Prostatitis has become a common and frequently-occurring disease among young and middle-aged men, often caused by urethritis, seminal vesicle inflammation or epididymitis. Clinically, it can be classified as acute or chronic, bacterial infectious or non-infectious, specific or non-specific. In traditional Chinese medicine, it falls under the category of "suspended abscess, turbid leukorrhea, laborious dysuria, creamy dysuria, seminal turbidity". It may present without any symptoms, or it may cause persistent or recurrent urinary-genital infections.
The infection pathways for prostatitis are either hematogenous infection or direct spread. Among them, direct spread through the urethra is more common, with main causes including: 1 During gonococcal urethritis, bacteria enter the prostate body through the prostate duct causing inflammation. 2 Prostatic hyperplasia and calculi cause deformation, bending, and congestion of the prostatic urethra, leading to loss of immunity against non-pathogenic bacteria, resulting in prostatitis. 3 Use of urethral instruments introduces bacteria or upper urinary tract inflammation bacteria descending, causing prostate infection; secondly, hematogenous infection, which often follows acute infections in the skin, tonsils, dental caries, intestines, or respiratory tract, where bacteria reach the prostate via the blood causing infection.
Its clinical manifestations include: The main manifestations of acute prostatitis fall into the following five categories:
1. Systemic symptoms: fever, chills, general muscle pain, fatigue, weakness, anorexia, nausea, vomiting, dry stool, headache, etc.
2. Local symptoms: heavy pressure sensation in the perineum or suprapubic area, exacerbated by prolonged sitting or defecation, and radiating to the waist, lower abdomen, back, and groin.
3. Urinary symptoms: burning pain during urination, urgency, frequency, post-void dribbling or purulent urine, severe cases may present with obstructed urination, thinning of the urine stream, or even urinary retention.
4. Rectal symptoms: rectal fullness, urgency, or painful defecation, white discharge from the urethra during defecation.
5. Sexual symptoms: decreased libido, painful intercourse, erectile dysfunction, hematospermia, etc.
Which diseases are prone to occur in the prostate
As the main accessory sex gland in males, the prostate can develop different diseases at different developmental stages. During childhood, the prostate develops slowly, rarely becoming diseased, but acute and chronic prostatitis can still occur, albeit with very low incidence rates. Starting from young adulthood until old age, the incidence of prostate diseases rapidly increases, however, the types of diseases vary with each stage.
In young adulthood, the prostate is prone to acute and chronic prostatitis. The reasons are that this period is the most sexually active phase for men, with frequent sexual activity. Under sexual excitement, repeated engorgement of the prostate is easily induced, triggering inflammation. Secondly, this period is when the prostate secretion is most vigorous, providing good conditions for bacterial growth. If personal hygiene is not maintained, resistance is low, or there is an infection in other parts of the body, pathogens can enter the prostate, forming acute and chronic inflammation. According to domestic statistical data, prostatitis has the highest incidence rate in young adults. In urban hospitals, about 25% to 30% of male patients visiting clinics do so because of prostatitis.
In old age, testicular function declines, hormone levels decrease, the incidence of prostatitis decreases, while the incidence of benign prostatic hyperplasia significantly rises. This disease has a relatively high incidence rate in European and American countries, whereas its incidence in China is relatively lower, but it has shown a rapid upward trend in recent years.