The most common urological disease in men is prostatitis, an inflammation of the prostate gland. The gland is located in close proximity to the urinary tract, and the disease often occurs due to infection - bacteria, viruses or protozoa. Prostatitis is usually bacterial and, like any inflammation, is accompanied by sharp pain. This is the first and main symptom of the disease. Treatment prescribed by a doctor will help relieve pain due to prostatitis, but while you wait for the doctor, you can use methods that do not require medical intervention.
Appearance and localization of pain
Pain sensations vary depending on how active the inflammatory process is.
- In acute prostatitis or an exacerbation of a chronic disease, the pain usually appears within a few hours. It is most often located in the perineum and may radiate to the head of the penis, the suprapubic area, the anus, or the lower back. The acute process is the cause of severe pain, which becomes more intense after urination or ejaculation. Urination can also be painful.
- In chronic prostatitis, painful pain often occurs, which intensifies especially in the morning or due to a long time in a sitting position.
- The patient experiences the most intense sensations with a prostate abscess or with advanced acute prostatitis. The pain is very strong, throbbing or shooting, sometimes accompanied by fever and temperature. This condition requires immediate medical attention.
What to do if there is pain
You don't have to sit and wait for the sensations to subside alone. Acute prostatitis requires qualified treatment by a doctor: the disease will not disappear on its own, and in the absence of therapy it can become chronic. Chronic prostatitis is more difficult to treat and sometimes recurs. Its exacerbations resemble the symptoms of acute prostatitis and are relieved by drugs prescribed by a urologist. Do not delay the visit to the doctor: the sooner you start the treatment, the faster you can get rid of the disease. But while you wait for an examination with a urologist, you can alleviate some of the unpleasant symptoms at home. This will not eliminate the cause of the disease - it will only improve the condition.
How to relieve prostatitis pain
If the pain is caused by an acute process, it will not be possible to get rid of it quickly and permanently until the cause of the disease is eliminated. But you can tone it down. Recommendations are given by the doctor, but in general they boil down to a healthy lifestyle, the absence of hypothermia and bad habits.
Walk if your condition allows. Chronic prostatitis, including chronic pelvic pain syndrome, according to some data, develops against the background of stagnation. If a person sits for a long time, the pressure on the prostate gland increases and congestion is formed in the pelvic area - this contributes to pain and worsening of the condition. Pain after long sitting disappears if a person walks, so patients without exacerbations are advised to maintain moderate physical activity and avoid stagnation. That is why patients are advised to undergo physical therapy and prostate massage - they improve microcirculation and prevent stagnation. If we are talking about an acute process, physical activity is contraindicated, especially with temperature and fever. In such cases, it is recommended, on the contrary, to stay in bed and if there are signs of sepsis such as high fever and body pain, seek emergency help.
Drink more water. Prostatitis is often accompanied by damage to the urinary tract: pathogens accumulate in the urethra and urethra. Urethritis develops, which only intensifies the symptoms: it is painful for the man to go to the toilet, he feels pain and burning, frequent urges, sometimes false or too intense. This condition also requires medication, but can be alleviated by drinking plenty of fluids and going to the bathroom frequently. During an illness, the body needs more water, and frequent urination helps flush bacteria from the urethra and reduce inflammation. During prostatitis, defecation can also be painful: drinking plenty of water will help soften the stool and ease the pain. For the same reason, doctors sometimes include laxatives in the treatment regimen, but they should not be used without the advice of a specialist.
Take painkillers. Before taking tests or visiting a doctor, analgesics should not be used: they can blur the clinical picture. But the doctor can prescribe pain relievers to make the patient feel better. Try not to use drugs without serious reasons. In the treatment of chronic pelvic pain syndrome, urologists sometimes prescribe anxiolytics - drugs that help relieve anxiety and depression that occur during long-term illness. You should not take such medicines without a doctor's prescription.
Test yourself. The urologist makes a diagnosis based on examinations, and if you have the opportunity and do not want to wait, do your own tests. To diagnose prostatitis, tests of urine and seminal fluid, not only microscopic, but also bacteriological, are necessary. It is better to carry out a bacteriological examination to determine the sensitivity of the pathogen to an expanded set of drugs - this will help the doctor to prescribe more accurate treatment. Give the results to your urologist at your appointment. He will decipher them and prescribe drug therapy in accordance with the results of the analysis.
What not to do during an acute process
Severe pain is usually associated with acute prostatitis or exacerbation of chronic prostatitis. In this state, the prostate is particularly vulnerable: even doctors are advised to handle patients with caution. The patient himself must observe certain restrictions. We'll tell you what you should never do to avoid inadvertently making your condition worse.
Self-administration of antibiotics. Do not take serious medicines without a doctor's prescription! In case of acute and chronic bacterial prostatitis, a treatment scheme is prescribed by a urologist. As a rule, it consists of antibiotics to which the pathogen is sensitive, most often fluoroquinolones - they penetrate the prostate tissue better than others. But prostatitis is a disease that requires a careful medical approach. The doctor determines both the duration of the treatment and the necessary dose to destroy the bacteria. It is difficult to determine such details yourself, without a medical education. Therefore, self-medication often leads to the fact that the bacteria do not disappear from the prostate, but become resistant to antibiotics. These forms of prostatitis are more difficult to treat and usually cause more anxiety.
Heat or cool the prostate. It may seem that heat and cold can soothe the pain, but in conditions of bacterial inflammation, they are, on the contrary, harmful. Heating an inflamed prostate increases blood circulation and helps bacteria multiply, thus only making the condition worse. Cooling weakens the local immunity and it fights the pathogen worse. In the treatment of chronic prostatitis, it is recommended to avoid hypothermia and overheating above body temperature. This applies even to periods between exacerbations, and during an acute process it is especially important to follow the rule.
Use physical therapy. Physiotherapy methods such as finger massage are used in the treatment of chronic prostatitis and chronic pelvic pain syndrome to prevent stagnation, but their use during an exacerbation is harmful and even dangerous. Acute pain is a contraindication for any interventions: they can only intensify it and worsen the patient's condition. And if an abscess is suspected, physiotherapy can lead to its breakthrough, which will seriously worsen the problems. It is better to turn to massage and other therapeutic methods under the supervision of a doctor after the condition stabilizes.
I drink alcohol. A person may think that alcohol will help him relieve the pain at home. But alcohol in acute inflammation is strictly contraindicated. Patients, on the contrary, are recommended to exclude from the diet all foods that irritate the urinary tract: spicy, fatty, salty. Dieting is much more effective in relieving pain, but alcohol will only do more harm.
Prevention of pain in prostatitis
Even if you have chronic prostatitis, you can reduce the number of exacerbations to a minimum. In remission, the disease hardly bothers the patient, the pain is usually associated with an exacerbation or a subacute process. For long-term remission, a number of recommendations should be followed.
Don't get too cold. Doctors advise to dress warmly in cold weather, not to stand for long in the cold and not to sit in the cold. Hypothermia leads to a decrease in local immunity, which can provoke an exacerbation.
Be physically active. A risk factor for the occurrence and exacerbation of prostatitis is congestion. People who lead an active lifestyle are less prone to stagnation. Chronic prostatitis is characterized by a weakening of muscle tone - physical activity will help prevent this result.
Get physical therapy and massage. Not all sources confirm the effectiveness of physiotherapy, but in some cases it can alleviate the condition of patients. Massage, like physical activity, is necessary to prevent stagnation. As a rule, a classic digital rectal massage is prescribed, but if the patient cannot constantly go to the doctor, he can use self-massage devices.
Stick to a diet. Drinking plenty of fluids and avoiding spicy and salty foods in the diet is a doctor's recommendation to alleviate the condition. It is recommended to get rid of bad habits.
Maintain sexual hygiene. Intimate hygiene, especially after intercourse, prevents bacteria from entering the urethra and ascending to the prostate. To prevent infections, do not neglect it and use barrier protection during intercourse.
Bottom row
Do not worry. Prostatitis pain is a very unpleasant phenomenon, but treatable. Remember that ways to reduce it at home will not eliminate the cause of the disease: do not forget to consult a doctor, get tested and start a course of treatment. Only qualified treatment will help you cope with the problem and return to a full life.