Prostatitis is one of the most common urological diseases, in which an inflammatory process develops that covers the tissues of the prostate. Prostatitis can manifest itself in men of any age and is often accompanied by other diseases of the reproductive system. The causes of prostatitis in men can be different. To reduce the likelihood of developing this disease, they should be considered in more detail.
Classification
In terms of the development of the pathological process, there are three main forms of prostatitis:
- Sharp.Symptoms come on suddenly and appear as bright as possible. Therefore, most men with acute prostatitis go to the doctor in the first days of the open course of the process. A typical symptom of the disease is severe pain in the lower back, which occurs on the background of an increase in body temperature to 39 degrees. Most often, the cause of prostatitis is an infectious focus that can develop in distant organs.
- Chronic.If acute prostatitis is not treated in time, the disease will develop into a chronic form. It is characterized by less severe symptoms, and the general condition of the patient can be called satisfactory. The temperature drops to normal limits.
- stagnates.Non-infectious inflammatory process. It is caused by stagnant processes in the pelvic organs. The disease is characterized by a progressive development with a gradual increase in pathological symptoms. This form of the disease is extremely rare today.
The chronic form of the disease is considered very dangerous as most men ignore mild symptoms and postpone a visit to a specialist. With this approach, the development of numerous complications of the disease is possible.
The disease has "gotten younger" over time and can therefore occur at any age.
What causes prostatitis?
This disease occurs in a third of men between the ages of 20 and 60. Therefore, unlike a number of diseases of the genitourinary system, this disease cannot be called age-related. There are a number of causes of prostatitis in men, the main ones of which are discussed below.
Acute and chronic infections
Infectious lesions are the first cause of prostatitis. When the infection penetrates the prostate, an inflammatory process develops. Most often, diseases such as gonorrhea and urethritis become provocateurs of these forms of prostatitis.
Pathological processes such as tooth decay, tonsillitis, tuberculosis, etc. can provoke the development of infectious prostatitis.
To cure this form of the disease, it is necessary to get rid of the infectious agent that became the main cause of its development. The prostatitis can only be completely cured after the main cause of the infection has been neutralized.
Overload
Every man should have enough sex in his life - otherwise he won't run away from problems with his prostate.
The lack of regular sex life can lead to the development of obstruction of the prostate. At the same time, blood flow to the organ is disturbed, as a result of which the secret stagnates and disrupts its function. All of this can lead to deformation of the prostate and the development of an inflammatory process.
You can avoid stagnation of prostate secretions through regular sexual activities. In addition, experts recommend their patients to forego promiscuous relationships by finding a permanent sexual partner.
Sitting work
In the last few decades there has been an acute trend towards the transition from manual to intellectual work. And it is a sedentary lifestyle that is a major cause of prostatitis in men.
In addition, a sedentary lifestyle leads to a deterioration in the functions of the nervous, hormonal and cardiovascular systems. As a result, the cells of the prostate receive less oxygen, which leads to the creation of optimal conditions for the reproduction of pathogenic microflora.
And while sedentary work is not a direct cause of prostatitis, it creates optimal conditions for prostate infection. Therefore, to prevent prostatitis, the body should be physically active on a regular basis.
When you lead an active lifestyle, a person's blood flow normalizes, the endocrine and nervous systems work better. Therefore, the tissues of the prostate are protected from a lack of oxygen.
Longer abstinence
Without regular sexual activity, secretion in the organ stagnates. In view of this, the blood flow in the tissues of the prostate becomes difficult. The result is the same as a passive lifestyle.
A lack of oxygen leads to ideal conditions for the reproduction of pathogenic microflora in the prostate tissue. As a result, only a weak infection of the body is enough to ensure the guaranteed development of prostatitis.
Hypothermia
Freezing is a surefire way for pathology to occur.
Scientists argue that hypothermia is one of the main provocateurs in the development of prostatitis. Hypothermic prostatitis develops for several reasons:
- Due to hypothermia, vasoconstriction occurs, which leads to a weakening of tissue nutrition and a deterioration in the function of the organs.
- With a significant freezing of the body, a person's immune system is weakened. This leads to the fact that the body becomes vulnerable to various types of infectious lesions.
Hypothermia is particularly dangerous for men who have previously developed prostatitis. Even if the disease has been treated, it can come back.
In order to avoid the development of prostatitis, it is necessary to dress warmly in the cold season so as not to sit on cold and cold surfaces. It is also forbidden to go barefoot on a floor that is not warm enough.
Other reasons
The development of prostatitis can occur not only for the reasons mentioned above, but also under the influence of such factors:
- obesity;
- poor working conditions in which the perineal area is heavily stressed or shaken a lot;
- hormonal disorders;
- transfer ARVI to the legs;
- Chronic constipation.
The best prevention of this disease would be to avoid the factors listed above. Those men who have previously had prostatitis are particularly prone to developing the disease.
Who is at risk
Anyone who has previously had problems with the prostate can be confronted with the disease again.
After considering what causes prostatitis, it is necessary to determine the group of people who are predisposed to its occurrence. The following men are prone to prostatitis:
- lead a sedentary lifestyle;
- suffers from frequent constipation;
- obese;
- engaged in sedentary work;
- under intense stress and hard physical work;
- have irregular sex or change sexual partners frequently;
- previously had prostatitis;
- suffers from immune diseases;
- Alcohol and cigarette addicts.
Characteristics of development in young and old age
Prostatitis can occur in young people due to a number of factors. The main ones are: sedentary work, the lack of a full-fledged intimate life, a sedentary lifestyle. In order to minimize the development of this disease, you need to exclude these factors from your life.
In the elderly, the disease most often develops against the background of the extinction of sexual function. As the body ages, the reproductive system changes, and sooner or later it stops working. There is a noticeable decrease in fertility in men between the ages of 45 and 50.
In addition, this can occur under the influence of hormonal changes in the body, due to which the volume of testosterone production decreases. And these changes are one of the main causes of prostatitis.
Reasons for the transition from the acute stage of the disease to the chronic
While acute prostatitis is characterized by vivid symptoms and forces the patient to see a doctor, the chronic form usually has no characteristic symptoms. In most cases, men are in no hurry to see a doctor and notice a slight discomfort. As a result, the disease progresses into more severe forms.
But how does the disease become chronic? Most often, inadequately treated acute form of the disease becomes the cause of the development of a chronic process. In this case, the transition from one shape to another takes place under the influence of the following factors:
- The treatment was started late.
- An ineffective therapy was carried out or the wrong technique was selected.
- The patient's immune response has decreased significantly.
- There was no treatment for acute prostatitis.
It goes without saying that the asymptomatic chronic course of the inflammatory process ends sooner or later with an exacerbation. Then the patient has all the signs of the disease, including severe pain in the perineum and lower back, difficulty urinating, and depression of sexual function.
Chronic prostatitis has an important characteristic: if there is primary inflammation of the prostate, there is a deterioration in the innervation of this organ. This, in turn, has an extremely negative effect on his work and often leads to autoimmune processes. When this happens, the immune system begins to produce antibodies against the prostate tissue. Therefore, even if the primary infection is eliminated, it is not possible to prevent such prostatitis from progressing.
Symptoms
The main symptom of developing prostatitis is pain. It indicates that an inflammatory process is developing in the prostate. In this case, unpleasant sensations can be of different nature and intensity. Urination causes severe pain.
This disease is particularly uncomfortable because it is in the acute stage of its development. Against the background of severe pain, the patient has insomnia, his performance is clearly limited, as is the general quality of life.
Pain in prostatitis has the following character:
- localized in the perineum, lower abdomen, lower back;
- radiate into the genital area;
- unpleasant sensations intensify when using the toilet, during arousal and during the ejaculation process;
- are associated with sexual dysfunction.
Erection problems are a characteristic symptom of a chronic form of the disease. Due to the fact that such dysfunction can have different degrees of manifestation, their therapy has some differences.
It is not uncommon for men to have a sluggish erection with prostatitis. Most people cannot finish intercourse at all or they ejaculate prematurely. Such disorders have a negative effect on the composition of the sperm.
Treatment methods
The specific type of therapy is determined by a specialist based on the features of the course of the disease. In this case, the reasons for the development of this disease should be considered. So, the main method of treating the acute form of the disease is antibiotic therapy. These drugs are used even if the disease is not bacterial in nature.
A complex treatment is offered for chronic prostatitis. It contains the following procedures:
- drug therapy;
- physiotherapy;
- taking immunomodulators;
- prostate massage.
If chronic prostatitis is not bacterial, its treatment is carried out by taking nonsteroidal drugs. Sedatives are used as an additional treatment.
Prevention of prostatitis is reduced to an active lifestyle, regular sexual intercourse with a regular partner and timely treatment of infectious diseases.