What is Prostatitis?

The prostate, a small walnut-shaped gland, sits under the bladder and in front of the rectum.The prostate is part of the male reproductive system. It is surrounded by nerves and muscles. The urethra, the tube that carries urine and semen out, passes through the prostate.

The prostate's main job is to help make fluid for semen. This fluid protects and energizes sperm while they travel to the female egg.

Types of Prostatitis

There are 4 types of prostatitis:

Chronic Prostatitis/Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (CP/CPPS)

This is the most common type of prostatitis.Some of the signs are:

• Trouble urinating and sometimes pain while urinating
• Pain in the bladder, penis and testicles, and between the sex organs and the anus
• Trouble and pain while ejaculation

Chronic Bacterial Prostatitis

This problem may recur over a long period of time.Some of the signs are:

• Burning feel while urinating
• Needing to urinate often, mostly during the night
• Pain in the bladder, penis and testicles, and between the sex organs and the anus
• Painful ejaculation

Acute (Sudden) Bacterial Prostatitis

This might occur suddenly, mostly with pain, requiring immediate medical attention. Symptoms for this problem are:

• Chills
• Fever
• Severe burning during urinating
• Trouble emptyingthe bladder

Asymptomatic Inflammatory Prostatitis

There may be no signs for this type of prostatitis. It might be found while being checked for other problems.

Causes 

It has not been found out what causes most cases of prostatitis. Usually, the nerves and muscles in the pelvis cause pain because of:

• prostate infection
• inflammation
• some other problem

Some cases are due to infections. Bacteria can get into the prostate due to infection in urinary tract, when infected urine flows upwards from the urethra. Bacterial prostatitis cannot be transmitted from one person to another during sex.

CP/CPPS can also be caused by bacteria such as chlamydia, mycoplasma orureaplasma, which may be passed during sex.

The treatment

The treatment for prostatitis depends on the type of prostatitis.

If an antibiotic is prescribed, it is advisable to stickto schedule and finish the entire prescription, unless the doctor tells to stop. Even if the symptoms go away, one should not stop taking the drugs early.

Acute Bacterial Prostatitis

For acute bacterial prostatitis, one needs to take antibiotics for at least 14 days, till 4 weeks in certain cases. Patient might have to be admitted to the hospital and given antibiotics and other medicines through an IV. If there is trouble urinating, the doctor may use a tube (a catheter) to drain the bladder. Usually all infections that start suddenly gets cured with this treatment. If one antibiotic doesn't work, other options can be tried.

Chronic Bacterial Prostatitis

For chronic bacterial prostatitis, patient needs to take antibiotics longer, most often for 4 to 12 weeks. Around 3 in 4 of chronic bacterial prostatitis cases get cured with this treatment. Sometimes the symptoms reoccur and antibiotics are needed again.

CP/CPPS

CP/CPPS is caused by bacteria that aren’t easy to find but still it can be cured by antibiotics. This is why the patient may be given antibiotics even if the tests do not prove that bacteria are the cause. However the duration of medication varies from case to case.