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 bodies, it develops during fetal development and persists throughout life. The prostate is a gland of external secretion, that is, it develops its secret and makes it emerge.
Due to its location, it is not externally visible, because. located in the pelvis in men. It is a rounded formation, which is located under the bladder and at the same time is located in the vicinity of the muscles of the pelvic floor, rectum, ureters, urethra and the 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 a lot of proteins, amino acids, etc.
Unfortunately, both men themselves and doctors pay little attention to the prostate.
So what is chronic prostatitis prostatitis specifically
This is an inflammatory disease of the prostate gland. 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 appearance of the disease, but it will exist for a long time and remain untreated, so it will lead to severe morphological and functional disorders.
Chronic prostatitis usually develops at least three months after acute inflammation of the prostate gland.
As a result of this inflammation, the morphology of the cellular composition is disturbed and the functions of the prostate are also affected.Epidemiology
This disease is one of the most common inflammatory diseases among men. The disease is quite young, that is, males of various age categories are subject to it. If prostate adenoma occurs more often in old age, chronic prostatitis can appear in men and by the age of 20. The average age at which symptoms of this disease are detected is 40-50 years.
With old age, almost all men suffered from this disease, but many of them could not even cure it and not go to the doctor complaining about the appearance of certain symptoms.
At the same time, in chronic prostatitis, the symptoms may not reveal themselves immediately, and a man may turn to other problems that are more serious in his opinion. And only before the treatment of another disease, the initial cause is revealed. If the wrong treatment was carried out in the case of acute inflammation, chronic prostatitis is inevitable.
Causes of chronic prostatitis
First of all, when 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. Microbial infection can be non-specific or carry a specific pathogen. Specific agents include sexually transmitted infections. And since many of these infections can be completely asymptomatic in humans, they can persist in the body for a long time. Even the most seemingly 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 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 huge role in the development of prostate inflammation for a man.
Among the most common causative agents of inflammation are the following: chlamydia, trichomonads, gonococci, gardnerella, E. coli, staphylococcus and enterococcus.
Do not forget about the likelihood of the participation of viruses and fungi
In this case, the pathogen enters the body ascendingly, i. e. through the urethra.
In addition, there is another important way of penetration of an infectious agent - hematogen. 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, the blood supply is disturbed, and the blood perfusion of the organ also slows down.
Interrupted sexual intercourse, incomplete expulsion of sperm leads to stagnation of secretions in the organ, just as a crowded and enlarged 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 also not excluded. Chronic somatic infection should also be excluded.
Symptoms and treatment of chronic prostatitis
The symptoms of chronic prostatitis in many men may not be present at all. Some even cannot name exactly one or the other predisposing factor. However, there are many symptoms of this disease. The most popular of these is pain. The 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, inguinal regions. But they are by no means spot on. Most often 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 the later stages it comes much later, even when exposed to all predisposing factors.
But with chronic prostatitis there is never complete impotence. So does ejaculation. At first it can occur much faster than expected, and at a later stage, on the contrary, it slows down, almost to complete cessation. Orgasm becomes less vivid and emotionally expressed. Sometimes sexual problems can affect the partner. A very common cause after which men are diagnosed with chronic prostatitis is infertility.
Also quite often men can have problems with urination. Goes fast, sometimes remembers the signs of cystitis. The imperative need to urinate can disturb 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 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 testing.
Usually, the minimal examination is limited to medical history, laboratory tests, and digital rectal examination. Digital rectal examination does not require 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 needed, in this case it has some features. A man has to pass the last portion of urine, the so-called terminal, in which the laboratory assistant has to determine the number of leukocytes and the presence of bacterial cells. In some cases, the pathogen is not found and you need to be tested for sexually transmitted infections.
They also take a stain from the urethra. Another very important in the diagnostic plan is ultrasound. It is performed 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 required.
In order to rule out cancer, a man may be sent for the determination of a tumor marker of prostate cancer in the blood. It is called PSA. But you need to take it no earlier than 10 days after the digital rectal exam.
Treatment of chronic prostatitis
The earlier 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 should be treated by a qualified specialist.
Treatment of this pathology is carried out by a urologist. Usually, treatment does not require hospitalization. Treatment of all existing chronic diseases is necessary.
First of all, you should start with a lifestyle change. It is necessary to exclude casual sexual intercourse, diseases of the partner.
It is necessary to follow the rules of personal hygiene. Rinse the glans thoroughly to prevent the accumulation of bacteria under the foreskin. Sex life should be regular, with complete ejaculation. Interrupted coitus should be avoided.
Also, physical activity should be increased. Move more often to prevent blood pooling in the pelvis and prostate.
Nutrition should also be regulated. Try to avoid using fast food, spicy, smoked and salty. Desserts should also be limited. Alcohol and drugs should be avoided altogether. Men should also quit smoking.
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. Its choice mainly depends on the pathogen detected during the diagnosis. It is better if they immediately take the determination of the sensitivity of the microorganism to antibacterial agents.
So 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 are anti-inflammatory drugs. This is usually a class of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. Usually vasodilators are also very necessary, they are used to improve the blood supply to the pelvic organs, restore microcirculation. They prevent congestion.
Another class of agents used are immunomodulators. Vitamin therapy should also be included in the complex treatment.
Surgical methods are rarely used, 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 treat complications that have appeared surgically. This can be the removal of a cyst or the opening of an abscess.
Treatment of chronic prostatitis also includes various physiotherapies. In order for a disease such as chronic prostatitis to have a favorable prognosis, the identified disease must be treated immediately. The effectiveness of the treatment should be monitored by a specialist after some time.