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 infections: 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 waiting for the doctor you can use methods that do not require medical intervention.
Appearance and location 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. Most often it is localized 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 ejaculation. Urination can also be painful.
- In chronic prostatitis, aching pain often occurs, which intensifies especially in the morning or due to long sitting.
- The patient experiences the most intense sensations with a prostate abscess or with advanced acute prostatitis. The pain is very severe, throbbing or stabbing, sometimes accompanied by fever and fever. This condition requires an immediate 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 does 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 flare-ups resemble acute prostatitis in symptoms and are relieved with medications prescribed by a urologist. You should not delay the visit to the doctor: the sooner treatment starts, the faster you can get rid of the disease. But while you wait to see a urologist, you can relieve some of the unpleasant symptoms at home. This will not eliminate the cause of the disease, but 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 quickly and permanently eliminate it until the cause of the disease is eliminated. But you can weaken it. Recommendations are given by the doctor, but in general they boil down to a healthy lifestyle, the absence of hypothermia and bad habits.
Walk if your condition allows it. 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 congestion forms in the pelvic area, this contributes to pain and worsening of the condition. Pain after sitting for a long time disappears if a person walks, so patients without exacerbations are advised to maintain moderate physical activity and avoid stagnation. This 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 fever and fever. In these cases, on the contrary, it is advisable to stay in bed and, if you notice signs of sepsis such as high fever and muscle pain, contact the emergency room.
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 too intense. This condition also requires medication, but can be relieved by drinking plenty of fluids and frequent visits to the bathroom. During the disease, the body needs more water, and frequent urination helps eliminate bacteria from the urethra and reduce inflammation. During prostatitis, defecation can also be painful: drinking plenty of water will help soften the stool and relieve 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 some painkillers. Analgesics should not be used before taking tests or visiting a doctor: they can cloud the clinical picture. But the doctor may prescribe painkillers to make the patient feel better. He tries not to use drugs without serious reasons. In treating chronic pelvic pain syndrome, urologists sometimes prescribe anxiolytics, drugs that help relieve anxiety and depression that occur during long-term illness. You should not take such drugs without a doctor's prescription.
Challenge yourself. The urologist makes the diagnosis based on the tests and, if you have the possibility and don't want to wait, get the test yourself. To diagnose prostatitis, urine and semen tests are necessary, not only microscopic, but also bacteriological. It is better to carry out a bacteriological study to determine the sensitivity of the pathogen to a wider range of drugs - this will help the doctor prescribe a more accurate treatment. Present the results to your urologist at your appointment. He will decipher them and prescribe drug therapy based on 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: doctors are also advised to handle patients with caution. The patient himself must observe some restrictions. We will tell you what you should never do, so as not to inadvertently worsen your condition.
Self-administer antibiotics. Do not take serious medications without a prescription! For acute and chronic bacterial prostatitis, a urologist prescribes a treatment regimen. 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 both the duration of treatment and the dosage needed to kill the bacteria. It is difficult to determine such details on your own, without medical training. Therefore, self-medication often leads to the fact that the 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 concern.
Heats or cools the prostate. It may seem that heat and cold can soothe pain, but in conditions of bacterial inflammation they are, on the contrary, harmful. Heating an inflamed prostate increases blood circulation and helps bacteria multiply, thus only worsening the condition. Cooling 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. Physiotherapeutic 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 a flare-up is harmful and even dangerous. Acute pain is a contraindication to any interventions: they can only intensify it and worsen the patient's condition. And if an abscess is suspected, physical therapy can lead to its breakthrough, seriously aggravating 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 relieve pain at home. But alcohol in acute inflammation is strictly contraindicated. Patients, on the contrary, are advised to exclude from their diet all foods that irritate the urinary tract: spicy, fatty, salty. Following a diet is much more effective at relieving pain, but alcohol will only do more damage.
Prevention of pain with prostatitis
Even if you suffer from chronic prostatitis, you can minimize the number of flare-ups. In remission, the disease hardly bothers the patient; pain is usually associated with an exacerbation or subacute process. For long-term remission, a number of recommendations should be followed.
Don't get too cold. Doctors recommend dressing warmly in cold weather, not staying in the cold for a long time, and not sitting in the cold. Hypothermia leads to a decrease in local immunity, which can provoke an exacerbation.
Be physically active. A risk factor for the onset and exacerbation 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 helps prevent this result.
Undergo physiotherapy 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, classic digital rectal massage is prescribed, but if the patient cannot constantly go to the doctor, he can use self-massage devices.
Follow a diet. Drinking plenty of fluids and avoiding spicy and salty foods in your diet is a doctor's recommendation to relieve the condition. It is advisable to eliminate bad habits.
Maintain sexual hygiene. Intimate hygiene, especially after sexual intercourse, prevents bacteria from entering the urethra and moving up to the prostate. To prevent infections, do not neglect it and use a protective barrier during sexual intercourse.
Bottom line
Don't worry. Prostatitis pain 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.