The most common urological disease in men is prostatitis, inflammation of the prostate gland. The gland is located near the urinary tract, and the disease often occurs due to infection - bacteria, viruses or protozoa. Prostatitis is usually bacterial and, like any inflammation, is accompanied by acute pain. This is the first and main symptom of the disease. The treatment prescribed by a doctor will help relieve the pain due to prostatitis, but while you are waiting for the doctor, you can use methods that do not require medical intervention.
Appearance and localization of pain
Pain sensations vary depending on how active the inflammatory process is.
- In acute prostatitis or exacerbation of a chronic disease, pain usually appears within a few hours. It is most often located in the perineum and can radiate to the head of the penis, the suprapubic region, the anus or the lower back. An acute process is the cause of severe pain, which becomes more intense after urination or defecation. Urination may also be painful.
- With chronic prostatitis, painful pains often appear, which intensify especially in the morning or due to sitting for a long time.
- The patient experiences the most intense sensations with a prostate abscess or with advanced acute prostatitis. The pain is very strong, throbbing or shooting, sometimes accompanied by fever and temperature. This condition requires an immediate visit to the doctor.
What to do if there is pain
You don't have to sit back and wait for the feelings to subside. Acute prostatitis requires qualified treatment by a doctor: the disease will not go away on its own, and in the absence of therapy it can become chronic. Chronic prostatitis is more difficult to treat and sometimes recurs. His worsening symptoms resemble acute prostatitis and are relieved by medications prescribed by the urologist. You should not delay your visit to the doctor: the sooner treatment is started, the sooner you can get rid of the disease. But while you wait to see a urologist, you can ease some of the uncomfortable symptoms at home. This will not get rid of the cause of the disease - it will only improve the condition.
How to relieve pain with prostatitis
If the pain is caused by an acute process, it will not be possible to get rid of it quickly and permanently until the cause of the disease is eliminated. But you can weaken it. Recommendations are given by the doctor, but in general they consist of a healthy lifestyle, the absence of hypothermia and bad habits.
Walk if the situation allows. Chronic prostatitis, including chronic pelvic pain syndrome, according to some data, develops against the background of stagnation. If a man sits for a long time, the pressure on the prostate gland increases and overload is formed in the pelvic area - this contributes to pain and worsening of the condition. Pain after sitting for a long time goes away if a person walks, so patients without irritation are advised to maintain moderate physical activity and avoid stagnation. That is why patients are advised to undergo physiotherapy and prostate massage - they improve microcirculation and prevent stagnation. If we talk about an acute process, physical activity is contraindicated, especially with temperature and fever. In such cases, it is recommended, on the contrary, to stay in bed and if there are symptoms such as high temperature and body pain, seek emergency help.
Drink more water. Prostatitis is often accompanied by damage to the urinary tract: pathogens accumulate in the urethra and urethra. Urethritis develops, which only intensifies the symptoms: it is painful for a man to go to the toilet, he feels pain and burning, frequent urges, sometimes false or very intense. This condition also requires medication, but it can be alleviated by drinking plenty of fluids and going to the bathroom often. During the disease, the body needs more water, and frequent urination helps remove bacteria from the urethra and reduce inflammation. During prostatitis, defecation can also be painful: drinking plenty of water will help soften the stool and ease the pain. For the same reason, doctors sometimes include laxatives in the treatment regimen, but they should not be used without the advice of a specialist.
Take pain relievers. Analgesics should not be used before taking tests or visiting a doctor: they can blur the clinical picture. But the doctor can prescribe pain relievers to make the patient feel better. Try not to use medications without serious reasons. In the treatment of chronic pelvic pain syndrome, urologists sometimes prescribe anxiolytics - drugs that help relieve anxiety and depression that occur during a long-term illness. You should not take such medicines without a doctor's prescription.
Get tested. The urologist makes the diagnosis based on examinations, and if you have the opportunity and don't want to wait, do the test yourself. To diagnose prostatitis, urine and seminal fluid examinations are needed, not only microscopically, but also bacteriologically. It is better to carry out a bacteriological study to determine the sensitivity of the pathogen to a wide range of drugs - this will help the doctor to prescribe more accurate treatment. Give the results to your urologist at your appointment. He will decipher them and prescribe drug therapy in accordance with the results of the analysis.
What not to do during an acute process
Severe pain is usually associated with acute prostatitis or exacerbation of chronic prostatitis. In this condition, the prostate is particularly vulnerable: even doctors are advised to manipulate patients carefully. The patient himself must respect certain restrictions. We'll tell you what you should never do so you don't inadvertently make your condition worse.
Self-administration of antibiotics. Do not take serious medications without a prescription! For acute and chronic bacterial prostatitis, a treatment regimen is prescribed by a urologist. As a rule, it consists of antibiotics to which the pathogen is sensitive, most often fluoroquinolones - they penetrate the prostate tissue better than others. But prostatitis is a disease that requires a careful medical approach. The doctor determines the duration of the treatment and the dose needed to kill the bacteria. It is difficult to determine such details on your own, without a medical education. Therefore, self-medication often leads to the fact that bacteria do not disappear from the prostate, but become resistant to antibiotics. These forms of prostatitis are more difficult to treat and usually cause more discomfort.
Heat or cool the prostate. It may seem that heat and cold can relieve pain, but in conditions of bacterial inflammation, on the contrary, they are harmful. Heating an inflamed prostate increases blood flow and helps bacteria multiply, therefore only making the condition worse. Cold weakens local immunity and fights the pathogen worse. In the treatment of chronic prostatitis, it is recommended to avoid hypothermia and overheating above body temperature. This also applies to the periods between exacerbations, and during an acute process it is especially important to follow the rule.
Use physical therapy. Physiotherapy methods such as finger massage are used in the treatment of chronic prostatitis and chronic pelvic pain syndrome to prevent stagnation, but their use during an exacerbation is harmful and even dangerous. Acute pain is a contraindication for any intervention: they can only intensify it and worsen the patient's condition. And if an abscess is suspected, physical therapy can lead to its discovery, seriously worsening the problems. It is better to resort to massage and other therapeutic methods under the supervision of a doctor after the condition has stabilized.
Drinking alcohol. A man may think that alcohol will help him ease the pain at home. But alcohol in acute inflammation is strictly contraindicated. On the contrary, patients are recommended to exclude from the diet all foods that irritate the urinary tract: spicy, fatty, salty. Following a diet is much more effective in relieving pain, but alcohol will only do more harm.
Prevention of prostate pain
Even if you have chronic prostatitis, you can reduce the number of irritations to a minimum. In remission, the disease hardly bothers the patient; pain is usually associated with an exacerbation or a subacute process. For long-term remission, a number of recommendations should be followed.
Don't get too cold. Doctors advise to dress warmly in cold weather, do not stay in the cold for a long time and do not sit in the cold. Hypothermia leads to a decrease in local immunity, which can provoke an aggravation.
Be physically active. A risk factor for the occurrence and worsening of prostatitis is congestion. People who lead an active lifestyle are less susceptible to stagnation. Chronic prostatitis is characterized by a weakening of muscle tone - physical activity will help prevent this result.
Get physical therapy and massage. Not all sources confirm the effectiveness of physiotherapy, but in some cases it can alleviate the condition of patients. Massage, like physical activity, is necessary to prevent stagnation. As a rule, a classic digital rectal massage is prescribed, but if the patient cannot constantly go to the doctor, he is able to use self-massage equipment.
Stay on a diet. Drinking plenty of fluids and avoiding spicy and salty foods in the diet is the doctor's recommendation to ease the condition. It is recommended to give up bad habits.
Maintain sexual hygiene. Intimate hygiene, especially after intercourse, prevents bacteria from entering the urethra and ascending to the prostate. To prevent infections, do not neglect it and use barrier protection during sexual intercourse.
end
Do not worry. Pain from prostatitis is a very unpleasant but treatable phenomenon. Remember that ways to reduce it at home will not eliminate the cause of the disease: be sure to consult a doctor, get tested and start a course of therapy. Only qualified treatment will help you cope with the problem and return to a full life.