It is generally accepted that after 30 years 30% of men suffer from prostatitis, after 40 - 40%, after 50 - 50%, etc. At the same time the real incidence is much higher than the registered, this is explained by the peculiarities ofdiagnosis and the possibility of the disease in a latent form.
The prostate gland is a small glandular-muscular organ that is located in the small pelvis below the bladder, covering the initial section of the urethra (urethra). The prostate gland creates a secretion that, when mixed with semen, maintains the activity of sperm and their resistance to various adverse conditions.
With prostatitis, there are many problems with urination, libido decreases and erectile function is impaired. The saddest thing is that in the absence of appropriate treatment, about 40% of patients experience some form of infertility, as the prostate gland can no longer produce enough high-quality secretions to ensure sperm motility. It is important to remember that such symptoms can occur not only in prostatitis, but also in prostate adenoma and cancer.
Causes of prostatitis
There are 4 main forms of prostatitis: acute bacterial prostatitis, chronic bacterial prostatitis, nonbacterial prostatitis and prostatodynia.
In people under the age of 35, the disease usually takes the form of acute bacterial prostatitis. Bacterial prostatitis is called when there is laboratory confirmation of an infection. The most common are chlamydia, trichomoniasis, gardnerellosis or gonorrhea. The infection enters the prostate gland from the urethra, bladder, rectum, through the blood and lymph vessels of the pelvis.
Recent studies, however, show that in most cases, the infection is superimposed on pre-existing disorders of the structure of prostate tissue and blood circulation in it. In nonbacterial prostatitis, the bacteria cannot be isolated, although this does not rule out their presence.
Chronic forms of the disease are more often diagnosed in older patients. Prostatodynia is the presence of a clinical picture of prostatitis, thickening of the prostate tissue without signs of inflammation.
Symptoms of prostatitis
The symptoms of prostatitis can be divided into 3 groups:
- disorders of the urinary system (frequent and painful urge to urinate, feeling of incomplete emptying of the bladder), pain in the lower abdomen;
- sexual dysfunction (pain in the urethra and rectum during ejaculation, weak erection, premature ejaculation, loss of orgasm, etc. );
- increased anxiety and nervousness of the man due to the fixation of patients' attention on their condition.
Acute prostatitisusually begins with a rise in body temperature to 39-40 ° C with fever and chills. Difficult and painful urination. Swelling of the prostate gland develops, which can cause acute urinary retention.
Chronic prostatitisproceeds more calmly, but at any moment with unfavorable factors exacerbation can occur. Possibly asymptomatic.
Complications
In the absence of timely therapy, prostatitis can cause the following complications:
- transition from acute to chronic prostatitis;
- obstruction of the bladder with acute urinary retention, which requires surgical treatment, development of male infertility;
- narrowing and scarring of the urethra;
- recurrent cystitis;
- pyelonephritis and other kidney damage;
- prostate abscess (suppuration) that requires surgery;
- sepsis is a life-threatening complication that often develops in people with reduced immunity (patients with diabetes, kidney failure).
What can you do
If you find that you are experiencing the symptoms described above, try to see a urologist as soon as possible.
What a doctor can do
The modern arsenal for the diagnosis of prostate diseases is very wide.
Your doctor will order a bacteriological test for urine and prostate secretions. To clarify the location of the urinary tract infection, a study of different portions of urine is performed. In addition, a mandatory diagnostic method is a digital examination of the prostate gland. This procedure is not very pleasant, but it is very informative.
Your doctor may refer you for an ultrasound of your prostate and pelvic organs. If necessary, prescribe computed tomography or magnetic resonance imaging, cystoscopy, urography and prostate enzyme testing.
When making a diagnosis, your doctor should rule out the presence of benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer. Analgesics and warm baths may be recommended to quickly relieve the pain of acute prostatitis.
Bacterial prostatitisrequires the appointment of antibiotics, the choice of which is made according to the results of bacteriological inoculation of secretions on nutrient media and determine the sensitivity of the pathogen to chemotherapy.
Nonbacterial prostatitisis treated with anti-inflammatory drugs.
Prevention of prostatitis
Do not allow hypothermia of the body, do not sit on cold objects. Follow a light diet (excluding alcohol, spicy, fried and canned foods).
Regular sex is also a way to prevent prostatitis (as one of the provoking factors is sperm stagnation and frequent erections without subsequent ejaculation). Prevention of sexually transmitted diseases is just as important.
In adulthood, every man should undergo regular (once a year) examinations by a urologist. After suffering from prostatitis, preventive outpatient treatment courses are conducted at least twice a year for a month and one course of balneotherapy.