Prostatitis

Prostatitis is an inflammation of the prostate gland caused by infectious agents like bacteria, fungi, mycoplasma or by other problems like prostatic hyperplasia, urethral stricture. Microorganisms are carried to the prostate from the urethra. Prostatitis may be classified as bacterial or abacterial, depending on the presence or absence of microorganisms in the prostatic fluid. They can also be classified as bacterial or fungal or mycoplasmic prostatitis.

Prostatitis symptoms are perineal discomfort, burning sensation, urgency, frequency of urination, and pain with or after ejaculation. The symptoms of prostate problems affect the person more psychologically and adds stress to life. Prostatodynia is the medical terminology for pain in the prostate. It is manifested by pain on voiding or perineal pain without any evidence of inflammation or bacterial growth in the prostatic fluid.

The symptoms of prostatitis differs between acute bacterial prostatitis and chronic bacterial prostatitis. In acute bacterial prostatitis, the person may have sudden fever and chills, perineal, rectal or low back pain. Urinary symptoms such as dysuria (pain while urinating), frequency (passing urine very often), urgency (an urge to pass urine immediately or feeling of poor control), and nocturia (getting up more than once at night to pass urine) indicate prostatitis. On the other hand, some may have acute bacterial prostatitis and still be asymptomatic.

Chronic bacterial prostatitis may present with frequency, dysuria, and occasionally urethral discharge. But high fever and chills are uncommon. Chronic bacterial prostatitis is the major cause of relapsing urinary tract infection in men. Prostatitis is diagnosed with careful history and culture of the prostatic fluid or tissue. Three samples of urine/fluid is collected at three different stages of urination in three different container to check the origin of infection.

Prostatitis may lead to abscess formation and septisemia which is very dangerous to life. Swelling of the prostate gland due to prostatitis may cause urinary retention (stasis of urine) that may in turn lead to other complications like epididymitis (inflammation of the epididymis), bacteremia (bacteria in blood), and pyelonephritis (infection of the kidneys). Acute bacterial prostatitis can be treated with antibiotics and pain relievers, but chronic bacterial prostatitis is difficult to treat with antibiotics because the bacteria would have become resistant to all antibiotics.

Any type of prostatitis manifests with some kind of symptoms. If you notice any symptoms mentioned above, make sure you visit the doctor immediately. Prostatitis is curable and it is not a sexually transmitted disease and it is nothing to be embarassed of.