Before considering the symptoms of prostatitis, it is necessary to recall that the purpose of this article is not to create guidelines for self-treatment. Knowing the first signs of prostatitis will help men see a doctor in time, start competent therapy and avoid serious consequences.
Inflammation of the prostate gland is one of the most common male diseases. 30% of young men are familiar with its manifestations, and by old age it affects up to 80% of the male population.
Prostatitis – how it happens
For many, inflammation is associated with the obligatory presence of an infectious agent: bacteria, viruses, fungi. With the problem at hand, this is not always the case.
Prostatitis in men is distinguished:
- spicy;
- chronic (CP).
In acute prostatitis, the starting point is infection:
- venereal (gonorrhea, trichomoniasis);
- STDs (chlamydia, ureaplasmosis);
- banal microbial flora;
- viral;
- fungal.
HP is primary and secondary.
Primary
occurs without the presence of infection. The reason for its appearance is the stagnation of the secret secreted by the prostate gland. It gradually accumulates in the ducts, stagnation gradually joins in the venous and lymphatic vessels. Contribute to stagnation:
- hypodynamia and sedentary work;
- too infrequent / too frequent sex;
- chronic fatigue syndrome and chronic stress;
- alcohol and smoking.
Secondary
chronic prostatitis is the sad result of an undertreated acute process. It proceeds in several stages. The remission stage is characterized by mild symptoms. The stage of exacerbation is provoked by:
- hypothermia;
- malnutrition;
- alcohol;
- infection that has joined from chronic foci (caries, chronic sinusitis, etc.)
In the latter case, CP from abacterial becomes bacterial.
Acute prostatitis
seen in 4 forms:
- catarrhal;
- follicular;
- parenchymal;
- abscessing .
Each of the stages and forms has its own distinctive features.
Stages of acute prostatitis
- The initial catarrhal stage is accompanied by a feeling of heaviness, discomfort, mild pain in the perineum and lower abdomen. The man urinates frequently, gets up to use the toilet at night, does it with pain.
- General well-being suffers slightly, subfebrile temperature is possible.
- The inflammatory process is still limited to the walls of the ducts of the prostate gland, swelling increases there, and this leads to a delay in the outflow of its secret.
- This stage has the best prognosis. It will take about 10 days to treat the disease. The outcome is recovery.
Symptoms in the absence of treatment for inflammation of the prostate increase, the disease progresses to the follicular stage, purulent foci appear in the parenchyma lobules.
The first stage of the acute course of prostatitis
- General health worsens, the temperature rises to 38.
- Dull whining from the perineum gives to the penis, scrotum, lower back, sacrum.
- It hurts to urinate so much that it reflexively causes urinary retention.
- Not only the act of urination is difficult, the pain torments during defecation.
- Treatment at this stage is longer, its effectiveness increases when the pathogen and antibiogram are determined .
When an increasing number of lobules and interstitial tissue are involved in
the purulent-inflammatory process, the next stage begins – parenchymal. It is
manifested by a severe general condition with symptoms of intoxication:
- malaise;
- nausea, vomiting;
- temperature up to 39.5;
- headaches and dizziness;
- drowsiness;
- chills;
- refuses to eat, but drinks a lot;
- intoxication dyspepsia;
- ache in the joints.
The pain syndrome is pronounced. Lower abdomen, lower back, sacrum, perineum, scrotum, penis, inner thighs, rectum – throbbing pain everywhere.
- The patient is in a forced position. He lies on his side with his legs tucked up to his stomach.
- Natural departures are accompanied by excruciating pains.
- Frequent early urination is replaced by the inability to urinate.
- Painful urge to defecate accompanied by constipation.
Reactive proctitis develops, mucus is observed from the rectum. The outcome suggests 3 options:
- recovery;
- abscess ;
- process timing .
As a result of the connection of several festering acini , an abscess of the prostate gland is formed. This abscess tends to break into the nearest organs and tissues.
Abscess formation is a symptom of advanced acute prostatitis. It involves surgical treatment in the urology department in combination with drug therapy and a long period of rehabilitation.
The most likely outcome is the development of chronic prostatitis in a man. Signs of acute prostatitis in men are such that it is difficult not to pay attention to them.
The main conclusion that men must draw is that you do not miss the initial symptoms in order to get a chance to be cured of it forever. The transition to a chronic form deprives the possibility of a complete cure.
Signs of the transition of prostatitis into a chronic form
If a man with signs of acute prostatitis is observed by a urologist or andrologist, he will determine the condition of the gland at the end of the course of treatment and inform the patient of the result. A man does not have to guess whether he is cured or not.
If a man made a choice in favor of self-treatment
- draws information about the methods and means of therapy on the forums of comrades in misfortune;
- on numerous sites that openly defame doctors, attribute to them the desire to hide unusual prostatitis medicines that cure for one, two, three;
- believes in advertising opinion and non-existent advice from well-known people in the country,
then recommendations will be useful for him – how to find out about the transition of untreated prostatitis into a chronic form. We will talk about secondary chronic prostatitis.
What is secondary chronic inflammation of the prostate?
After completing a course of self-treatment, drinking fashionable antibiotics, super dietary supplements, pleasuring the rectum with the most effective suppositories, our patient feels with satisfaction that the signs of prostatitis have disappeared:
- pain in the perineum and no discomfort;
- urinates easily and painlessly;
- potential is good.
So it may take a year or more.
Just a few days after the last picnic: beer, vodka, pork skewers , swimming in the river, though the water was cold, our patient noticed familiar symptoms:
- Unpleasantly aching in the crotch (had been driving for a long time, if this business trip was wrong).
- Which night does not get enough sleep, runs to the toilet (it is necessary to stop these evening tea parties).
- Urinated with some difficulty and an unpleasant burning sensation in the urethra (in vain did not put on a condom yesterday).
Self-justifications are found quickly. Do not want to believe that the problem starts again?
The first sign of protracted prostatitis
One of the common signs of prostatitis is a violation of the act of urination:
- urges are quickened;
- night calls;
- the jet is intermittent;
- burning during urination;
- no feeling of satisfaction with urination.
Problems with urination are the first and main symptom of the disease!
What is the right thing for a man to do ?
- The very first basic action is to immediately make an appointment with a urologist.
- Pass the inspection and all the prescribed examinations.
- At repeated admission, get a verdict from the doctor about the presence of chronic prostatitis and detailed recommendations.
- Start a course of complex therapy.
- Change your lifestyle, normalize nutrition, give up bad habits, sanitize foci of chronic infection, include physical exercises and sports in your daily routine.
What actions are wrong ?
- Continue self-treatment of prostatitis – after all, it helped for the first time.
- Do not do an ultrasound of the prostate to assess the condition of the gland.
- Continue to smoke, consume alcohol in significant doses, do not change anything in nutrition and physical activity, preferring computer games to walking and sports.
Planning the state of his future male health is no secret.
The prospects are :
- remissions will be shorter, the prostate will become inflamed and hurt more often ;
- in bed, he will look bad due to developing erectile dysfunction;
- there will be a problem of procreation (infertility);
- diseases of the urinary tract (cystitis, urethritis, pyelonephritis) will join;
- frequent companion will be increased sweating (a symptom of autonomic disorders), especially perineal hyperhidrosis;
- incontinence and incontinence ( incontinence ) will coexist with bouts of acute urinary retention;
- appearing blood in the semen will indicate calcifications ;
- constipation will cause hemorrhoids;
- cysts may appear;
- in old age, the appearance of an adenoma (growth of the gland) is real, which creates the conditions for its transition to cancer.
Not very good prospects? Then read on.
How the patient is examined
Classic examination standards:
- digital examination of the prostate (difficult with an abscess);
- microscopy of the discharged urethra, PCR;
- bakposev on flora and antibiogram ;
- study of prostate juice;
- Ultrasound ( transrectal , with an abscess it is impossible because of pain, transabdominal is done );
- clinical blood and urine tests;
- CT, MRI.
About the relationship between prostatitis and thyroid disease
in the medical literature there are such messages:
- In patients with primary chronic prostatitis, a decrease in the volume of the thyroid gland was found.
- Description of the size of the thyroid gland during ultrasound performed in persons with chronic prostatitis revealed hypoplasia. The thyroid gland corresponded to the volume of the gland of a teenager at the beginning of puberty.
These studies need further study. Perhaps a new category of risk in the development of primary chronic prostatitis will be established.
Principles of treatment in the acute stage
A feature of the treatment of inflammation in the acute period is the prohibition of finger massage of the prostate and some physiotherapy techniques.
Treatment is prescribed by a doctor, taking into account the type of acute inflammation. In cases of aggravation of the course of the disease, the volume of drugs increases.
In the catarrhal and follicular process, doctors recommend:
- broad-spectrum antibiotics, further down the antibiogram ;
- immunocorrectors ;
- enzyme therapy ;
- rectal anti-inflammatory and analgesic suppositories;
- oral painkillers.
In case of serious suppurative processes accompanied by intoxication, infusion therapy is carried out, antibiotics are administered intravenously.
At the stage of convalescence (recovery), physiotherapy is prescribed.
Alternative methods of treatment, the organization of proper nutrition, exercise therapy (squats are the most effective) help to speed up rehabilitation.
Conclusion
Acute prostatitis can be avoided, and if this fails, then it can be completely cured in the early stages without negative consequences. Do not start the disease, do not postpone the visit to the doctor for “later” when signs of the disease appear. This is the key to a successful and quick recovery.