In the modern world, prostatitis occurs in almost 50% of the male population. This 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. Male health and the ability to reproduce largely depend on this.
Knowledge of the signs of prostatitis and regular examination by a doctor guarantee timely detection and successful treatment of the disease.
Etiology of the disease
Prostatitis is a urological disease of inflammatory etiology. This disease can be caused by many factors.
The classification of prostatitis depends on what causes the disease of the prostate gland, how common the process is, and the nature of the lesion.
The following classification criteria are distinguished:
- The appearance factor is congestive and contagious. In the first case, the problem develops not because of an infection, but because venous blood or secretions have stagnated in the pelvic organs. The second involves the introduction of pathogenic microorganisms into the prostate gland. There is also prostatitis of mixed origin type.
- Area of damage. With prostatitis, the gland can be inflamed in different ways. It can be a chronic or acute form of the disease, which, in turn, is divided into parenchymal, catarrhal and follicular types of inflammation. Lesions may be sclerotic or present as abscesses. This category also includes atypical chronic prostatitis, with symptoms that do not fit the classic picture of the disease.
The symptoms of the disease also depend on the cause that causes 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 chronic infection.
Non-infectious prostatitis can be triggered by a weak immune system, hypothermia, an inactive life, abstinence from sexual intercourse, or, conversely, excessive sexual activity. Each case requires different treatment.
Prolonged absence of sexual intercourse causes stagnation of prostate secretions and the development of congestive prostatitis.
Depending on the diagnosed form, the signs and symptoms of prostatitis may differ from each other. Self-medication is strictly prohibited, because 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 very sad consequences.
General symptoms
How does prostatitis manifest itself? If you do not take into account a certain type, then the disease can manifest itself with the following characteristic symptoms:
- severe pain, which is localized first in the genitourinary tract, and then spreads throughout the inguinal and abdominal areas;
- constant pain 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 may appear 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 early stages do not pay attention to such manifestations, because the disease develops and can develop into chronic prostatitis, which is dangerous for the appearance of infertility.
If a man begins to notice such symptoms in himself, then the risk of prostatitis is high and you should immediately seek qualified help.
Even small manifestations of prostatitis should be a reason to visit a doctor.
Symptoms of acute bacterial prostatitis
Bacterial prostatitis is a form of the disease caused by an infection. It can easily turn into chronic prostatitis, so you need to get help right away.
Often, acute bacterial prostatitis is a secondary manifestation that accompanies any disease of the pelvic organs and has symptoms similar to it.
Acute bacterial prostatitis can present with the following symptoms:
- increased body temperature;
- a feeling of shivering, which is accompanied by tremors in the muscles;
- pain in the prostate area;
- pollakiuria and stranguria;
- the spread of pain to the lumbar region and the entire perineum;
- urinary problems.
If the patient passes the test, then the disease can be suspected in the following cases:
- increase in the number of leukocytes in the blood;
- bacterial cells are present in prostate secretions;
- cloudy whitish urine with a pH above 7. 0.
In the analysis of urine with prostatitis, characteristic changes will be present.
These are the main symptoms of acute bacterial prostatitis. If you do not pay attention to them and do not start treatment, then the acute form will soon turn into chronic, the signs of which should also be known to every man.
Symptoms of chronic bacterial prostatitis
Chronic prostatitis occurs as a result of neglecting the 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, supposedly treated and recovered, but after a while the symptoms of the disease (albeit in a muted version) return. In this case, it is worth thinking about the chronic course of the disease.
The absence of obvious symptoms is dangerous by accidentally late detection of chronic prostatitis in an advanced form.
Chronic prostatitis does not have clear manifestations, which often leads to serious complications.
However, in such a situation, there is something to pay attention to:
- burning and cutting (which sometimes borders on unbearable pain) during trips to the toilet and sexual stimulation;
- constant desire to urinate, at least once an hour, at the end of the process, the feeling of complete emptying does not occur;
- in the urinary tract there is a burning sensation during and after going to the toilet;
- the jet has a weaker pressure than before - there may be a disturbance in the flow;
- at night you always want to go to the toilet;
- after the end of sexual intercourse, an unpleasant burning sensation remains in the genitals;
- ejaculation occurs fairly quickly;
- insomnia and anxiety for no reason can be observed.
All the 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 complications of the situation.
The peculiarity of chronic bacterial prostatitis is that it requires constant monitoring, otherwise infertility may occur, a diagnosis that can only be made after the patient has undergone a comprehensive diagnosis.
A complete examination to detect prostatitis must include an ultrasound examination.
The symptoms of this disease can manifest themselves in different ways, and this applies not only to chronic, but also to acute bacterial prostatitis.
It's all about the number of bacteria in the body and in the individual body of each patient. As soon as pathogenic organisms begin to activate and multiply, the man will begin to worsen. If the patient, in addition to this, leads an unhealthy lifestyle (smoking, moving little, consuming alcohol and harmful products), then one should not be surprised that the disease will develop all the time.
Non-bacterial prostatitis and its forms of manifestation
Abacterial prostatitis is also quite common. It is useful to know the symptoms that may occur in this case. A pathological feature is the frequent occurrence of pain, and not only during intercourse or going to the toilet.
Abacterial prostatitis is characterized by a frequent nocturnal urge to go to the toilet and a predominance of urine released 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;
- reduce the amount of urine excreted;
- difficulty starting the urination process;
- pain from the inguinal and perineal region gradually moves to the lumbar region;
- pain in the groin, tailbone and pubis;
- discomfort after defecation.
Psychological discomfort accompanies physical suffering during illness.
Symptoms of the disease may be accompanied by psychological disorders. The patient becomes irritable, because he is constantly tormented by pain and discomfort.
If measures are not taken in time, then a man may fall into a state of depression, and then he needs to seek help not only from a urologist, but also from a psychologist.
It should be noted that atypical prostatitis in its clinical picture may be similar to some other diseases, and asymptomatic prostate disease may not have any obvious manifestations. Therefore, it is very important to go to a qualified doctor who will prescribe several diagnostic measures and examinations - urine, blood, semen tests, ultrasound, if necessary, biopsies, etc. Only then will the doctor make the correct diagnosis and prescribe adequate treatment.
Often, a biopsy is performed to exclude a malignant process.
Knowing the symptoms of prostatitis is important for each representative of the strong half of humanity to suggest the type of disease that bothers him, because the entire function of the genitourinary system depends on it. And the sooner a man asks for help, the sooner relief will come for him.