Treating the Male Prostate: What Medications to Take

prostatitisIt is an inflammatory disease of the prostate.Symptoms include frequent urination, pain in the penis, scrotum, and rectum, sexual dysfunction (erectile dysfunction, premature ejaculation, etc.), and sometimes urinary retention and blood in the urine.The diagnosis of prostatitis is made by a urologist or andrologist based on typical clinical manifestations and rectal examination findings.In addition, prostate ultrasound and cultures of prostate secretions and urine are performed.Treatment is conservative - antimicrobial therapy, immunotherapy, prostate massage, lifestyle correction.

General information

Prostatitis is inflammation of the seminal gland (prostate) – the prostate.It is the most common disease of the male genitourinary system.Most commonly, it affects patients aged 25-50 years.According to various data, prostatitis affects 30-85% of men over the age of 30.Abscesses may form in the prostate and the testicles and adnexa become inflamed, threatening infertility.Ascending infection leads to inflammation of the upper genitourinary system (cystitis, pyelonephritis).

The pathology develops with the penetration of infectious agents into the prostate tissue from the genitourinary organs (urethra, bladder) or from distant foci of inflammation (pneumonia, influenza, sore throat, furuncles).

Causes of prostatitis

Staphylococcus aureus, Enterococci, Enterobacteriaceae, Pseudomonas, Proteus, Klebsiella and Escherichia coli can serve as sources of infection in acute cases.Most microorganisms belong to the opportunistic pathogenic flora and can cause prostatitis only in the presence of other predisposing factors.Chronic inflammation is often caused by a combination of multiple microorganisms.

The risk of developing this disease increases with hypothermia, a history of certain infections, and with congestion of the prostate tissue.The following predisposing factors were identified:

• Generalized hypothermia (either one-time or permanent, depending on working conditions).
• A sedentary lifestyle, an occupation that forces a person to sit for long periods of time (computer operator, driver, etc.).
• Persistent constipation.
• Disturbances in the normal rhythm of sexual activity (excessive sexual activity, prolonged abstinence, "habitual" incomplete ejaculation during sexual intercourse lacking emotional cues).
• There are chronic diseases (cholecystitis, bronchitis) or chronic infections (chronic osteomyelitis, untreated dental caries, tonsillitis, etc.) in the body.
• Previous urinary tract diseases (urethritis, cystitis, etc.) and sexually transmitted diseases (chlamydia, trichomoniasis, gonorrhea).
• Diseases that lead to suppression of the immune system (chronic stress, nutritional irregularities and malnutrition, frequent sleep deprivation, overtraining of athletes).

Congestion of prostate tissue plays a decisive role in the occurrence of prostatitis.Disruption of capillary blood flow leads to increased lipid peroxidation, swelling, and extravasation of the prostate tissue and creates conditions for the development of infectious processes.

symptoms of prostatitis

acute prostatitis

Acute prostatitis is divided into three stages, which are characterized by certain clinical manifestations and morphological changes:

• acute catarrhal disease.The patient complained of frequent urination, dysuria, and sacral and perineal pain.
• acute follicle.The pain becomes more severe, sometimes radiating into the anus, and worsens during bowel movements.Difficulty urinating and urine coming out in a thin stream.In some cases, urinary retention is observed.A low-grade fever or a moderately high fever are typical symptoms.
• acute parenchyma.Severe systemic intoxication, hyperthermia to 38-40°C, chills.Difficulty urinating and often acute urinary retention.Severe throbbing pain in the perineum.Difficulty defecating.

chronic prostatitis

In rare cases, chronic prostatitis becomes the result of an acute process, but usually a predominantly chronic course is observed.The body temperature sometimes rises below fever levels.The patient experienced mild perineal pain and discomfort during urination and defecation.The most typical symptom is a small amount of discharge from the urethra during defecation.The main chronic form of the disease develops over a considerable period of time.This is preceded by prostatopathy (stagnation of blood in the capillaries), which gradually turns into non-bacterial prostatitis.

Chronic prostatitis is usually a complication of an inflammatory process caused by specific infectious agents (Chlamydia, Trichomonas, Ureaplasma, Neisseria gonorrhoeae).In many cases, symptoms of a specific inflammatory process mask the manifestations of prostate damage.Pain may be slightly worse during urination, mild pain in the perineum, and minimal urethral discharge during defecation.Small changes in clinical manifestations are often overlooked by patients.

Chronic inflammation of the prostate can manifest as burning sensations in the urethra and perineum, difficulty urinating, sexual dysfunction, and increased general fatigue.The consequences of efficacy disorders (or the fear of these disorders) are often mental depression, anxiety, and irritability.The clinical picture does not always include all listed symptom groups; it varies among different patients and changes over time.The three main symptom characteristics of chronic prostatitis are: pain, difficulty urinating, and sexual dysfunction.

There are no pain receptors in the prostate tissue.The cause of chronic prostatitis pain is due to the rich innervation of the pelvic organs, and neural pathways are almost inevitably involved in the inflammatory process.Patients complain of pain of varying intensity—from mild pain to intense, disturbing sleep.The nature of pain can change (increase or decrease) during ejaculation, excessive sexual activity, or sexual abstinence.The pain radiates to the scrotum, sacrum, perineum, and sometimes to the waist.

Due to the inflammation of chronic prostatitis, the prostate increases in size and compresses the urethra.The lumen of the ureter is reduced.Patients often experience an urge to urinate and a sensation of incomplete bladder emptying.Typically, difficulty urinating manifests itself early on.Compensatory hypertrophy then occurs in the muscular layers of the bladder and ureters.Symptoms of dysuria diminish during this period and then worsen again as adaptive mechanisms decompensate.

In the initial stages, functional impairment may occur, which may vary from patient to patient.Patients may complain of frequent nocturnal erections, loss of orgasm, or worsening of erections.Accelerated ejaculation is associated with a reduction in the excitement threshold level of the orgasmic center.Pain during ejaculation may lead to refusal of sexual activity.Subsequently, sexual dysfunction becomes more pronounced.In advanced stages, impotence occurs.

The degree of sexual dysfunction is determined by many factors, including the patient's sexual constitution, psychological emotions, etc.Impaired sexual performance and difficulty urinating may be caused by changes in the prostate and patient cues. If a patient is diagnosed with chronic prostatitis, it is expected that sexual dysfunction and urinary dysfunction will inevitably occur.Psychogenic dysfunction and dysuria are particularly common in suggestible and anxious patients.

The threat of impotence and sometimes even sexual dysfunction can be unbearable for patients.Often there are personality changes, irritability, bad temper, excessive concern about one's health, and even "sickness."

Classification

In modern urology, there is no uniform classification of this disease.However, practicing doctors prefer this method of classifying prostatic inflammatory processes:

Depending on the course of the disease:

• Acute prostatitis.It affects more than 50% of people aged 30 to 35 years and younger.
• Chronic choice.It is considered a non-age category.It does not manifest itself over a long period of time; the impetus for its development is a cold or infection.

Causes of pathology:

• Bacterial inflammation of the prostate occurs mainly in men under 40 years of age, occurs on the background of ultrasonography, and does not extend beyond the borders of the organ.
• Non-bacterial pathological changes of the glands are mainly chronic.
• Viral inflammation of the prostate is characterized by an acute course affecting the entire genital region.

Depending on the nature of the structural changes in the prostate:

• Fibrous prostatitis is characterized by rapid and irreversible growth of the gland and requires radical intervention.Clinically resembles prostate adenoma.
• Prostatolithic inflammation occurs due to the formation of stones within the prostate.Considered a precursor to cancer.
• Congestive prostatitis is a result of a sedentary lifestyle and one in every two patients is diagnosed with it.

signs of disease

Men should contact a qualified specialist immediately if they notice at least two of the following symptoms of prostatitis:

• Urination disorder, characterized by an intermittent, weak, and abnormally short flow of urine that causes splashing, difficulty, and pain before urinating.Frequent urges to empty your bladder occur mostly at night.
• The pain is localized in the lower abdomen and radiates to the scrotum, perineum, and rectum.
• Sexual dysfunction.
• Ejaculation problems, sperm changes (consistency, quantity).

complication

If acute prostatitis is left untreated, there is a significant risk of developing a prostate abscess.When foci of purulence develop, the patient's temperature rises to 39-40°C and he becomes busy.Fever alternates with severe chills.Severe pain in the perineum makes it difficult to urinate and makes it impossible to have a bowel movement.

Increased prostate swelling can lead to acute urinary retention.In rare cases, an abscess can spontaneously rupture into the urethra or rectum.After opening, purulent turbid urine will appear in the urethra, accompanied by an unpleasant pungent odor; after opening, the feces containing pus and mucus will enter the rectum.

Chronic prostatitis is characterized by a wave-like course with long periods of remission during which prostatic inflammation is latent or manifests minimal symptoms.Patients who are not bothered by anything usually stop treatment and are only referred when complications arise.

The infection spreads along the urinary tract leading to the development of pyelonephritis and cystitis.The most common complications of the chronic process are inflammation of the testicles and epididymis (epididymoorchitis) and inflammation of the seminal vesicles (seminal vesiculitis).The result of these diseases is often infertility.

diagnosis

Characteristic clinical manifestations simplify the diagnosis of acute and chronic prostatitis.must:

Treatment of prostatitis

Treatment of acute prostatitis

Patients with uncomplicated acute courses are treated by urologists on an outpatient basis.In case of severe poisoning or if a suppurative process is suspected, hospitalization is required.Give antimicrobial treatment.Consider the susceptibility of the infectious agent when selecting drugs.Antibiotics are widely used and can penetrate well into and act on prostate tissue.

With acute urinary retention due to prostatitis, they resort to fitting a cystostomy rather than a urinary catheter because of the risk of prostate abscess formation.When an abscess forms, endoscopic transrectal or transurethral incision of the abscess is performed.

Treatment of chronic prostatitis

The treatment of chronic prostatitis should be comprehensive, including symptomatic treatment, physical therapy, and immunity correction:

• antibiotic treatment.Patients need to take a long course of antimicrobials (4-8 weeks).The selection of the type and dose of antimicrobial agents and the determination of the duration of the course of treatment are performed individually.Drug selection is based on the sensitivity of the microbiota based on urine and prostate secretion culture results.
• Prostate Massage.Glandular massage has complex effects on the affected organs.During massage, the inflammatory secretions accumulated in the prostate are squeezed into the duct, then enter the urethra and are expelled from the body.The procedure improves blood circulation to the prostate, thereby minimizing congestion and ensuring better penetration of antibacterial drugs into the tissues of the affected organ.
• physiotherapy.To improve blood circulation, laser irradiation, ultrasound and electromagnetic waves can be used.If physical therapy is not possible, patients may be prescribed warm medicated microenemas.

If chronic, long-term inflammation is present, an immunologist should be consulted to select an immunocorrective treatment strategy.Advise patients on lifestyle changes.Making certain lifestyle changes for patients with chronic prostatitis can be both a therapeutic and preventive measure.It is recommended that patients return to normal sleeping and waking states, adjust their diet, and engage in moderate physical activity.

Treatment of acute prostatitis

Acute prostatitis requires bed rest, a special salt-free diet and sexual rest.

Treatment method:

• The most effective treatment for prostatitis is allotropic therapy.If the basis of prostatitis is infection, a course of antibacterial drugs is preferred to relieve the manifestations of inflammation.
• Pain syndromes can be relieved with analgesics, antispasmodics, rectal suppositories, microenemas containing warm analgesic solutions.Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs may be used.
• Combinations of immunostimulants, immunomodulators, enzymes, vitamin complexes and trace elements have proven their effectiveness.
• Physiotherapy methods are possible only in the subacute stage of the disease.They improve microcirculation and increase immunity: UHF, microwave, electrophoresis, laser, magnetic therapy.
• Massage is another effective way to affect the prostate.It opens the ducts and normalizes blood circulation in the scrotum and pelvis.
• Acute renal filtrate retention can be corrected with catheterization and trocar cystostomy.
• The purulent process involves surgical intervention.
• Consultation with a psychologist.

Treatment methods for prostatitis

Antimicrobial therapy is most effective in treating prostatitis.Herbal medicines, immune correctors, and hormonal medications may also be used as prescribed by your doctor.

In the absence of acute symptoms, prostatitis can be treated with physical therapy.If abscesses and suppuration occur, surgical treatment is recommended.

drug treatment

Treatment of prostatitis with antimicrobial therapy must begin with bacterial culture, the purpose of which is to assess the susceptibility of the body to such antibiotics.If urination is impaired, anti-inflammatory medications can produce good results.

The drug is taken in the form of tablets, in acute cases - as a dropper or intramuscular injection.Rectal suppositories are effective in the treatment of chronic prostatitis: with their help, the drug reaches its target faster and has minimal impact on other organs.

Blood-thinning medications and anti-inflammatory drugs have also been shown to be effective.

antibacterial treatment

Antibiotics are effective drugs against bacterial prostatitis.In order to achieve the desired effect without harming the body, the selection, dosage and treatment plan of the drug should be formulated by a doctor.In order to correctly select the most effective drug, he must find out the type of pathogen causing prostatitis and test the patient's tolerance to a specific group of antibiotics.

Fluoroquinolone antibiotics have been shown to be effective in treating chronic prostatitis.They work to suppress bacterial infections and boost the body's own immunity.In addition to this, the bacteriostatic antibiotic trimethoprim is recommended for the prevention and treatment of concomitant diseases of the genitourinary system.

To treat prostatitis caused by mycoplasma and chlamydia, you can also take macrolides and tetracyclines to slow the spread of the infection.

The duration of taking antibacterial drugs is 2 to 4 weeks.If the situation is positive, the course may be extended.

physical therapy

Physiotherapy techniques for the treatment of prostatitis are aimed at activating blood circulation in the pelvic area, improving metabolic processes in the prostate and cleaning the ducts.If physical therapy is combined with taking antibiotics, the effects of the latter are enhanced.

The main methods are:

• magnet therapy;
• laser treatment;
• electrophoresis;
• warm up;
• ultrasound;
• mud therapy;
• high frequency irradiation;
• Physical therapy.

According to modern research, one of the oldest methods is transrectal prostate massage, but its effectiveness has not been proven.

non-specific treatment

Non-specific methods of treating prostatitis include:

• leech therapy;
• therapeutic fasting;
• acupuncture;
• Diet according to the Ostrovsky method;
• Alkalize the body using the Neumyvakin method.

We strongly recommend that you discuss all non-traditional methods of treating prostatitis with your doctor.

surgical treatment

Surgical methods are used in complex and emergency cases:

• For the drainage of purulent abscesses, which can be removed by puncture via laparoscopic approach;
• Difficulty urinating due to damage to the urinary tract;
• The affected area is large;
• There are numerous stones in the gland.

Stones and hardened tissue are removed using an endoscopic approach.If the affected area is large or has multiple stones, a prostatectomy is performed.

Transurethral resection is also effective in bacterial prostatitis.This way, the risk of recurrence can be reduced.

folk remedies

Folk remedies for prostatitis are unlikely to be effective on their own, but in combination with medications and physical therapy, they may be suitable.These include: beekeeping products, herb and seed decoctions, garlic tinctures, ginger tinctures, Beaver Creek tinctures, fresh vegetables, pumpkin seeds.

If the condition is serious, be sure to see a doctor and avoid self-medication!If a purulent abscess ruptures, death may occur.

prostatitis suppositories

Rectal suppositories are more effective than tablets when treating prostatitis because the rectum is closer to the prostate, which means the medication works faster.

Medications for the treatment of prostatitis can have completely different compositions; they are prescribed to solve a specific problem.

1. Antibacterial agents are particularly effective against prostatitis caused by chlamydia.
2. Treat symptoms with painkillers; they provide excellent pain relief.
3. Immunostimulants help improve circulation, relieve swelling, and are used in complex treatments.
4. Herbs have a mild effect.They are like candles on bee products and are used as a supplement to primary treatments.
5. Ichthyol-based compositions promote blood flow in the intestinal mucosal area, thereby accelerating the attenuation of inflammatory processes and slightly improving immunity.
6. Enzyme-based products prevent scar tissue from forming.It is recommended as part of a combination of antibiotics, anti-inflammatory drugs and analgesics.

auxiliary medicine

For the symptomatic treatment of prostatitis in men, such as relieving pain during urination, antispasmodics can be additionally taken, which relax smooth muscles, thereby quickly relieving pain.

Blood-thinning and anti-inflammatory dietary supplement based on bee products, pumpkin oil, and palm fruit extract to promote overall health.

diet and lifestyle

For the treatment of prostatitis, a proper, balanced diet and a healthy lifestyle are very important.Food should not contain spicy, fried, salty or pickled foods.In acute cases, alcohol consumption is strictly prohibited.

Food should contain enough fiber to prevent constipation.Protein content should be reduced.It is recommended to supplement the diet with herbs, ginger and pumpkin seeds.

Consequences of untreated prostatitis

Even if symptoms of prostatitis have not appeared for a long time, it is necessary to undergo regular examinations by a urologist.Incompletely cured prostatitis may be accompanied by the formation of calcifications, which must then be removed along with the gland.Experts are convinced that there is no other way to remove or dissolve the stones.

In addition, pathogenic microorganisms can migrate to adjacent organs and cause inflammation.Advanced prostatitis can lead to the development of adenomas and prostate cancer.

prognosis and prevention

Acute prostatitis is a disease that has a clear tendency to become chronic.Even with timely and adequate treatment, more than half of patients will still develop chronic prostatitis.Recovery is not always possible, but with correct, consistent treatment and following your doctor's recommendations, it is possible to eliminate unpleasant symptoms and achieve long-term, stable remission in a chronic process.

Prevention involves eliminating risk factors.It is necessary to avoid hypothermia, alternate sedentary work with physical activity, and eat a nutritious diet regularly.For constipation, laxatives should be used.One of the preventive measures is to normalize sexual life, because excessive sexual activity and sexual abstinence are risk factors for the development of prostatitis.If you develop urological or sexually transmitted disease symptoms, seek medical attention promptly.