Any healthy man can develop prostatitis; no one is immune from it.Even astronauts and athletes with an ideal lifestyle are in the “risk zone”.Knowing the symptoms will help you detect prostatitis in time and begin treatment.
Urinary disorders
The urethra, urethra, passes through the prostate.One of the functions of which is to control the stream of urine, opening and closing the outlet from the bladder.Therefore, when the prostate is irritated or inflamed, problems with urination often begin.
Increased or decreased urge
Symptomatic of prostatitis is precisely the increased frequency of urges with a decrease in the amount of urine in a portion.Just an increase in the frequency of urges with the same portion and volume can be either the norm (I just started drinking more liquid) or a sign of a disease such as diabetes - diabetes mellitus or non-sugar diabetes.That is, the total amount of urine per day increases sharply, and therefore a person runs to the toilet more often.Normally, this happens, for example, when eating watermelons.Portions of urine are large or huge.
But when the same amount of urine comes out in a day, but it is distributed over 10-30 trips to the toilet - the size of each portion, of course, becomes several times smaller.In women, this is observed with cystitis, in men - with prostatitis or urethritis, with any irritation of the urinary tract, including inflammation.This symptom can be quite constant, or it can fluctuate.If the irritant temporarily weakens the effect, for example when inflammation subsides.In the case of chronic prostatitis, this does not indicate recovery, but an improvement in the condition.This is important in a diagnostic sense
Weakening of the urine stream
A weak stream of urine is an important symptom characteristic of a prostate problem.Usually it is given by two main diseases.Adenoma (hyperplasia) of the prostate gland and prostatitis.It's easy to distinguish them.Adenoma, as a rule, appears in the elderly, and prostatitis - more often in young active men.In any case, this is a symptom that requires examination of the prostate, and not other organs.Exceptions are rare (stones, urethral stricture).
The dependence of the strength of the urine stream on the effect on the gland is specific.From ejaculation, sexual intercourse or lack thereof.From walking or prolonged sitting.From violating the diet or following it.
Unpleasant sensations
Very characteristic is not just an increased frequency of urges, but also unpleasant sensations during urination.When eating watermelon, for example, you can run to the toilet every 10-15 minutes, but the sensation is rather pleasant and satisfying.But prostatitis will give you a very unpleasant, “imperative” urge to go to the toilet.This brings relief - but for a fairly short time.At night, the urge appears more often and is often more unpleasant.This can interfere with sleep and is often one of the main complaints.
Urine Portion Sizes
The size of urine portions decreases.This is due to both the irritating effect of prostate inflammation and the increased sensitivity of the urinary tract in case of inflammation.Hypersensitivity - gives the feeling that a lot of urine has already accumulated in the bladder, “half a bucket” - but in fact there is literally 30-100 ml.
Serving sizes may vary.With more fluid, urinary tract irritation decreases as the urine becomes more dilute.It turns out to be a paradox - a person drinks more fluid, but goes to the toilet less often, due to increasing portions.
Sharp and urgent urges
Imperative (sharp) urges - more common during exacerbation, or with age.They can force a man to refuse trips, or to make his own way “from toilet to toilet.”In advanced cases, this leads a man to the need to wear a diaper.On the one hand, the urine flows weaker, and on the other, when you have the urge, you have to go to the toilet.At any cost.
It is almost impossible to “endure” such an urge
Urine dripping
Some urine always remains after urination.“No matter how much you shake your penis, the last one will be in your panties” - popular wisdom.However, a little is 1-2-3 drops of urine, no more.Any visible excess of this norm is quite typical for a problem with the urinary tract in a man, but is not always characteristic of prostatitis.
This also includes a completely different symptom - discharge from the urethra.Sometimes they are difficult to distinguish and additional analysis is required.More often, the discharge does not depend on urination, is thicker than urine, can be light, colored, transparent and cloudy... They require mandatory analysis to identify the cause.It can be a sign of both prostatitis and urethritis, or a venereal disease.
Pain
Just as a sore throat hurts with a sore throat, the lower abdomen, perineum, groin, lower back or sacrum also hurt with prostatitis.
Where and how exactly does it hurt?
The pain can also “radiate” to the scrotum, legs, sometimes to the abdomen, up to the level of the navel and even higher.What is important for us is the nature of these pains, their connection with other symptoms and with external causes.
When and why do they appear
A connection with lifestyle, sedentary work, ejaculation or abstinence allows you to either practically exclude prostatitis, or suspect it with a high probability.Thus, constant pain that does not depend on these causes can more often be a manifestation of a “neurological” cause, such as CPPS, chronic pelvic pain syndrome.But the pain that appears after ejaculation for several hours or days.or, on the contrary, it disappears after ejaculation for hours and days - it is very likely associated with prostatitis.
Duration
Any.The duration may depend on the severity of the exacerbation and other concomitant diseases.For example, depression will give constant excruciating pain even with minor prostatitis.A painless form of prostatitis can mask the disease, possibly for many years.
That is, one cannot judge the disease and its severity by this symptom alone.
What makes it better or worse?
This is the main thing that worries the doctor.
The location, nature or duration of pain can be very different for the same disease.But the dependence of the condition on ejaculation, on sedentary work or walking, on overexcitation, on cooling or spicy food - quite accurately helps us determine both the diagnosis itself and the direction of treatment and preventive measures that will make it possible to practically recover from chronic prostatitis.
Pain in the heart, back and other organs
The prostate is a small organ in the pelvis.But its inflammation can affect the entire body.
The first way of influence is intoxication.As with any serious inflammation, such as the flu, the whole body or most of it can hurt.In the same way, the body can hurt with prostatitis, with its exacerbation.
The second mechanism of pain in distant areas (head, heart, hypochondrium, legs) is neurological.Along the course of the nerves and spine, pain can “radiate” to fairly distant areas of the body, and even form “secondary” foci of inflammation.For example, in the lumbosacral region.And from there, the pain can “radiate”, radiating to the thoracic and cervical spine, to the legs, and almost anywhere.
Erection problems
“Officially” an erection should not be affected by inflammation of the prostate.She has other development mechanisms that are not directly related to this “second heart” of a man.However, in practice, erection is impaired.At least during an exacerbation.There may be several mechanisms - from the direct effect of inflammation of a nearby organ on the “switching on” of the penis - to an indirect, regulatory mechanism, similar to a weakening, slowdown of erection during long-term abstinence in adult men (not in adolescents, of course).
Fortunately, this erectile dysfunction is very well and reliably treated.Unless a psychological factor is added.A man with mild prostatitis experiences a slight decrease in erectile function.He begins to worry, listen to the penis - and neurosis destroys his erection completely at the root.This is the third, most serious mechanism of the influence of prostatitis on erection.
Ejaculation disorders
Ejaculation (ejaculation) is the release of sperm, ejaculate from the penis at the end of sexual intercourse.Performed by the muscles of the pelvic floor and prostate gland.More often, the symptom is a weakening of this release, a decrease in the “shot range” and a shortening of sexual intercourse.Sometimes, or temporarily - there may be a prolongation of sexual intercourse, the man cannot “cum” in any way.
Sperm ejection force
When a muscle weakens, its work and its action weaken.The composition of ejaculate and sperm changes, and the force of ejection also changes.
This is important for three reasons.The first is one of the most accurate signs of damage to the prostate.Almost all other manifestations and symptoms can occur in other diseases.But the weakening of the discharge is pathognomonic, specific specifically for prostatitis.
Second reason.Decreased output is a factor that worsens the condition of the prostate after sex, which provokes POIS (post orgasm malaise syndrome).
During treatment - men with POIS report worsening of their condition following weak, ineffective sperm output.And vice versa - they are increasingly saying that high-quality ejaculation did not give symptoms of POIS.Not 100%, but very likely.Third, this is probably the main factor that prevents a man with prostatitis from being cured without medical procedures.As soon as the force of sperm release is normalized, the main mechanism for maintaining male health is activated - the “self-cleaning” of the prostate gland.
Blurred sensations
Instead of a vivid orgasm, the man feels something like “peeed in boiling water” or “felt almost nothing.”
The strength of sensations can fluctuate, and also serves as a fairly accurate sign of problems in the prostate, or a sign that improvement is beginning.
Color, quantity and consistency of ejaculate
One of the important objective parameters related to the prostate and prostatitis.Often, sperm analysis is performed only to determine fertility and chances of conception.However, semen analysis provides a lot of information about the condition of the prostate.So, the color of sperm and ejaculate is normally milky white, cloudy.The consistency is medium-thick, there must be “stickiness”, the stretchability of a drop of sperm in the form of a thread.The smell is specific, without any admixture of the smell of rot, pus, and so on.
Any change in these parameters requires urgent examination if there is no diagnosis yet, and treatment - for example, when a diagnosis of prostatitis is already available.
Color (bright white, yellowish, and greenish) indicates the presence of an impurity in the sperm, often of an inflammatory, purulent nature.
Transparency indicates decreased prostate function.And there will almost certainly be few “lecithin grains” in the microscopic analysis, which indicates a decrease in the function of this particular organ, although not necessarily from inflammation.
The quantity can be different, it can also fluctuate normally, depending on the rhythm of sexual life.A stable decrease or increase in the amount of sperm causes alarm.Perhaps this is a manifestation of “blockage” of part of the prostate tubules, or simply a decrease in ejaculate production.
Not 100%, but quite a characteristic symptom for chronic prostatitis.
Hemospermia
Let us separately consider hemospermia - an admixture of blood in sperm.It can be noticeable simply with the eye, more often with damage to blood vessels, with calliculitis, with cancer, and finally with trauma.The blood can be either bright scarlet or old, dark, venous.In any case, this requires urgent analysis of the ejaculate and other examinations.
There is also an admixture of a small amount of blood in the ejaculate - microhemospermia.Often occurs during exacerbation of prostatitis, along with an increase in the number of leukocytes.Sometimes this option can be perfectly treated by fortifying the body; many urologists, just in case, give a complex vitamin preparation in a good course, often together with zinc, selenium, and so on.
This is analogous to bleeding gums.Loose, inflamed gums bleed very often.And after the inflammation is eliminated and the gums are strengthened, the admixture of blood, of course, disappears.There is no need to be afraid of this symptom if the reason for the appearance of blood in the semen is known.
Decreased libido
A very important symptom.Officially, it should also not appear with prostatitis.In practice, there are usually two mechanisms involved.
The first is intoxication.With any inflammation, from flu to sore throat, libido and desire for sex may decrease.The body sets its sights on other tasks.
Second, perhaps libido is influenced by something similar to the phenomena of Tarkhanov and Belov.The symptom is nonspecific, it can also occur, for example, with a depressive background, which can appear with any chronic illness and even without it.But in combination with other manifestations, we take this decrease into account as important and significant.Including to influence the prospects for recovery.If this problem is not solved and the man is left with reduced libido, it is difficult to talk about curing prostatitis.A decrease will lead to irregular sex life, stagnation in the pelvis and an increased risk of exacerbations.
Other indirect signs
Weakness, lethargy, sweating
More often than not, these are simply manifestations of intoxication.Just like with chronic sore throat, bronchitis and so on.Usually such symptoms do not bother you, but even with a slight exacerbation, a deterioration in the general condition appears; there is a fairly clear proportionality between the strength of inflammation and the degree of sweating, weakness, and apathy.As the condition improves, such symptoms go away.The problem is not at all specific to prostatitis.But it helps to assess the strength of the exacerbation, for example.
Headaches and dizziness
Dizziness and migraines can appear either immediately after the act or after a day or two.They are “vegetative” reactions that usually accompany exacerbation of prostatitis, more often in people with a tendency to vascular reactions.A nonspecific symptom, of course.Maybe for dozens, if not hundreds of other diseases.But we will certainly take it into account.And of course, we can remove it during the course of treatment.