With the ISTANBUL PROSTATITIS TREATMENT PROTOCOL, which we apply individually to each patient, we achieve effective and satisfying results in the treatment of prostatitis. Contact us now for information about treatments aimed at improving the quality of life of patients who suffer from this disease and have lived with a diagnosis of chronic prostatitis for many years.
The prostate gland is a walnut-sized organ located beneath the bladder. Its main job is to support the bladder in holding urine and, in particular, to secrete the fluid that protects the sperm cells on their way out.
Although prostate enlargement normally begins after the age of 45, it can sometimes start at an earlier age.
The prostate gland has three basic diseases:
- Compression of the urinary canal due to enlargement that begins especially after the age of 45, resulting in urinary problems for the patient. This disease, seen in at least half of men after their 50s, is called prostate enlargement, or BPH.
- Prostate cancer. Although less common, it can reach life-threatening levels. It is mostly caused by genetic factors and inflammation of the prostate. It is usually diagnosed after the 50s and its frequency increases with age. In one study, prostate cancer was found in 90% of men aged 85.
- The most common disease of the prostate is prostate inflammation (prostatitis). Because this inflammation is often undiagnosed or inadequately treated, it can become chronic and is then called chronic prostatitis. More generally, prostate inflammation lasting more than 6 months is called chronic prostatitis.
How is chronic prostatitis treated?
The most important point before treating chronic prostatitis is to understand the patient's state of mind and let them feel that it is understood, because the patient has been to many doctors, has not been diagnosed, or has been told that there is no treatment and that they must learn to live with it. Since prostatitis patients are usually young men, they cannot psychologically accept this disease and their quality of life is badly affected.
Once the patient has been reassured, they should be listened to very carefully and the conditions that led to the disease should be identified — for example a discharge from the tip of the penis that started after unprotected intercourse, followed by inadequate treatment. Sometimes breaking up with a girlfriend, deep sadness or staying too long in a cold environment can also trigger the disease.
The main principle of treatment is to find the cause and build a treatment strategy accordingly. First the patient's kidneys, bladder and prostate are examined by ultrasound. The testicles and penis are checked by manual examination. The presence of pain in the area between the testicles and the anus, or muscle spasm in the perineal region, is checked. When necessary, a detailed prostate examination is performed with a transrectal probe to reveal the prostate anatomy clearly and to identify areas of calcification within the prostate.
After this stage a digital examination of the prostate is performed to identify the swollen and painful areas. The prostate is massaged and the fluid that comes out of the penis is sent for microbiological analysis. The aim here is to detect the microbe hiding inside the prostate and plan treatment against it. At the same time a leukocyte count is performed under the microscope on the fluid from the penis to try to determine the degree of infection.
Treatment is planned according to the microbe detected in the patient (it may be undetectable in 70% of patients). The main aim of treatment is to rehabilitate the prostate and permanently eliminate the patient's current complaints.
Treatment involves intensive prostate massage, antibiotics, intraprostatic OZONE gas and ESWT, known as shockwave therapy. The goal is to kill all the microbes inside the prostate, restore its blood supply and regenerate its tissue.
What are the causes of chronic prostatitis?
The basic cause of chronic prostatitis is that damaged prostate tissue becomes swollen and inflamed again and again whenever suitable conditions arise.
The biggest cause of the disease is microorganisms. Microbes travelling up the urethra during sexual intercourse (Chlamydia, Mycoplasma, Enterococcus, Candida, E. coli, viruses, etc.) reach the prostate tissue. At this stage some patients have a yellow-green discharge from the penis and severe burning when urinating. This type of the disease can be called prostatitis caused by microbes. This stage is very important: the microbes must be adequately treated before they start to damage the prostate tissue. Otherwise they enter the prostate tissue and block the ducts inside the prostate. The microbes may give no symptoms for a long time, but the prostate whose tissue has been damaged becomes inflamed and causes the patient various problems, because the prostate sits anatomically beneath the bladder, surrounded by important vascular structures and the nerve network running to the penis. This type of prostatitis is called bacterial prostatitis, and 30% of patients are in this category.
The most common type of prostatitis is non-bacterial prostatitis. Is there perhaps a bacterium in the non-bacterial group too that we simply cannot detect? This question is still debated worldwide and has no clear answer yet.
Patients with non-bacterial prostatitis have exactly the same complaints as those with the bacterial type; only the cause differs. Examples include staying in wet shorts for a long time, sitting on a cold surface for a long time, intense stress, not ejaculating for a long time or squeezing the penis during ejaculation to stop the sperm from coming out, doing weight-bearing sports with a full bladder, and serious emotional stress (separation, living away from home).
