Inflammation is, among other things, the body’s immune response to the activity of pathogenic bacteria. When you give up a bad habit, immunity increases, begins with a new force an attack on microorganisms. Consequently, in the first days after withdrawal, inflammation may increase.
The opinion of doctors about the relationship of addiction with men’s health
Doctors are tired of stressing that the connection is obvious. Once again: male sexual health is hormones and healthy blood vessels. Both are oppressed and stressed.
As explained by urologist Dmitry Stegantsev , carbon monoxide released from smoke disrupts the supply of oxygen to body tissues. Vessels experience stress, genitals – oxygen starvation. It leads to the formation of atherosclerotic plaques. The vessels of the male genital organ are thinner than the vessels of the heart, they are more prone to blockage. The vessels are clogged – the erection is broken.
Hormonal disruptions lead to a decrease in sexual desire and attraction. This, in turn, further weakens sexual power. Here you can draw an analogy with the muscles: if they are not trained, they become decrepit.
Healthy lifestyle as prevention
In addition to quitting smoking, you should introduce other easy, but useful habits.
- Regular physical activity. Active mobile lifestyle.
- From sports, give preference to those that activate blood circulation in the pelvic area. Less sitting, giving up cycling, horseback riding, go-karting.
- Intense frequent sex life, but with one healthy partner. Avoid random connections.
- Avoid hypothermia, colds, strengthen immunity. Colds can exacerbate the symptoms of prostatitis.
- Follow the principles of proper nutrition. Useful foods with a high content of zinc (beans, peas, cereals, nuts), exacerbates the symptoms of prostatitis acute, canned, smoked.
- Properly plan your life, so that most of the time the mood is even and positive. Avoid stress and overexertion.
All this is especially important, because it is almost impossible to notice the onset of the development of the disease. Many people deliberately do not pay attention to minor, quickly passing pain in the perineum, when urinating. Many men go to the doctor only when the pain worsens, becomes unbearable, it came to misfires in bed. And even more distrustful of the relationship between smoking and prostatitis.
Don’t underestimate this connection. A study conducted by Japanese scientists, based on observations of 100,000 smokers, clearly showed that 12-14 cigarettes daily per year leads to a decrease in the penis by 1 mm.
To understand what effect this habit can have on the vessels, it is worth familiarizing yourself with the fact from the biography of the Soviet football player Lev Yashin: tobacco addiction led to the fact that due to damage to the vessels of the leg, the limb had to be amputated.