Prostatitis

Prostatitis is the health condition that occurs when the prostate gland gets infected or inflamed. The prostate gland is a small, walnut-shaped organ that is specific to males. It lies under the bladder and produces semen. Prostatitis is not contagious, not a sexually-transmitted disease and not an age-related condition.

The National Institute of Health (NIH) has classified Prostatitis into the following four categories -

Acute bacterial prostatitis (Category 1) – This is a very serious condition and should receive immediate medical treatment.

Chronic bacterial prostatitis (Category 2) - This is a less severe condition than acute bacterial prostatitis and its symptoms are slow to develop.

Chronic non-bacterial prostatitis (Category 3) - Also known as chronic pelvic pain syndrome.

Asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis (Category 4) – This is a mild condition and may resolve itself without requiring any treatment.

Symptoms of Prostatitis:
Prostatitis is not an easy condition to diagnose. There are no specific set of symptoms – the symptoms vary according to the type of prostatitis – and these symptoms are often similar to those of other health conditions like bladder infections, prostate cancer, bladder cancer, or benign prostate hyperplasia (which is a non-cancerous growth of the prostate).

Generally, if you have developed prostatitis, you will experience mild discomfort to intense pain over a week in the pelvic region, the groin, and the lower back region. The pain or a burning sensation will be especially apparent during urination and/or during/after sexual climax. You may be unable to empty your bladder completely while urinating and may need to go again in less than 2 hours or more frequently. The pain or discomfort interrupts your normal schedule.

The specific symptoms for acute bacterial prostatitis, which can come on very suddenly, are as follows -

• Pain in the prostate gland, pubic area, and lower back
• Fever and chills
• Frequent urination
• Pain when urinating
• Painful ejaculation

If you have chronic bacterial prostatitis, you will experience the following symptoms -

• Pain in the pelvic area and genitals
• Frequent urination or difficulty in urinating
• Pain when urinating
• Blood-tinged urine
• Fever
• Bladder infection

With chronic nonbacterial prostatitis, there is usually no fever, but the other symptoms are much the same as in chronic bacterial prostatitis.

If you experience any of the symptoms mentioned above, see your doctor at once. Unless treated in time and in the appropriate manner, prostatitis can lead to further and very serious health complications.

Causes of Prostatitis:
Prostatitis is one of those health conditions that is still yet to be completely understood by medical experts, especially its causes and treatment. The Prostatitis in one particular patient may develop from not one but several different causes. The causes can be anything from bacterial infection to auto-immune response/disordered immune response to a neuromuscular problem to tension to strain to injury. Some other causes can be a uric acid disorder, a urethral stricture or prostate stones.

Acute bacterial prostatitis (Category 1) – Often caused by the bacteria in the large intestine. The bacteria can infect the prostate gland directly or may first infect the bladder or urinary tract and then the infection is spread from those areas.

Chronic bacterial prostatitis (Category 2) - This may develop from bacterial attack on the prostate gland, from bacterial infection in other parts of the body or from physical injury in the pelvic area.

Chronic non-bacterial prostatitis (Category 3) - There are no exact reasons why this condition develops. It may arise from overdoing physical activities like biking or jogging, from lifting heavy objects, from strained pelvic muscles, from some urinary tract abnormality or from an interstitial cystitis.

Asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis (Category 4) – Causes vary.

Treatment of Prostatitis:
There is no specific cure for Prostatitis. It is not something that can be fixed surgically, and most doctors discourage surgery. Treatment depends on what kind of prostatitis problem you have.

Your doctor will go over your medical history, ask you for a detailed description of your symptoms, examine your abdomen and pelvic area for tenderness and do a digital rectal probe to check your prostate gland. Samples of your urine or prostate gland fluid will be taken and analyzed in the laboratory to determine if the infection has bacterial or non-bacterial origins. Once the doctor knows what exactly is causing the infection, he/she can prescribe the appropriate treatment.

You may be given pain relievers like ibuprofen or aspirin, and if your prostatitis problem is due to bacterial infection - acute bacterial prostatitis or chronic bacterial prostatitis - the doctors will treat the infection with a round of antibiotics specific for battling that strain of bacteria. In the case of acute bacterial prostatitis, you may be hospitalized and given the antibiotics by intravenous drip. The duration of treatment depends on the kind of infection and on how well you respond to the medication. Once you've finished the antibiotics course, you may undergo another check-up to ensure the infection has completely cleared up.

There is no clear-cut treatment for non-bacterial prostatitis. You may be put on medication to relieve the severity of the symptoms. Many doctors prescribe oral alpha-blocker drugs to relax the bladder and facilitate urination, or muscle relaxants. You may also be advised to try out various relaxation techniques and muscle-strengthening techniques.

Asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis may not require any treatment.

In addition to medical treatment, you can help yourself by making some lifestyle changes. You should drink plenty of water, urinate regularly, avoid alcohol entirely and cut down on over-strenuous physical activities.