The most common urological disease in men is prostatitis, inflammation of the prostate. The gland is located next to 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. Treatment prescribed by a doctor will help relieve pain due to prostatitis, but while you are waiting for a doctor, you can use methods that do not require medical intervention.
Occurrence and localization of pain
The sensation of pain varies depending on how active the inflammatory process is.
- In acute prostatitis or exacerbation of a chronic disease, pain usually occurs within a few hours. It is most often localized in the perineum, and can radiate to the head of the penis, the suprapubic region, the anus or the lower back. The acute process is the cause of severe pain, which becomes more intense after urination or ejaculation. Urination can also be painful.
- With chronic prostatitis, aching pain often occurs, which intensifies especially in the morning or due to prolonged sitting.
- The patient experiences the most intense feelings with prostate abscess or advanced acute prostatitis. The pain is very severe, throbbing or shooting, sometimes accompanied by fever and heat. This condition requires an urgent visit to the doctor.
What to do if there is pain
You should not sit and wait alone for the sensations to subside. Acute prostatitis requires qualified treatment by a doctor: the disease will not disappear on its own, and in the absence of therapy it can become chronic. Chronic prostatitis is more difficult to treat and sometimes recurs. Its exacerbations in terms of symptoms resemble acute prostatitis and are alleviated by drugs prescribed by a urologist. You should not delay a visit to the doctor: the sooner treatment begins, the faster you will get rid of the disease. But while you wait to see a urologist, you can alleviate some of the uncomfortable symptoms at home. This will not remove the cause of the disease - it will only improve the condition.
How to relieve the pain of prostatitis
If the pain is caused by an acute process, it will not be possible to solve it quickly and permanently until the cause of the disease is eliminated. But you can weaken it. Recommendations are given by a doctor, but they generally boil down to a healthy lifestyle, absence of hypothermia and bad habits.
Walk if your condition 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 increases and blockage is created in the pelvic area - this contributes to pain and worsening of the condition. Pain after prolonged sitting disappears if a person walks, so patients without exacerbations are advised to maintain moderate physical activity and avoid stagnation. For this reason, patients are advised physiotherapy and prostate massage - they improve microcirculation and prevent stagnation. If it is an acute process, physical activity is contraindicated, especially with fever and elevated temperature. In such cases, it is recommended, on the contrary, to stay in bed, and if there are signs of sepsis such as high temperature and body pain, to seek emergency help.
Drink more water. Prostatitis is often accompanied by damage to the urinary tract: pathogens accumulate in the urethra and ureter. Urethritis develops, which only intensifies the symptoms: it is painful for the man to go to the toilet, he feels pain and burning, frequent urges, sometimes false or too intense. This condition also requires medication, but can be alleviated by drinking plenty of fluids and going to the bathroom frequently. During the disease, the body needs more water, and frequent urination helps flush out bacteria from the urethra and reduce inflammation. During prostatitis, defecation can also be painful: drinking plenty of water will soften the stool and relieve 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 painkillers. Analgesics should not be used before taking tests or visiting a doctor: they can obscure the clinical picture. But the doctor may prescribe painkillers to make the patient feel better. Try not to use drugs 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. Such medicines should not be taken without a doctor's prescription.
Test yourself. A urologist makes a diagnosis based on an examination, and if you have the opportunity and don't want to wait, get yourself tested. To diagnose prostatitis, urine and seminal fluid examinations are required, not only microscopically, but also bacteriologically. It is better to conduct a bacteriological study to determine the sensitivity of the pathogen to an expanded range of drugs - this will help the doctor to prescribe more accurate treatment. Give the findings to your urologist at the examination. He will decipher them and prescribe drug therapy in accordance with the results of the analysis.
What not to do during the 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 handle patients with caution. The patient himself must adhere to certain restrictions. We'll tell you what you should never do, so you don't inadvertently make your condition worse.
Give antibiotics yourself. Do not take serious medicines without a prescription! For acute and chronic bacterial prostatitis, the 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 thoughtful medical approach. The doctor determines the duration of the treatment and the dose needed to kill the bacteria. Such details are difficult to determine independently, without medical education. Therefore, self-medication often leads to bacteria not disappearing from the prostate, but becoming resistant to antibiotics. These forms of prostatitis are more difficult to treat and usually cause more concern.
Heat or cool the prostate. It may seem that heat and cold can relieve pain, but in conditions of bacterial inflammation, they are, on the contrary, harmful. Heating an inflamed prostate increases blood circulation and helps bacteria multiply, which only worsens the condition. Cooling weakens local immunity and makes it less effective against pathogens. In the treatment of chronic prostatitis, it is recommended to avoid hypothermia and overheating above body temperature. This applies even to the periods between exacerbations, and during the acute process it is especially important to follow the rules.
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 exacerbation is harmful and even dangerous. Acute pain is a contraindication for any interventions: they can only intensify it and worsen the patient's condition. And if an abscess is suspected, physical therapy can cause it to break through, seriously exacerbating the problem. It is better to use 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 ease his pain at home. But alcohol in acute inflammation is strictly contraindicated. Patients, on the contrary, are recommended to exclude from their diet all foods that irritate the urinary tract: spicy, fatty, salty. Dieting is much more effective in relieving pain, but alcohol will only do more harm.
Prevention of pain in prostatitis
Even if you have chronic prostatitis, you can reduce the number of exacerbations to a minimum. In remission, the disease hardly bothers the patient, the pain is usually associated with an aggravation or a subacute process. For a long-term remission, it is necessary to follow a series of recommendations.
Don't get too cold. Doctors advise that you dress warmly in cold weather, do not stay in the cold for a long time and do not sit in the cold. Hypothermia implies a decrease in local immunity, which can cause deterioration.
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 outcome.
Go for physical therapy and massage. Not all sources confirm the effectiveness of physiotherapy, but in some cases it can ease the condition of patients. Massage, like physical activity, is needed to prevent stagnation. As a rule, classic digital rectal massage is prescribed, but if the patient cannot go to the doctor all the time, he can use self-massage machines.
Stick to the diet. Drinking plenty of fluids and avoiding spicy and salty food in the diet is recommended by the doctor to alleviate the condition. It is recommended to get rid of bad habits.
Maintain sexual hygiene. Intimate hygiene, especially after intercourse, prevents bacteria from entering the urethra and reaching the prostate. In order to prevent infections, do not ignore it, and use a protective barrier during sexual intercourse.
Conclusion
Do not worry. Pain in prostatitis is a very unpleasant phenomenon, but it can be treated. Remember that ways to reduce at home will not eliminate the cause of the disease: be sure to consult a doctor, get tested and start therapy. Only qualified treatment will help you cope with the problem and return to a full life.