In the modern world, prostatitis occurs in nearly 50% of the male population. The disease not only brings pain and discomfort, but can also lead to very unpleasant consequences, up to infertility. Therefore, every man should know how prostatitis manifests itself. Men's health and the ability to procreate largely depend on this.
Knowledge of the signs of prostatitis and periodic examinations by a doctor ensure timely detection and effective treatment of the disease.
Etiology of the disease
Prostatitis is a urological disease of inflammatory etiology. The disease can be caused by many factors.
The classification of prostatitis depends on what provoked the disease of the prostate gland, how common the process is and the character of the lesion.
The following classification criteria are distinguished:
- The aspect factor is congestive and infectious. In the first case, the problem develops not due to an infection, but because blood or venous secretion has stagnated in the pelvic organs. The second involves the introduction of pathogenic microorganisms into the prostate gland. There is also prostatitis of mixed origin.
- Damaged area. With prostatitis, the gland can become inflamed in several ways. It can be a chronic or acute form of the disease, which in turn is divided into types of parenchymal, catarrhal and follicular inflammation. The lesion can be sclerotic in nature or manifest as an abscess. Chronic atypical prostatitis also falls into this category, with symptoms that do not correspond to the classic picture of the disease.
Symptoms of the disease also depend on the cause that caused it. The infectious form occurs due to the penetration of pathogenic microorganisms into the prostate through the genital tract or develops against the background of a chronic infection.
Non-infectious prostatitis can be triggered by a weakened immune system, hypothermia, a sedentary lifestyle, abstinence from sexual intercourse or, conversely, excessive sexual activity. Each case requires different treatment.
Prolonged absence of sexual intercourse causes stagnation of prostatic secretion and the development of congestive prostatitis.
Depending on the diagnosed form, the signs and symptoms of prostatitis can vary from each other. Self-treatment is strictly prohibited, since an ignorant person can confuse the manifestation of one disease with another, for example, inflammation of the prostate with spermatitis, vesiculitis, urethritis or benign hyperplasia. Improper treatment can lead to extremely sad consequences.
General symptoms
How does prostatitis manifest itself? If a specific type is not taken into account, the disease can manifest itself with the following characteristic symptoms:
- intense pain, which is localized first in the genitourinary tract and then spreads to the entire inguinal and abdominal region;
- pain is constantly present in the scrotum and perineum, especially during urination and erection;
- during erection, the sexual organ cannot reach the size it had previously reached;
- sexual intercourse becomes shorter.
Symptoms can appear all together or separately. If we talk about pain, then its intensity largely depends on the form and degree of the disease. Unfortunately, many patients in the initial stages do not pay attention to such manifestations, as a result of which the disease progresses and can turn into chronic prostatitis, which is dangerous for the appearance of infertility.
If a man began to observe such symptoms in himself, the risk of prostatitis is high, and you should immediately seek qualified help.
Even minor manifestations of prostatitis should be the reason for a visit to the doctor.
Symptoms of acute bacterial prostatitis
Bacterial prostatitis is a form of the disease caused by an infection. It easily turns into chronic prostatitis, so you need to seek help promptly.
Often, acute bacterial prostatitis is a secondary manifestation that accompanies any disease of the pelvic organs and presents similar symptoms.
Acute bacterial prostatitis can present with the following symptoms:
- increased body temperature;
- feeling of chills, which is accompanied by tremors in the muscles;
- pain in the prostate area;
- pollakiuria and stranguria;
- spread of pain to the lumbar region and the entire perineum;
- problems with urination.
If the patient passes the tests, the disease can be suspected in the following cases:
- increase in the number of leukocytes in the blood;
- bacterial cells are present in the secretion of the prostate;
- cloudy whitish urine with a pH above 7. 0.
In urinalysis with prostatitis, characteristic changes will be present.
These are the main signs of acute bacterial prostatitis. If you do not pay attention to them and start treatment, the acute form will soon turn into a chronic one, the signs of which must also be known to every man.
Symptoms of Chronic Bacterial Prostatitis
Chronic prostatitis occurs due to the neglect of treatment of the acute form of the disease and is characterized by periods of exacerbation and remission.
For a man, it may be a discovery that he once had acute prostatitis, presumably he was treated and cured, but after a while the symptoms of the disease (albeit in a muffled version) resumed. In this case, it is worth thinking about the chronic course of the disease.
The absence of pronounced symptoms is dangerous for the late accidental detection of chronic prostatitis in an already advanced form.
Chronic prostatitis has no clear manifestations, which often leads to serious complications.
However, in such a situation, there is something to watch out for:
- burning and cutting (sometimes bordering on unbearable pain) during a trip to the bathroom and sexual arousal;
- a constant desire to urinate, at least once an hour, at the end of the process, a feeling of complete emptying does not occur;
- in the urinary canal there is a burning sensation during and after going to the toilet;
- the jet has a weaker pressure than before - there may also be a break in the flow;
- at night you constantly want to go to the toilet;
- after the end of sexual intercourse, an unpleasant burning sensation in the genitals remains;
- ejaculation occurs quickly enough;
- causeless insomnia and anxiety may be observed.
All these main symptoms of chronic prostatitis are easily confused with sexual disorders. The problem is that few men can admit it to themselves. Therefore, they begin to self-medicate, which will aim to restore sexual strength, which only leads to a complication of the situation.
The insidiousness of chronic bacterial prostatitis is that it requires constant monitoring, otherwise infertility may occur, the diagnosis of which can only be made after the patient has undergone a complete diagnosis.
A comprehensive examination to detect prostatitis necessarily includes an ultrasound examination.
Symptoms of the disease can manifest itself in different ways, and this applies not only to chronic, but also acute bacterial prostatitis.
It's about the number of bacteria in each patient's individual body and body. As soon as the pathogenic organisms begin to activate and multiply, humans will begin to exacerbate. If the patient, in addition to this, leads an unhealthy lifestyle (smokes, moves little, consumes alcohol and harmful products), it is not surprising that the disease progresses continuously.
Non-bacterial prostatitis and forms of its manifestation
Abacterial prostatitis is also quite common. It would be useful to know what symptoms may be in this case. A feature of the pathology is the regular onset of pain, and not only during sexual intercourse or going to the toilet.
Abacterial prostatitis is characterized by frequent nocturnal urge to go to the toilet and the predominance of urine excreted at night over the daytime volume.
In addition, the following manifestations are associated with non-infectious prostatitis:
- pain in the genitals;
- pain and discomfort in the groin area;
- nocturia and testicular pain;
- decrease in the amount of urine excreted;
- difficulty starting the urination process;
- pain from the groin and perineal region gradually moves to the lumbar region;
- pain in the groin, coccyx and pubis;
- discomfort after defecation.
Psychological distress joins physical suffering during illness.
The signs of the disease can be accompanied by psychological disorders. The patient becomes irritable, as he is constantly tormented by pain and discomfort.
If the measures are not taken in time, a man may even fall into a state of depression, and therefore he will have to seek help not only from a urologist, but also from a psychologist.
It should be noted that atypical prostatitis in its clinical picture can be similar to a number of other diseases, and asymptomatic prostate disease may not have pronounced manifestations. Therefore, it is so important to go to a qualified doctor who will prescribe a number of diagnostic measures and tests: urine, blood, seminal fluid tests, ultrasound, if necessary, biopsy, etc. Only after that the doctor makes the correct diagnosis and prescribes adequate treatment.
Most often, a biopsy is performed to rule out a malignant process.
Knowing the symptoms of prostatitis is important for each representative of the strong half of humanity to suggest what kind of ailment bothers him, because the functionality of the entire genitourinary system depends on it. And the sooner a man asks for help, the sooner relief will come for him.