The article will present the main causes of prostatitis.
The disease is an inflammatory process in the prostate gland, which is the most common pathology of the male genitourinary system. The disease can occur in an acute or chronic form and most often occurs in patients aged 25-50 years. According to statistics, 35-80% of men over 30 suffer from prostatitis. Signs of the disease include pain, painful and difficult urination, sexual dysfunction. The diagnosis is established by an andrologist or urologist according to a characteristic clinical picture. In addition, a bacterial culture of urine and prostatic secretion is performed, as well as an ultrasound of the prostate.
Description of the disease
scrotum, penis, rectum, sexual dysfunction (early ejaculation, lack of erection, etc.), sometimes urinary retention. In some cases, it is possible to abscess the prostate, inflammation of the testicles, which threatens the man with infertility. The ascent of the infection leads to inflammation of the upper genitourinary organs (pyelonephritis, cystitis).
What are the causes of prostatitis? The disease develops when an infectious agent enters the prostate tissue from the urinary organs (urethra, bladder) or from distant inflammatory foci (with pneumonia, tonsillitis, influenza, furunculosis). There are also a number of risk factors that increase the likelihood of prostatitis.
Predisposing factors
The risk of this pathology increases with hypothermia, the presence of a history of certain specific infections and conditions that are accompanied by congestion in the tissues of this organ. In this regard, the following factors contributing to the development of prostatitis can be distinguished:
- severe hypothermia (single or regular, associated with living or working conditions);
- a sedentary lifestyle or profession that forces a person to stay in a sitting position for a long time;
- frequent constipation;
- violations of the correct rhythm of sexual activity (increased sexual activity, prolonged abstinence, insufficient ejaculation during intercourse);
- presence of chronic diseases (bronchitis, cholecystitis) or chronic foci of infection in the body (caries,chronic osteomyelitis, tonsillitis, etc.);
- history of urological diseases (urethritis, cystitis, etc.) and sexually transmitted diseases (trichomoniasis, chlamydia, gonorrhea);
- conditions that cause suppression of the immune system (chronic stress, malnutrition, lack of sleep, high physical activity in athletes, etc.).
The causes of prostatitis are of interest to many. It is assumed that the likelihood of developing the disease increases significantly with chronic intoxication (nicotine, alcohol, morphine, etc.). Conducted studies in the field of urology prove that one of the common predisposing factors in the development of this pathology can be a chronic perineal injury (in motorists, cyclists, motorcyclists). However, many experts believe that all of the above factors cannot be considered the real causes of prostatitis, but only contribute to the aggravation of the inflammatory process in the tissues of this male organ.
The main role in the development of prostatitis is played by congestion in the prostate gland. Violations of capillary blood flow provoke an increase in the processes of lipid peroxidation, swelling, exudation of tissues and creates favorable conditions for the onset of an infectious process.
The doctor should find out the causes of prostatitis.
Etiology
An infectious agent in the development of acute forms of the disease can be Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococcus, Enterobacter, Pseudomonas aeruginosacoli, Proteus, Klebsiella and Escherichia coli. The bulk of microorganisms are conditionally pathogenic flora and cause inflammation of the prostate only in the presence of other predisposing factors. The inflammatory process of the chronic type is usually caused by polymicrobial associations.
Symptoms of the disease in an acute form
There are three main stages of prostatitis in men in acute form, which are characterized by a specific clinical picture and morphological changes:
- Catarrhal acute prostatitis. At the same time, men complain of painful, frequent urination, pain in the area of the sacrum and perineum. These are the main signs of prostatitis. The photos in the article show some of the symptoms.
- Follicular acute prostatitis. The pain becomes more intense, can radiate to the anus and intensify during defecation. At the same time, urination is difficult, urine flows in a thin stream. In some cases, patients may experience urinary retention, low-grade fever, or mild fever.
- Parenchymal acute prostatitis. At this stage, there is a pronounced intoxication, high fever, chills, dysuric disorders, urinary retention. The patient has throbbing sharp pains in the perineum and difficulty in emptying the bowel.
Signs of chronic prostatitis
In rare cases, chronic prostatitis (according to ICD-10 code - N41) becomes the result of acute processes, but initially such an ailment develops with blurred symptoms. The temperature may rise to subfebrile values. A man notes discomfort or mild pain in the perineum, discomfort during urination and defecation. The most characteristic symptom of chronic prostatitis is scanty discharge from the urethra during bowel movements.
Not everyone understands the causes of prostatitis in men. It must be remembered that primary prostatitis of a chronic nature develops over a long period of time. It is often preceded by such a phenomenon as prostatosis (stagnation of blood in the capillary vessels), which gradually turns into abacterial prostatitis (the initial stage of the inflammatory process).
Chronic prostatitis (according to ICD-10 - N41) can be a complication of chronic inflammatory processes caused by pathogens of specific infections (chlamydia, trichomonas, ureaplasma, gonococci). Manifestations of specific inflammation in many cases mask the symptoms of chronic prostatitis. Perhaps an insignificant increase in pain during urination, mild pain in the perineum, slight discharge from the urethra. Such a change in the clinical picture and the onset of a chronic disease in most cases goes unnoticed for the patient.
Prostatitis in men of chronic type can be manifested by a burning sensation in the perineum and urethra, dysuria, sexual disorders, excessive general fatigue. The result of violations of potency (or psychological discomfort, fear of such violations)depression, increased anxiety and irritability of the patient may become. The clinical picture of this disease does not always include all of the above groups of symptoms without exception. They may differ from patient to patient and change over time.
Let's take a closer look at the signs of chronic prostatitis in men. How to treat, we will tell below.
Clinicians distinguish three main syndromes that are most characteristic of chronic prostatitis:
- Painful. There are no pain receptors in the tissues of the prostate gland. The cause of this discomfort with prostatitis is the almost inevitable (as a result of abundant innervation of the pelvic organs) involvement in the process of inflammation of the nerve pathways. Men with chronic prostatitis often complain of pain of varying intensity - from aching, weak to intense, disturbing sleep. There is also a change in the nature of the pain syndrome (weakening or strengthening) during ejaculation, increased sexual activity, or, conversely, sexual abstinence. The pain may radiate to the scrotum, lower back, perineum. It must be borne in mind that lower back pain occurs not only when prostatitis occurs. The cause of pain in this area may be osteochondrosis and a number of other pathological conditions. The symptoms of prostatitis and the causes of the disease are interrelated.
- Dysuric syndrome (impaired urination). Due to inflammation in chronic prostatitis, the prostate gland increases in volume, which contributes to squeezing the ureter, the lumen of which graduallydecreases. At the same time, the patient has an increased urge to urinate, there is a feeling of incomplete emptying. As a rule, dysuric conditions are expressed in the initial stages of chronic prostatitis. After this, compensatory hypertrophy of the bladder muscles develops. Signs of dysuria in this period weaken, after which they reappear when the adaptation mechanism is decompensated.
Sexual violations. In the early stages of a chronic pathological process, dyspotence may occur, which manifests itself differently in different patients. Patients may complain of frequent nocturnal erections, insensitive orgasms, or reduced erections. Excessively rapid ejaculation is due to a decrease in the threshold of excitation of the orgastic center. Soreness during ejaculation can cause a man with prostatitis to refuse sexual life. Subsequently, sexual disorders become even more pronounced. In the advanced stages of chronic prostatitis, impotence develops. The stage of sexual dysfunction in this disease is determined by many factors, including the psychological mood of the patient and the sexual constitution. Violations of potency and dysuric phenomena may be due to changes in the tissues of the prostate gland, as well as the suggestibility of the patient, who, when he is diagnosed with chronic prostatitis, is waiting for the inevitable occurrence of sexual disorders and urination disorders. Most often, dysuria and psychogenic dyspotence develop inanxious, suggestible patients. Impotence, and in some cases the very threat of possible sexual disorders, is tolerated by patients with prostatitis, as a rule, hard. Often there is a change in character, squeamishness, irritability, increased concern for he alth
Complications of the pathological process
In the absence of timely treatment of prostatitis in acute course, there is a high probability of developing prostate abscesses. When a purulent focus is formed in this organ, the patient's body temperature often rises to 39-40 ° C and in some cases becomes hectic.
Periods of hyperthermia may alternate with severe chills. Sharp pain in the perineum makes it difficult to urinate and makes defecation impossible. Increased swelling of the prostate gland leads to urinary retention. In rare cases, an abscess may open spontaneously into the rectum or urethra. At autopsy, purulent cloudy urine with a sharp unpleasant odor is observed in the area of the urethra, and when it is opened into the rectum, feces contain mucus and pus.
For chronic prostatitis is the most characteristic undulating course with prolonged remissions, during which the inflammatory process in the prostate is latent or accompanied by minimal symptoms. Patients who are not bothered by the manifestations of the disease often stop therapy and consult a doctor only when complications occur.
Prostatitis and BPH often accompany each other.
The spread of infectious agents through the urinary tract in chronic prostatitis causes the development of cystitis and pyelonephritis. The most common complication of this pathological process is inflammation of the testicles and their appendages (epididymo-orchitis), as well as seminal vesicles (vesiculitis). As a rule, the result of such diseases is infertility.
Diagnostic methods
The specific clinical picture often simplifies the process of diagnosis in acute or chronic prostatitis. If the development of such a disease is suspected, a rectal examination of the prostate is mandatory, in which the urologist collects the secret produced by this organ. The sensitivity of the flora is also determined (sowing of prostate secretion and bacterial culture of urine).
To detect some structural changes (tumor, hand, adenoma, etc.) and to differentiate this pathology from other diseases of the prostate, ultrasound is performed. A spermogram helps to confirm or exclude the development of infertility.
So, there are signs of prostatitis. How to treat?
Acute treatment
Patients with uncomplicated acute prostatitis are treated by a urologist or andrologist on an outpatient basis. With severe symptoms of intoxication, if purulent processes are suspected, hospitalization is indicated for patients. Men with acute prostatitis are prescribedantibiotic therapy. Medications are selected taking into account the sensitivity of the infection to a particular pharmacological substance. Widely used drugs that treat prostatitis, such as antibiotics, which are able to penetrate well into the tissue of the prostate gland ("Ciprofloxacin", etc.). When an abscess of the prostate occurs, an endoscopic transurethral or transrectal opening of a purulent focus is performed.
Acute prostatitis is a pathological process that has a pronounced tendency to become chronic. Even with timely adequate therapy, the outcome of acute processes in more than half of patients becomes chronic prostatitis.
Treatment of the chronic form
Recovery from this form of pathology can not always be achieved, however, with consistent, adequate therapy and adherence to medical recommendations, it is possible to eliminate the unpleasant symptoms of prostatitis and achieve long periods of remission.
Treatment of chronic prostatitis is usually complex. The patient is prescribed long-term courses of antibacterial medications (for 5-8 weeks), prostate massage, immunity correction, physiotherapy. The man is also given advice on how to normalize his lifestyle.
The selection of the type and dosage of antibacterial drugs, as well as the determination of the duration of the course of treatment with these drugs, is carried out individually. The specialist selects the medicines, focusing on the sensitivity of the microflora based on the results of sowing the secret of the prostate andurine.
Prostate massage can have a complex effect on the inflamed organ. During the massage, the pathological secret that accumulates in the prostate gland begins to be squeezed out into the ducts, after which it enters the urethra and is naturally excreted from the body. This procedure improves blood circulation in the prostate, which helps to minimize congestion and ensures maximum penetration of antibacterial substances into the tissues of the affected organ.
The recovery period after treatment is usually quite long, but it often happens that prostatitis cannot be completely cured. During recovery, the patient is prescribed drugs to strengthen immunity, improve blood circulation, etc.
Treatment at home
Treating prostatitis at home is not always effective, but it is very useful as an adjuvant therapy. Antibacterial drugs often replace natural antibiotics - garlic, honey, onion, viburnum, wild garlic, mustard, radish. Infusions and decoctions of herbs are also used - wormwood, calendula, echinacea, cinnamon, cloves, peony, marshmallow root, celandine, nettle, sage, chamomile, etc.
Alternative methods of stimulating blood circulation in the prostate are a variety of physical exercises, walking, running, as well as taking folk remedies - garlic tincture with honey, garlic oil, peony infusion.
We looked at the symptoms of prostatitis and the causes of the disease.
