Prostatitis is a disease based on inflammatory changes in the tissue of the prostate (prostate), which is manifested by various symptoms. The disease is observed only in a strong half of the population, since the prostate is found only in the male body.
Etiology (causes) of inflammation.
Many factors lead to the development of the disease. The most common of them are:
- The presence of a focus of infection in the body (tonsillitis, tonsillitis, bronchitis, gonorrhea, tuberculosis, etc. )
- Damage to the external genitalia.
- Damage to the soft tissues of the pelvic area.
- Frequent hypothermia of the body.
- Poor level of physical activity.
- Urinary retention.
- Stagnation of seminal fluid due to the presence of irregular sexual life.
- Overweight.
- Sedentary lifestyle.
- Chronic inflammatory processes in the organs of the urogenital system (pyelonephritis, urethritis, orchitis, cystitis, epididymitis)
- Hormonal imbalance.
- Disorders of the intestinal system, manifested by a violation of the passage of food (constipation, diarrhea)
- Presence of an inflammatory process in the rectum (proctitis, anal fissure, hemorrhoids, paraproctitis)
- The presence of a medical history of sexually transmitted diseases.
- Tension.
- Smoking.
- Alcohol abuse.
- Avitaminosis.
- Overwork.
- Violent sexual activity.
- Immune deficiency.
pathogens of the disease
The most common microorganisms that cause inflammation of the prostate are the following:
- Escherichia coli (about 80%)
- Serratia Pseudomonas.
- Klebsiella Pseudomonas.
- Proteus Pseudomonas.
- enterococcus.
- Staphylococcus aureus.
Classification of pathological processes
In medicine, several classifications have been adopted to describe the course of prostate infection.
Clinical-pathomorphological-etiological classification:
- Acute prostatitis.
- Prostate abscess.
- Prostatitis.
- Chronic prostatitis.
- Granulomatous inflammation of the prostate.
- Congestive prostatitis.
- Sclerosis of the prostate.
- Prostatorrhea.
- Atypical forms of chronic prostatitis.
- Neurovegetative prostatopathy.
In addition, the described disease differs according to classes:
- Grade 1 - acute prostatitis.
- Grade 2 - chronic bacterial prostatitis.
- Grade 3a - chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome with signs of inflammation.
- Grade 3b - chronic prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome without signs of inflammation.
- Grade 4 - asymptomatic chronic prostatitis.
Types and forms of the disease
Based on the above classifications, it can be concluded that the main types of prostatitis are as follows:
- Spicy.
- Chronic.
The acute inflammatory process is divided into several forms depending on the degree of damage to the prostate tissue:
- With catarrh.
- Follicular.
- Parenchymal (diffuse).
The catarrhal form is characterized by a mild, superficial inflammatory process affecting the acini of the prostate gland. For this reason, the patency of the latter's selective channels is disturbed. This leads to an accumulation of secretions in the prostate. The prostate becomes enlarged and edematous.
The follicular form of acute prostatitis is the next stage in the development of the pathological process. As a result, some lobes of the prostate are affected and purulent contents are formed in them.
In the parenchymal form, the inflammation covers the entire tissue of the prostate. It will be edematous and very painful. An abscess of the prostate gland may develop against the background of parenchymal prostatitis.
Clearly expressed forms of chronic pathology are currently not found in the medical literature.
Stages of the disease
Despite the fact that there are no pronounced forms during the chronic process, this pathology is divided into several stages.
The first is the alternative changes section. It manifests itself in the mild effect of inflammation on the prostate tissue. If the treatment is started in time (at this stage), the disease stops very quickly. As a rule, relapse of the disease is not observed.
If the patient does not receive treatment, the stage of proliferative changes begins. During this time, the prostate tissue grows to suppress the inflammation. Later comes the third stage - fibrosclerotic changes.
A lot of tissue growth happens and it replaces healthy cells. But the resulting tissue does not have the same properties as healthy prostate tissue. Because of this, the person begins to relapse and the disease will have a long course.
Symptoms
Acute pathology is manifested by the following clinical symptoms:
- An increase in body temperature up to 38-40 ° C.
- Deterioration of the general condition.
- Chills.
- Pain over the uterus, perineum, anus, glans penis.
- Unpleasant sensation when urinating and/or defecating.
- Delayed stool, gas.
- Increased urge to urinate.
- Urinary retention.
- Increased irritability.
Chronic prostatitis is characterized by the following symptoms:
- Unpleasant feeling in the lower abdomen.
- Erectile dysfunction.
- Irritability.
- Whitish discharge from the penis.
- Increasing the duration of sexual intercourse.
- Weakening of the flow of urine.
- Incomplete emptying of the bladder.
Complications of the pathological process
In the absence of timely initiation or inadequate treatment, the development of acute pathology can take different directions.
In the first case, acute inflammation of the prostate flows into a chronic process. The latter is characterized by changes in periods of exacerbations and remissions. It is very difficult to cure chronic prostatitis, you usually have to cope with it and be ready for the next exacerbation.
If the inflammatory process develops very quickly, it can lead to the formation of a prostate abscess. In other words, a large abscess forms in the prostate tissue. The most common treatment for prostate abscess is surgery.
Bacteria from the lesion can enter the bloodstream because the prostate is very well supplied with blood. If this happens, a very scary complication is revealed in a person - sepsis. It is very difficult to overcome sepsis, therefore the mortality rate is very high in the presence of this disease.
Untreated disease can lead to male infertility, as the seminal vesicles are located next to the prostate. In addition, the gland is closely connected to the testicles, in which sperm are produced.
Prostatitis can lead to a narrowing of the urethra. Due to the fit of the latter to the urethra, inflammation of the prostate can spread to the urethra. This leads to the formation of scar tissue in the urethra and a decrease in its diameter.
In addition to spreading the inflammatory process to the urethra, it can also spread to the bladder. So the patient may experience recurrent (recurrent) cystitis. If the infected urine is returned from the bladder to the kidney, it leads to the development of pyelonephritis.
Treatment of the disease
It is worth paying a lot of attention to the fact that the therapy of prostatitis should be comprehensive. The following points must be observed in the treatment of acute prostatitis:
- The fight against the inflammatory process of the prostate is impossible without the appointment of antibacterial drugs. The attending physician must determine the causative agent of the disease and prescribe medicine to destroy it. It is better if the doctor prescribes taking several antibiotics at the same time.
- Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs. They are good pain relievers and reduce inflammation. It is recommended to take these drugs not only in the form of tablets, but also in the form of suppositories for rectal use.
- In case of a severe general condition or elevated body temperature, detoxification therapy can be performed.
- When diagnosing a prostate abscess, surgical intervention is required.
To recover from chronic inflammation of the prostate, you need the following:
- Prostate massage (can only be performed by a urologist)
- Medicines that improve the metabolism of the prostate.
- Taking NSAIDs.
- Immunomodulatory drugs.
- Physiotherapy.
- Sedative drugs.