Prostate Conditions and Classifications of Prostate Infection
The normal male prostate gland is approximately the size of a walnut and located just below the bladder. The male urethra, which is the tube that is used to empty the bladder, runs directly through this gland. When one experiences a prostate infection, the gland becomes inflamed and swells.
This condition can cause groin pain, pain with urination and or difficulty with urination along with other symptoms. Infections of this type are common in men between the ages of thirty to fifty but can be seen in even older men. Prostatitis, as it is referred to, is composed of a group of disorders, some fairly understood and others not understood as well.
There are four main classifications of prostate infection, acute bacterial prostatitis, chronic bacterial prostatitis, chronic abacterial prostatitis and asymptomatic prostatitis. Both acute and chronic bacterial prostatitis are usually associated with urinary tract infections in men. Common signs and symptoms include urinary frequency, urinary urgency, pain upon urination, pelvic pain, fever and fatigue.
Acute bacterial prostatitis will be treated with antibiotics for four to six weeks. Although chronic bacterial prostatitis is also treated with antibiotics, these antibiotics are from a different class so as to assure gland penetration.
Some men may also require prostate massage to unblock ducts and allow for drainage and increase the amount of penetration by the antibiotics. In addition, you will be prescribed something for pain relief. Commonly ibuprofen or aspirin will work.
The classification of chronic abacterial prostatitis presents with pelvic pain that lasts for at least three months. The pain tends to remain unchanged and sometimes the symptoms will resolve on their own and then return without warning. Typical treatment for this condition is not effective because there is no offending organism to be identified.
Asymptomatic prostatitis is without symptoms and usually found during a routine physical. Although prostate infection is the most commonly diagnosed urinary condition in men under fifty years of age, it is not well understood or studied.
In addition to infections, the prostate can also experience other conditions. Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is one of these conditions. Unlike prostate infection where there is inflammation, in this condition the cells of the prostate actually proliferate causing the prostate to grow in size. This growth will compress the urethra causing urinary frequency and or hesitation.
If the growth is significant enough, it can constrict or stop the flow of urine. In mild cases this condition can be treated with medication. However, in severe situations surgery is needed. One of the most common procedures done is the transurethral resection of the prostrate.
This procedure involves removing prostatic tissue that is pressing against the urethra inhibiting the flow of urine. BPH is not considered to be a premalignant condition. One of the other prominent conditions of the prostate is cancer. This is one of the most prominent cancers found in developed countries.
It is a leading cause of death in elderly men making routine physicals that include prostate specific antigen levels (PSA) a necessary element to assist in early detection of this disease.
