Chronic bacterial prostatitis: It is similar to acute bacterial prostatitis but the symptoms develop gradually and are less severe. Characterized by recurrent urinary tract infections in men; this condition can affect any age group but is most common in young and middle-aged men. Patient would have undergone treatment multiple times and visited many doctors.
Asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis: There are men with prostatitis but have no symptoms, despite having an inflammation of the prostate. Diagnosis is made when the patient is being evaluated for symptoms unrelated to prostatitis. In cases such as these is evidence of inflammation is found in biopsied tissue or specimens of urine, semen or prostatic fluid.
What causes prostatitis?
The direct causes of prostatitis are not fully known by the medical community. However, there are several accepted theories. Some cases of prostatitis are clearly related to acute and chronic bacterial prostatitis infections. These infections get into the prostate from the urethra by backward flow of infected urine into the prostate ducts. Bacterial prostatitis is not contagious and is not a sexually transmitted disease. Certain conditions or medical procedures increase the risk of contracting bacterial prostatitis. There is a higher risk if the man has recently had a catheter or other instrument inserted into his urethra, an abnormality of his urinary tract or a recent bladder infection.
Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome may be caused by a typical organisms such as chlamydia, mycoplasma (which may be transmitted by sexual contact) ureaplasma or may also be due to a chemical or immunologic reaction to an initial injury or previous infection. The nerves and muscles in the pelvis may cause pain in the area, either as a response to the prostate infection or inflammation or as an isolated problem itself.
What are the symptoms of prostatitis?
The symptoms depend on the type of prostatitis infection the man is suffering from. Often men do not notice any symptoms, while some experience symptoms similar to that of a urinary tract infection. However, other diseases can cause the same or similar symptoms. It is very important to be evaluated by a medical professional to determine if the patient has prostatitis and which type so that it can be properly treated.
With acute bacterial prostatitis, the symptoms are severe and sudden and may cause the patient to seek emergency medical care. Common symptoms also include chills, fever, severe burning during urination and the inability to empty the bladder.
In chronic bacterial prostatitis, the symptoms are similar to the acute bacterial prostatitis infections but it does not produce a fever. Other symptoms are burning during urination; urinary frequency, especially at night; perineal, testicular, bladder and low back pain; and painful ejaculation. The condition can be episodic, with flare-ups and remissions, associated with infection, treatment and subsequent recurrence.
What is the treatment for prostatitis?
Acute bacterial prostatitis treatment:
Treatment for acute bacterial prostatitis is by oral antibiotics, usually ciprofloxacin group of drugs. Home care includes drinking plenty of fluids, medications for pain control, and rest. If the patient is acutely ill or has a compromised immune system (for example, is taking chemotherapy or other immune suppression drugs or has HIV/AIDS), hospitalization for intravenous antibiotics and care may be required.
Chronic bacterial prostatitis treatment:
Chronic bacterial prostatitis treatment is with long-term antibiotics, up to eight weeks, with ciprofloxacin, sulfa drugs or erythromycin. Even with appropriate therapy, this type of prostatitis can recur. A small amount of stagnant urine allows the potential for recurrent infection to occur. This situation can be caused by benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH), bladder stones, or prostate stones.
Chronic prostatitis without infection treatment:
Chronic prostatitis without infection treatment addresses chronic pain control and may include physical therapy and relaxation techniques as well as tricyclic antidepressant medications. Other medication possibilities include alpha-adrenergic blockers. Tamsulosin and terazosin are drugs that block the non-heart adrenaline receptors and are used in treating BPH and bladder outlet obstruction. Allowing better bladder emptying may help minimize symptoms. Dutasteide can be used to reduce the congestion in prostate.
Asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis treatment:
Treatment is not required for this type of prostatitis. In patients undergoing infertility assessment, this inflammation may be treated with a course of either a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory medication (ibuprofen, Motrin, Advil) or antibiotics.
