|  | Conditions Treatments | Infectious Diseases

Chronic Prostate Infection

Prostate infections--inflammations of the prostate gland--can be fairly common occurrences in men, especially older ones. Chronic prostate infections are inconvenient and often painful, too. The prostate is not completely understood and neither are all the causes of chronic prostate infections. However, through long-term antibiotic therapy and prostatic massage, your chronic prostate infection can be treated.

  1. The Prostate

    • The prostate is a small, walnut-shaped gland that is found at the beginning of the male urethra. As a part of the reproductive system, it aids in helping the man ejaculate semen to fertilize the female egg. There are still many unknown facts about the function of the prostate gland, but its main function is to release nutrients for the sperm during ejaculation.

    Chronic Prostate Infection

    • A prostate infection (also known as prostatitis) is an inflammation of the prostate gland. If the prostate infection lasts for a few weeks, it is referred to as a chronic prostate infection. There are two types of chronic prostate infection. The first is chronic bacterial prostatitis, which is caused by bacterial inflammation and infection of the prostate. The other type is chronic non-bacterial prostatitis (also called inflammatory chronic pain syndrome) and has all the symptoms of chronic bacterial prostatitis but no bacteria are present.

    Symptoms

    • Chronic prostate infections show themselves in symptoms related to urine. This is because the prostate gland is so close to the urethra. You may notice an increase in the urge to urinate, but little or no urine will pass when you try. You may also experience pain when urinating or ejaculating. In some cases, you may not even be able to ejaculate at all. Tender testicles and urethral discharge can also be present in rare cases.

    Diagnosis

    • Once you have recognized the symptoms of a chronic prostate infection, you should see your health care provider for a proper diagnosis. Prostate infections can be diagnosed through a digital rectal exam. After physically examining the prostate, he can tell if it is enlarged. Chronic prostate infection can be diagnosed through a Meares-Stamey 3-glass test: three different urine samples are collected at different times, the last one after a prostatic massage. In some cases, samples will be collected just before and just after a prostatic massage.

    Treatment

    • While chronic prostate infections are often treated with the same antibiotics as in standard prostate infections, the prescription often runs for a much longer time. Bactrim, Septra and Cipro are all brands of antibiotics that are prescribed for chronic prostate infections. Antibiotics are the best course of treatment for bacterial prostate infections, but not for nonbacterial prostate infections because there are no bacteria to kill. Sometimes, prostatic massage is combined with antibiotic treatment to improve its effectiveness. Prostatic massage is thought to help the ducts and glands to drain more easily and allow the antibiotics to work better.

Infectious Diseases - Related Articles