Chronic prostatitis in men: symptoms, consequences, treatment

The problem of chronic prostatitis affects not only older men, but also young people who are just starting to have sex. Prostatic inflammation may manifest as mild burning and itching in the first few months, which patients do not take seriously. But when inflammation becomes part of daily life, it's no longer possible to ignore it. Exhaustion pain, fatigue, and reduced sexual activity are chronic symptoms of prostatitis.

What is chronic prostatitis?

Prostatitis is one of the most common genitourinary system diseases in middle-aged and elderly men. Treatment of chronic prostatitis involves minimizing symptoms and achieving a state where prostatitis does not affect reproductive function.Prostatitis is characterized by inflammation of the prostate: an important organ of the reproductive system located above the beginning of the urethra. When healthy, the prostate is responsible for producing a secretion that keeps sperm alive and creates an environment for them to survive until ejaculation. In chronic prostatitis, this function is impaired in an average of 70% of cases, which is why sperm become sluggish and nonviable to a large extent. Even if there are no other obvious problems with the reproductive system, the chances of successful fertilization are significantly reduced. Complex treatment is required.Chronic prostatitis develops in three forms:

• Chronic bacterial prostatitis.Pain symptoms either completely subside or suddenly return. Even at its peak, inflammation does not reach the intensity of acute prostatitis. Irritation of the prostate is caused by a third party - pathogenic bacteria. This type of prostatitis disappears without diagnosis and comprehensive treatment: for example, if a person suffers from a cold or seasonal illness at the same time as the inflammation. Antibiotics inhibit the activity of bacterial colonies and the disease subsides. But the next time your immune system fails, chronic prostatitis will return, and you'll have to get treatment.
• Chronic nonbacterial prostatitis.Research shows that chronic nonbacterial prostatitis remains one of the most common conditions in men under 50 years of age. The disease usually begins with a bacterial invasion: bacteria become active in the context of weakened immunity and are defeated. The result is a depletion of the body's resources, which is why inflammation returns in the future without bacterial involvement. Nonbacterial chronic prostatitis is characterized by long duration, short remission periods, and barely noticeable symptoms. Men with nonbacterial prostatitis may become convinced that the disease is getting worse. The burning sensation is more intense than in the bacterial form, since this disease does not allow you to relax and temporarily escape the pain. Treatment is minimally invasive. Nonbacterial advanced chronic prostatitis is treated in the surgeon's office.
• Chronic asymptomatic (no symptoms) prostatitis.This form of prostatitis is not painful for men, but it can be dangerous as a hidden threat. Asymptomatic prostatitis has no obvious symptoms. Prostatic burning, itching, moisture release, and other signs of inflammation do not occur. At the same time, the inflammatory process affects reproductive function, which is why men may think they are infertile. Chronic asymptomatic prostatitis can only be detected through laboratory diagnosis. Tests will show increased bacterial activity, which is associated with the development of prostatitis in men. Combined with the release of white blood cells during urination, this will aid in diagnosis. Please note: Annual preventive exams with your urologist may not be enough. Asymptomatic chronic prostatitis also has active phases, making it difficult to diagnose.
• Chronic granulomatous prostatitis.The rarest form of the disease occurs as a side effect of medications for other illnesses or long-term radiation. In this case, the inflammatory process is only a secondary symptom. The pain is associated with the progressive destruction of prostate tissue, which is replaced by connective tissue. Degeneration of this organ can cause prostate function to diminish until it ceases completely. If left untreated, the process becomes irreversible.

Although chronic prostatitis is essentially different from the acute form of the disease, due to complications it can transform into an acute phase, causing danger to the reproductive system. Severe pain and burning in the prostate, high temperatures, and decreased immunity are all signs that treatment of chronic prostatitis must be postponed. Call an ambulance or go to hospital. First, you need to stop the acute inflammatory process.

reason

The driving force for the development of chronic prostatitis is usually a combination of multiple factors, including physical condition, environment, and genetics. If acute prostatitis can be prevented, then the development of chronic prostatitis is not that simple. Men who are naturally predisposed to prostate disease may experience worsening of the condition without affecting men with better genetics.If you want to reduce your risk of chronic prostatitis, take more care of your health. Prostatitis is a disease that occurs when the body is weak. Common causes of chronic prostatitis include:

• Sexually transmitted infections.They directly affect the prostate or weaken the immune system, so that the slightest irritation can trigger an inflammatory process. The infection is sexually transmitted through unprotected contact. Carriers may not know they are infected: some infections occur only in men, although they are carried by women, and vice versa. The best preventive measure is hygienic contraceptives. Urologists recommend using condoms even during non-penetrative intercourse, such as during prostate stimulation.
• Passive lifestyle.Lack of physical activity can lead to chronic circulatory problems not only in the prostate, but also in the entire pelvic area. If you have to spend most of your day at a desk, don’t forget to stand up and stretch at least every 1-2 hours. Mild exercise, a walk in the office, or stretching will restore normal blood circulation. On the weekends, you can compensate for the workload of the work week with long walks or physical activities.
• Incomplete sexual intercourse, artificially prolonged sexual excitement, or prolonged abstinence.The male reproductive system needs to be drained regularly. This is how sperm are renewed, so that all organs are permanently prepared for the reproductive process. What happens if a man regularly delays or prevents himself from reaching orgasm? The body accumulates more sperm and by-products than it needs. The prostate is also affected: it produces unnecessary secretions that have nowhere to be directed. If this situation keeps repeating, the result may be chronic prostatitis.
• Periodic hypothermia.It is believed that complete freezing is good for men - it strengthens the body. In fact, men who get hypothermia while walking, riding a motorcycle, or skiing can overload their immune systems. The body has a harder time coping with bacterial activity, and the vulnerability of the prostate increases exponentially. In this case, it is easy to become a carrier of bacterial prostatitis and then transform into a non-bacterial or asymptomatic form.
• Chronic lack of sleep, depression, stress.Psychological factors combined with fatigue can weaken the immune system and predispose the body to a range of chronic diseases. Men who do not get enough rest at night or are stressed after work are 2-3 times more likely to suffer from prostatitis than men who sleep 8-10 hours a day and get enough rest with their families. In the early stages of the disease, it is important not to blame yourself and not to give in to pessimistic thoughts: they will only make the disease worse. See a doctor immediately - you will get rid of unpleasant symptoms, if not the disease itself.
• Disturbances in hormonal activity.In chronic prostatitis, the function of the prostate is impaired. Hormones are responsible for regulating the prostate and coordinating the functions of the secretory and reproductive systems. Even minor hormonal imbalances can cause inflammation. In this case, treatment of chronic prostatitis must be supplemented with hormonal therapy.
• Ignore personal hygiene rules. Caution: One application is enough for bacteria to settle on the tissue. You may not notice the consequences of years of not following your personal care rules, and your immune system protects your body from bacterial invasion. But one exacerbation of the seasonal disease is enough to introduce chronic prostatitis problems into a man's life for months.

The development of chronic prostatitis is often accompanied by a weakened immune system, poor diet, and a lack of vitamins and minerals in the body. Men who lead a healthy lifestyle have a lower risk of developing chronic prostatitis, even if they have a higher genetic predisposition.

How to treat chronic prostatitis in men and what to do

If you suspect chronic prostatitis, you must schedule a comprehensive examination with a urologist. In some cases, doctors will make a diagnosis during the first visit based on the nature of the disease and the patient's indications. If prostatitis has not manifested itself before, the urologist will prescribe diagnostic procedures: ultrasound of the prostate, urodynamic examination. Laboratory tests include analysis of urine, semen, urethral swabs, and prostate secretions.After a clear diagnosis, the doctor will formulate a course of treatment. There is no single correct way to treat chronic prostatitis. The method is selected based on the individual characteristics of the type of chronic prostatitis, medical history and course of the disease.

medical treatement

Used for home treatment in most cases; if prostatitis is accompanied by an acute exacerbation, the man may be admitted to the hospital. For bacterial prostatitis, antibiotics are chosen based on the bacterial groups identified during laboratory testing. Penicillins and fluoroquinolones remain the most commonly used antibacterial drugs for the treatment of bacterial chronic prostatitis.For any form of chronic prostatitis, medications from the alpha-blocker class are needed. They relieve swelling and eliminate the pressure and unpleasant itching caused by prostatitis. These drugs also have a powerful analgesic effect: patients no longer suffer from pain and burning sensations, physical activity and night's rest normalize. Prostatitis occurs without pain or physical exhaustion.When chronic prostatitis becomes acute, strong nonsteroidal medications are needed. They act directly on the inflammatory process and relieve symptoms, but do not treat the underlying cause of the disease.

Surgical methods

In recent years, it has become less common for doctors to admit men with symptoms of chronic prostatitis in surgeons' offices. The reason is the mixed effect of the surgical procedure and long recovery period. The prostatitis stopped, but the patient developed side effects such as impotence. At the same time, for some forms of chronic prostatitis, surgical intervention is essential.Transurethral resection (TUR) of the prostate is the partial or complete removal of prostate tissue to relieve pressure on the urinary system. By partial resection, the prostate retains all functions, while the inflammatory process disappears irreversibly and prostatitis does not recur. Regardless of the degree of inflammation, the surgery is performed without laparotomy. The resectoscope targets the inflamed organ without affecting other pelvic organs.Adenomaectomy is the "open" removal of glands for the treatment of prostatitis, also known as prostatectomy. The severe inflammatory process makes it impossible to reach the inflamed gland without opening it. In this case, traditional surgical instruments are used to completely remove the prostate. This is an extreme measure and should only be used when other treatments are unavailable and dangerous to the body. After a long period of rehabilitation, the man returned to a normal lifestyle with unlimited physical activity. Adenoma removal always ends in complete impotence. Prostatitis will never come back.

Minimally invasive treatment methods

In modern medicine, there are many ways to treat chronic prostatitis that does not require surgical intervention. New techniques have been proven to be more effective than traditional surgeries and are therefore used everywhere. Official medicine recognizes the following treatments:

• Exposure to ultrasound.Prostatitis only affects the prostate, so UV treatment focuses the radiation on that organ. Regular treatments can reduce symptoms, reduce swelling and pain. The procedure is painless, causes no irritation and is harmless to the genitourinary system.
• heat treatment.Prostatitis and its manifestations can be reduced to "none" through microwave heat therapy. The high temperature acts directly on the prostate, causing it to shrink. This method is not used if prostatitis has entered the acute stage: in this case, heating will worsen the condition.
• Freezing damage.Painless partial removal of inflamed glandular tissue using liquid nitrogen with minimal recovery time. If antimicrobial treatment is combined with strengthening the immune system, chronic prostatitis disappears completely. Reproductive function is not affected, and the possibility of recurrence of prostatitis is very small.
• Induction therapy.A combination of laser and magnetic fields can normalize blood circulation, trigger regenerative processes and relieve pain caused by inflammation. This technology has an auxiliary effect in prostatitis: induction therapy can increase the effectiveness of drugs by one and a half to two times, but without the use of drugs, it can only produce short-term effects.
• laser processing.If chronic prostatitis is associated with long-term exacerbation, laser treatment is indicated. The laser evaporates excess water, blocking the growth areas of tissue damage caused by prostatitis. The treatment has a stimulating effect: the body's cells are activated, natural defenses are awakened and tissue regeneration occurs.

One of the newer methods is mechanical expansion of the urethral wall. This method does not cure chronic prostatitis, but it helps its symptoms disappear almost completely. Reducing the contact area promotes faster healing and prevents the spread of lesions. To increase the space between the walls of the urethra, a catheter with an inflatable balloon (balloon dilatation) or a cylindrical polymer frame (stent) is inserted. Methods can be combined to achieve the desired results. This technique is not used if prostatitis has reached the acute stage.

How to treat

If you suspect prostatitis, you should first consult your doctor. Only on the basis of examination can the urologist confirm the chronic nature of the disease and formulate a treatment plan. The symptoms of prostate inflammation are similar to other conditions of the pelvic organs, so it should not be treated on your own.After diagnosis, follow your doctor's advice and get regular checkups with your urologist. Prostatitis can be treated with care and patience: do not neglect hygienic procedures during the acute phase of the disease, take medication hourly and the disease will subside.If prostatitis is causing severe pain, ask your doctor to recommend prostate massage or a private clinic that offers this service. Massage can enhance the effects of treatment. After your first session, you will notice that your prostatitis is less severe: the massage movements relax your pelvic organs, bringing relief and triggering the natural tissue recovery process. The chronic nature of prostatitis will be significantly reduced: signs of inflammation will no longer bother you as frequently.Men with prostatitis should abstain from traditional medications throughout their treatment. Decoctions, ointments, compresses and other folk remedies do not specifically treat prostatitis. They can relieve discomfort overnight or exacerbate the inflammatory process.The same applies to self-prescribed medications. Prostatitis is treated with medications chosen after comprehensive laboratory tests. Random treatment won't have the desired effect, even though it has helped hundreds of thousands of men with prostatitis - simply because you're in a different situation. The dosage, duration and even method of drug treatment for chronic prostatitis are chosen individually. If you are offered to buy a drug that can treat any form of prostatitis, regardless of its cause, you should know: It's a fake. Follow your doctor's advice and stay healthy!