Due to the prolonged and problematic course of therapy and the high likelihood of relapses, there is a reasonable doubt whether chronic prostatitis can be cured. There is no clear answer to this question.
The disease detected in the early stages is completely cured in 90% of cases, but with the development of irreversible pathological changes, the prognosis for treatment worsens. With advanced prostatitis, sustained remission can be achieved.
What treatment is used - outpatient or inpatient?
The treatment algorithm for chronic prostatitis includes the appointment of physiotherapy and the continuous use of drugs for 2-3 months. Hospital treatment is prescribed for the following indications:
- An acute form of the disease, manifested by a high temperature above 38°.
- Emergence of complications due to serious illness.
- Lack of results from home therapy.
If the disease becomes latent, the patient is usually discharged and further treatment is done on an outpatient basis. Advantages of hospitalization:
- Continuous monitoring of medical personnel.
- The possibility of providing emergency care and pain relief.
- There is no temptation to violate recommendations regarding diet and bad habits.
- The course of therapy is constantly adjusted, depending on its effectiveness.
Hospitalization has several disadvantages: the high cost of treatment (in paid clinics), the stress experienced by a person who is in a hospital environment.
The outpatient clinic allows the patient not to be separated from his usual environment, to be involved in daily activities and to carry out work (of course, without leaving home). Another advantage of home therapy is that it is relatively inexpensive.
The decision on how the therapy will be carried out depends on the attending physician. Based on individual indications, you can start therapy at home. In this case, the patient should be given detailed step-by-step treatment, indicating the need for regular visits to the doctor and performing physical procedures.
How long does it take to treat chronic prostatitis?
The duration of treatment is individual. Some patients get rid of the disease within a few months, others have to be treated for years.
Several factors affect the speed of recovery:
- Stage of the disease— chronic prostatitis in the early stages of development is often discovered by chance, during an annual examination of the patient. At this stage, there are serious pathological changes in the body that require long-term therapy.
- The role of the patient- the desire to improve, careful adherence to treatment advice, giving up bad habits (smoking and alcohol), shortening the duration of therapy and improving its prognosis.
- Individual characteristics- Statistics show that 80-90% of patients who received help in the early stages of a chronic disease were able to completely get rid of the disease. After the transition from latent form to acute, with pronounced symptoms, the percentage of successful therapy decreases significantly to 65-70%.
The longer you wait to see a doctor, the more likely it is that complex conventional treatment will not have the desired effect and surgical intervention will be required.
Chronic prostatitis in some forms can develop into prostate cancer. Early diagnosis and appropriate treatment are a necessary condition for cancer prevention.
Is a complete cure possible?
You can completely get rid of prostatitis in the early stages of the disease. If the inflammatory process has become acute, characteristic irreversible changes in the vas deferens and tissue structure are usually observed.
Once clinical symptoms appear, it becomes impossible to completely cure chronic inflammation of the prostate gland. Therapy aims to achieve lasting remission.
After relief of acute inflammation, preventive measures are prescribed. If drug therapy does not give results, partial or complete surgical removal of the prostate gland is performed.
During the years of research, general international recommendations for the treatment of chronic prostatitis have been developed, which have significantly increased the recovery rate in patients. The probability of complete recovery is in the range of 50-65%, the achievement of stable remission is 65-80%, depending on the severity of the disease.
Methods of treatment of chronic inflammation of the prostate
Many articles on the Internet and medical reference books are devoted to how to treat chronic prostatitis. Most sources agree that there is no single effective drug to combat the disease; complex therapy is required, including:
- A drug course.
- Non-drug treatment.
- Physiotherapy.
- Surgery.
- Massage.
A clinically proven treatment regimen for chronic prostatitis is aimed at overcoming some negative manifestations of the disease:
- Removal of the inflammatory process.
- Elimination of congestion and normalization of blood circulation in the pelvic organs.
- Elimination of inflammatory process catalysts.
- Fighting the consequences of prostatitis.
- Prevention of disease recurrence.
Complex treatment of chronic prostatitis is aimed at overcoming all the listed negative manifestations, and therefore is more effective than monotherapy. The effectiveness of the approach depends mainly on the patient's desire to recover, which is manifested in careful compliance with all the recommendations of the attending physician. Another factor that contributes to the complete recovery of the patient is contact with large clinics. Medical centers use modern methods of effective treatment of chronic inflammation of the prostate, which are carried out under the guidance of experienced medical personnel.
The modern standard for combating the inflammatory process is pathogenetic therapy. The essence of the principle is to develop an individual course depending on the characteristics of the patient.
How to treat with medications
After diagnosing chronic prostatitis, a man will have to be patient, as the drug treatment regimen involves taking drugs for a long period of time. Success in the fight against the disease depends on careful adherence to the prescribed therapy schedule.
The duration of treatment for chronic prostatitis varies from several months to six months. It is forbidden to stop taking medications on your own when you feel better, as this can cause a stable form of the disease.
The standard of treatment includes the prescription of the following drugs:
- Antispasmodic and analgesic— from the beginning and almost to the end of the treatment, the disease is accompanied by severe pain accompanied by swelling of the gland. If it is not possible to reduce the symptoms, additional anesthetic injections are recommended.
- Anti-inflammatory medications- suppositories containing a substance from the group of phenylacetic acid derivatives are recommended. The use of rectal suppositories is effective due to the almost direct effect of the active ingredients on the prostate tissue.
The phenylacetic acid derivative is absorbed into the blood through the rectum and quickly relieves the symptoms associated with the disease. Anti-inflammatory therapy includes the prescription of corticosteroids and NSAIDs. - Antiviral and antibacterial agents.Treatment standards describe the use of antibiotics in two cases. A course of therapy is required in the presence of an infectious catalyst factor that caused inflammation, as well as as a preventive measure before surgical treatment.
To increase the effectiveness of drugs, lymphotropic therapy is performed. Antibiotics are injected into the lymph nodes, which block the venous outflow and drain the bladder. Instillation (direct injection of an antibiotic into the bladder) is performed.
In the later stages of the disease, a conservative method of treatment is used. Regular use of drugs (alpha-blockers and NSAIDs) necessary to reduce the rate of prostate growth and reduce unpleasant symptoms. Simultaneously with the drug course, non-drug and physical therapy is performed.
Non-drug therapy
Advanced world experience convincingly proves the effectiveness of an integrated approach in the treatment of chronic prostatitis. Simultaneously with taking medications, the patient is prescribed new methods of non-drug therapy. Among them:
- Microwave hyperthermia- Prostate tissue is exposed to high temperatures. The thermal energy source is supplied to the prostate using the transrectal method. Microwave therapy promotes better drug effects and preservation of prostate growth.
- Shock wave therapy.The consequence of chronic prostatitis is the appearance of irregularities in the soft tissues of the gland. The seals are destroyed by the shock wave. The result of the procedure is the removal of the inflammatory process and the improvement of blood supply.
The use of shock wave therapy in complex treatment shortens the period of hospitalization of the patient and increases the effectiveness of taking medications. - Laser therapy for chronic inflammation of the prostate— the effect is based on the treatment of the gland with narrowly directed light rays. Laser treatment leads to an increase in the lumen in blood vessels, improvement of tissue metabolism and, as a result, tumor resorption. Another positive effect is the accelerated regeneration of damaged tissues.
- Ultrasound applications— the strong vibrations of the emitted waves cause tissues to regenerate, improve trophism and metabolic processes. Ultrasound treatment equipment is so easy to use that it is possible to purchase it for home use. The device kills parasites and has a bactericidal effect.
Methods of therapy without drugs are prescribed individually, taking into account the presence of contraindications for the patient.
Physiotherapy approach
Innovative methods of chronic prostatitis treatment are often combined with time-tested methods. Physiotherapy has a beneficial effect.
The purpose of the procedures serves several purposes:
- Increased blood circulation.
- Establishing metabolic processes in the body.
- Reduce areas of inflammation.
- Accelerate lymphatic flow to remove pathogens from the prostate gland.
- Stimulate the immune system and activate the body's forces to fight disease.
The physiotherapeutic approach is used in the largest medical centers around the world. In Israeli hospitals, after completing a course of therapy, treatment in a sanatorium on the shores of the Dead Sea is mandatory.
Rapid improvement of well-being is achieved by completing the following physiotherapy courses:
- Phonophoresis— The technique boils down to the introduction of vitamins and medications into the tissues of the skin and the prostate gland through the influence of ultrasound. It has a positive effect on the body on a mechanical and chemical level, and the effect of medications increases.
- Reflexology— the term refers to a whole system of practices based on the impact on the biologically active points of man. Other names for the technique: acupuncture, acupuncture.
During the session, the effect on the nerve endings leads to the improvement of the statics of the gland, the normalization of blood circulation and the reduction of pain. - Vacuum treatment (cans)— Many experts agree that disorders in the functioning of internal organs cause spine pathology. The technique is effective in combating congestion; after 1-2 sessions, the functioning of the prostate gland improves significantly and urination normalizes.
- Electrical stimulators— The procedure is effective in the treatment of any form of prostatitis, improves erection and activates the immune system. The use of electrical stimulation lasts 10-15 days.
During the session, a source of electrical current is supplied to the prostate through the prostate gland. The waves affect the prostate, bones and muscle tissue, which stimulates their work.
Physiotherapy does not replace drug treatment during an exacerbation, but rather promotes the effectiveness of prescribed drugs, speeding up a man's recovery.
Surgery for chronic prostatitis
If the course of treatment for chronic prostatitis does not give results, a steady progression of the disease is observed and surgery is prescribed. Several methods have been developed:
- Prostatectomy.
- Resection of the prostate.
- Laser removal.
- Laparoscopy.
The choice of surgical intervention depends on several factors: the age of the patient, the invasiveness of the method, the presence of contraindications and the volume of the prostate gland.
The latest technologies for performing operations are associated with the absence of the need for abdominal tissue dissection. The removal of the prostate occurs through the urethral canal or several small holes in the abdominal region.
Laser removal of the prostate is widely used. The high-intensity light beam vaporizes the tissue of the glands, which leads to a decrease in the volume of the prostate.
The main feature of modern surgical treatment is minimal damage to the human body, which leads to a reduction in rehabilitation time and quick recovery with full restoration of all basic functions of the genitourinary system.
Due to the high risks in old age, surgical treatment is practically not performed after 60-65 years. Therapy is reduced to relieving symptoms of prostatitis and improving conditions and quality of life.
Massage treatment
Clinical recommendations for the treatment of prostatitis are based on the need for digital transrectal massage of the gland. During the tactile effect on the tissues, the areas are massaged, which helps improve blood supply and relieve pain.
The main task of the massage remains the squeezing of glandular stones containing inflammatory exudate.
Contraindications for prostate massage:
- Cystitis during exacerbation.
- Hemorrhoids.
- Acute prostatitis.
Treatment reviews show that the first procedures of prostate massage are quite painful, but bring great relief. The massage is performed exclusively by a specialist. Described during the recovery period after drug treatment.
Prevention of recurrence of chronic prostatitis
Modern approaches to the treatment of chronic prostatitis consist not so much in the fight against inflammation of the prostate, but in the use of effective preventive measures to prevent the recurrence of the disease.
Prevention of recurrence of prostatitis includes:
- Transrectal digital massage is performed annually.
- Diet and lifestyle adjustments. General recommendation, preparation of a diet similar to the Mediterranean diet or treatment table no. 5.
- Conducting complex anti-relapse therapy. The course of treatment includes drugs and procedures aimed at eliminating congestion in the pelvic organs, as well as strengthening the immune system. Recommended sports: yoga, exercise therapy.
The anti-relapse treatment protocol includes regular examinations by a doctor, mandatory clinical blood and urine tests and PSA tests at least every 6 months.
A healthy lifestyle, regular sexual intercourse, giving up alcohol and smoking - all this prevents the return of prostatitis, has a beneficial effect on men's health and allows you to live a rich and full life.