Symptoms of Prostatitis: The causes of prostatitis are diverse and complex, mainly manifesting as three major symptoms: abnormal urination, pain, and sexual dysfunction. However, some cases of prostatitis may present without symptoms but can still lead to urinary and genital infections. Others may exhibit many systemic symptoms that can easily be confused with those of neurasthenia. The symptoms of prostatitis are varied, and the severity of the symptoms does not always correlate with the degree of inflammation. Some patients have large amounts of pus cells in their prostate fluid but show no symptoms, while others have normal or nearly normal prostate fluid tests but exhibit severe clinical symptoms. Common symptoms can be summarized into the following situations:
1. Urinary discomfort: Frequent urination and a burning sensation during urination may occur, with pain radiating to the head of the penis. In the morning, there may be sticky secretions, threads, or pus at the urethral opening, resulting in cloudy urine or white discharge after urination. Severe cases may involve hematuria at the end of urination, difficulty in urination, or urinary retention.
2. Local symptoms: Discomfort, heaviness, or a feeling of fullness in the posterior urethra, perineum, and anal area, which worsens when squatting or having a bowel movement.
3. Referred pain: The prostate or seminal vesicle has abundant sympathetic nerve innervation. When inflammation occurs, the tension within the gland increases, stimulating the sympathetic nerves and causing referred lower back pain. Pain may radiate to the penis, testicles, scrotum, inguinal region, perineum, lower abdomen, thighs, buttocks, and rectum.
4. Sexual dysfunction: Early stages may involve hypersexuality, while later stages may cause reduced or absent libido, painful ejaculation, hematospermia, premature ejaculation, erectile dysfunction, nocturnal emission, and infertility.
5. Other symptoms: Chronic prostatitis can lead to neurosis, manifested by fatigue, blurred vision, dizziness, insomnia, and depression. Some patients may experience various unusual sensations, such as feeling like walking upside down, cold air rising from the lower abdomen, or heat in the face and head. Others may feel general discomfort throughout the body. These abnormal sensations are also the main factors leading to misdiagnosis.
Prostate is harder to "sober up" after "drunkenness": Recurrent episodes of prostatitis are difficult to cure; patients with prostatitis must abstain from alcohol. After heavy drinking, prostatitis patients often experience difficulty urinating. Some young patients even feel extreme discomfort due to holding urine and worry about kidney problems when they seek medical attention.
Why does alcohol have such a strong effect on the prostate? This is because, in addition to the cerebral cortex and nervous system reacting to alcohol, the prostate is also an organ highly sensitive to alcohol. Once alcohol enters the body, it is quickly absorbed into the bloodstream. At this time, under the stimulation of alcohol, the capillaries of the prostate rapidly dilate and become engorged with blood, causing cell swelling, which gradually enlarges the prostate. If alcohol consumption continues for several hours, the prostate will gradually "get drunk," becoming increasingly enlarged, occupying space in the urethra. At this point, if you try to urinate, you may find that the urine stream splits or becomes thin. If there is already chronic inflammation of the prostate or benign prostatic hyperplasia, it is easy to experience frequent urination, urgency, lower back soreness, weakness, or even inability to urinate.
The prostate not only gets "drunk" but also finds it hard to "sober up." A person who gets drunk usually regains consciousness within a few hours, but once the prostate gets "drunk," as long as the exuded tissue fluid hasn't disappeared, it won't shrink, so it generally takes several days for the prostate to "sober up." As a result, after a heavy drinking session, although the person may wake up, they may still experience difficulty urinating. Some individuals may even endure months of discomfort.
Therefore, men should limit their alcohol consumption and, if these issues arise, seek medical attention promptly. Hot water sitz baths can help absorb the exuded tissue fluid more quickly. It is recommended to use slightly warmer water and soak for over 30 minutes continuously. If unfortunately infected, some antibiotics may be necessary to alleviate uncomfortable symptoms.
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