Any healthy man can develop prostatitis;no one is immune from it.Even astronauts and athletes with ideal lifestyles are in the "risk zone".Knowing the symptoms will help you detect prostatitis in time and start treatment.
Urinary disorders
The urethra, the urethra, passes through the prostate.One of the functions of which is to control the stream of urine, opening and closing the exit from the bladder.Therefore, when the prostate is irritated or inflamed, problems with urination often begin.
Increased or decreased desire
The symptomatology of prostatitis is precisely the increased frequency of urges with a decrease in the amount of urine per portion.Just an increase in the frequency of calls 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 diabetes insipidus.That is, the total amount of urine per day increases sharply, and therefore a person runs to the toilet more often.This usually happens, for example, when eating watermelons.Passages of urine are large or huge.
But when the same amount of urine comes out in one 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 in cystitis, in men - in prostatitis or urethritis, in any irritation of the urinary tract, including inflammation.This symptom can be fairly constant or it can fluctuate.If the irritant temporarily weakens the effect, for example, when the inflammation subsides.In the case of chronic prostatitis, this does not mean recovery, but improvement of the condition.This is important in a diagnostic sense
Weakening of the stream of urine
A weak stream of urine is an important symptom of a prostate problem.It is usually caused by two main diseases.Adenoma (hyperplasia) of the prostate gland and prostatitis.It's easy to tell them apart.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, not other organs.Exceptions are rare (stones, strictures of the urethra).
The dependence of the strength of the urine stream on the effect on the gland is specific.From ejaculation, intercourse or lack thereof.From walking or prolonged sitting.From breaking the diet or following it.
Unpleasant sensations
It is very characteristic not only the increased frequency of urges, but also the unpleasant sensations during urination.When you eat watermelon, for example, you can run to the toilet every 10-15 minutes, but the feeling is quite pleasant and satisfying.But prostatitis will give you a very unpleasant, "compelling" urge to go to the toilet.This brings relief – but for a fairly short time.At night, the urge occurs 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 the portions of urine decreases.This is due to both the irritating effect of prostate inflammation and the increased sensitivity of the urinary tract during inflammation.Hypersensitivity - creates 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 is reduced as the urine becomes more dilute.A paradox arises - a person drinks more liquids, but goes to the toilet less often, due to an increase in portions.
Acute and urgent calls
Urgent (acute) urges - more common during an exacerbation or with age.They can force a man to refuse trips or to make his way "from toilet to toilet" on his own.In advanced cases, this leads the man to the need to wear a diaper.On the one hand, the urine flows less, and on the other hand, when you feel like it, you have to go to the toilet.At any cost.
It is almost impossible to "resist" such a desire
Dripping urine
After urinating, there is always some urine left."No matter how much you shake your dick, the last one will be in your panties" - folk wisdom.Still, 1-2-3 drops of urine is not enough, no more.Any visible excess of this norm is quite characteristic of a problem with the male urinary tract, but it is not always characteristic of prostatitis.
This also includes a completely different symptom - discharge from the urethra.Sometimes they are difficult to distinguish and further analysis is required.More often, the secretion does not depend on urination, it is thicker than urine, it can be light, colored, transparent and cloudy... They require a mandatory analysis to establish the cause.It can be a sign of both prostatitis and urethritis or 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 "radiate" to the scrotum, legs, sometimes to the abdomen, to the level of the navel and even higher.What is important for us is the nature of these pains, their relationship with other symptoms and with external causes.
When and why do they appear
The relationship with lifestyle, sedentary work, ejaculation or abstinence allows you to either practically exclude prostatitis or suspect it with a high probability.Thus, persistent pain independent of these causes may 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, disappears after ejaculation for hours and days - it is very likely related to prostatitis.
Duration
Any kind.The duration may depend on the severity of the exacerbation and other concomitant diseases.For example, depression will give constant excruciating pain even with mild prostatitis.The painless form of prostatitis can mask the disease, possibly for many years.
That is, one cannot judge the disease and its severity only by this symptom.
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 overexcitement, on cooling or spicy food - quite accurately helps us to determine both the diagnosis itself and the direction of treatment and preventive measures that will make possible a practical cure from chronic prostatitis.
Pain in heart, back and other organs
The prostate is a small organ in the pelvis.But its inflammation can affect the whole body.
The first mode of action is intoxication.As with any serious inflammation, such as the flu, all or most of the body may hurt.In the same way, the body can hurt with prostatitis, with its exacerbation.
The second mechanism of pain in remote areas (head, heart, hypochondrium, legs) is neurological.Along the course of the nerves and the spine, the pain can "spread" to quite 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" erection should not be affected by inflammation of the prostate.She has other mechanisms of development that are not directly related to this "second heart" of the man.In practice, however, the erection is impaired.At least during a flare-up.There may be several mechanisms - from the direct effect of inflammation of a nearby organ on the "turning on" of the penis - to an indirect, regulatory mechanism similar to weakening, delaying erection during long-term abstinence in adult men (not in adolescents, of course).
Fortunately, this erectile dysfunction is treated very well and reliably.Unless a psychological factor is added.A man with mild prostatitis experiences a slight decrease in erectile function.He begins to worry, to listen to the penis - and the neurosis destroys his erection completely at the base.This is the third most serious mechanism of impact of prostatitis on erection.
Ejaculation disorders
Ejaculation (ejaculation) is the release of sperm, ejaculate from the penis at the end of sexual intercourse.It is performed by the muscles of the pelvic floor and the prostate gland.More often, the symptom is a weakening of this release, a reduction in the "range of the shot" and a shortening of intercourse.Sometimes or temporarily - there may be a prolongation of intercourse, the man cannot "come" in any way.
Sperm ejection force
When a muscle weakens, its work and action weaken.The composition of ejaculate and sperm changes, as does the force of ejection.
This is important for three reasons.The first is one of the most accurate signs of prostate damage.Almost all other manifestations and symptoms can occur in other diseases.But the weakening of the discharge is pathognomonic, specific to prostatitis.
Second reason.Decreased production is a factor that worsens the condition of the prostate after sex, which provokes POIS (post-orgasmic discomfort syndrome).
During treatment - men with POIS report worsening after poor, ineffective sperm production.And vice versa - it is increasingly said that quality ejaculation did not give symptoms of POIS.Not 100%, but very likely.Third, this is perhaps 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 bright orgasm, the man feels something like "pissed in boiling water" or "felt almost nothing."
The strength of the sensations can vary 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, the analysis of seminal fluid gives a lot of information about the state of the prostate.So, the color of sperm and ejaculate is usually milky white, cloudy.The consistency is medium thick, there should be "stickiness", the stretchiness of a drop of sperm in the form of a thread.The smell is specific, without impurities of the smell of rotting, pus, etc.
Any change in these parameters requires urgent examination, if there is still no diagnosis, and treatment - for example, when the diagnosis of prostatitis is already present.
The color (bright white, yellowish and greenish) indicates the presence of an impurity in the semen, often of an inflammatory, purulent nature.
Transparency indicates reduced prostate function.And there will almost certainly be some "lecithin grains" in the microscopic analysis, indicating a decrease in the function of that particular organ, though not necessarily from inflammation.
The amount can be different, it can also vary normally, depending on the rhythm of sexual life.A steady decrease or increase in the amount of sperm causes alarm.Perhaps this is a manifestation of "clogging" of part of the prostate tubules or simply a decrease in the production of ejaculate.
Not 100%, but quite a characteristic symptom of chronic prostatitis.
Hemospermia
Let's look separately at hemospermia - an admixture of blood in the semen.It can be noticed simply with the eye, more often with damage to blood vessels, with caliculitis, with cancer and finally with trauma.The blood can be both bright red and old, dark, venous.In any case, this requires an urgent analysis of the ejaculate and other research.
There is also an admixture of a small amount of blood in the ejaculate - microhemospermia.It often appears during an exacerbation of prostatitis, along with an increase in the number of leukocytes.Sometimes this option can be perfectly treated by strengthening the body;many urologists just in case give a complex vitamin preparation in a good course, often together with zinc, selenium, etc.
This is analogous to bleeding gums.Loose, inflamed gums bleed very often.And after the inflammation is eliminated and the gums are strengthened, the impurity of blood, of course, disappears.There is no need to be afraid of this symptom if the cause of the appearance of blood in the seminal fluid is known.
Decreased libido
A very important symptom.Officially, it should not appear with prostatitis either.In practice, there are usually two mechanisms involved.
The first is intoxication.With any inflammation, from the flu to a sore throat, libido and desire for sex can decrease.The body turns to other tasks.
Second, perhaps the libido is affected by something similar to the Tarkhanov and Belov phenomena.The symptom is non-specific, it can also appear, for example, with a depressive background, which can appear with any chronic disease and even without it.But in combination with other developments, we consider this reduction to be important and significant.Including affecting recovery prospects.If this problem is not solved and the man remains with reduced libido, it is difficult to talk about curing prostatitis.The reduction will lead to an irregular sex life, pelvic stagnation and an increased risk of flare-ups.
Other indirect signs
Weakness, lethargy, sweating
Most often, these are simply manifestations of intoxication.Just like chronic sore throat, bronchitis, etc.Usually, such symptoms do not bother you, but even with a slight exacerbation, a deterioration of the general condition occurs;there is a fairly clear proportionality between the strength of the inflammation and the degree of sweating, weakness, and apathy.As the condition improves, such symptoms disappear.The problem is not specific to prostatitis at all.But it helps to assess the strength of the exacerbation, for example.
Headache and dizziness
Dizziness and migraines can appear both immediately after the act and after a day or two.These are "vegetative" reactions that usually accompany an exacerbation of prostatitis, more often in people with a tendency to vascular reactions.A non-specific symptom, of course.Perhaps for dozens if not hundreds of other diseases.But we will certainly consider it.And of course, we can remove it during treatment.