The walnut sized gland, prostate, plays an important role in masculine excretion and sexual functions. Problems of the prostate could affect urination and sexual performance. However, studies show that most men are liable to prostate problems. This could be caused by family disease history but it can also be caused by lifestyle. Men who have regular sex, maintain a healthy prostate diet, involve in regular exercises and medically attend to their prostate health can prevent prostrate problems from occurring in the first place.
Prostate problems could be cancer or an infection. Prostate cancer is a malignancy of the prostate. The extent of the prostate cancer is often determined by its Gleason score. Prostate cancer, when identified on time, can be treated. Early treatment of prostate cancer is important to prevent the malignancy from spreading to other parts of the body. However, the most common problems of the prostate are prostate infections. These could be prostatitis or BPH. The symptoms of prostate problems depend on whether it is cancer, prostatitis or BPH but usually, most prostate problems have similar symptoms.
Symptoms of Prostate Cancer
The occurrence of prostate cancer increases with age and the family history. It can also be caused by infection, especially sexually transmitted infections, exposure to chemicals like Cadmium, intake of Selenium and vitamin E and so forth. Some of the major symptoms of the prostate problem include:
- Difficulty in starting and stopping a urinary stream.
- Increase in urination frequency.
- Pain during urination.
These three symptoms are known as storage or irritative urinary symptoms.
- Urinary retention. There is often a reduction in the urinary stream. This symptom is known as the obstructive or avoiding urinary symptom.
As you will soon realize, the above-mentioned symptoms also occur in BPH. Thus, they do not immediately confirm the presence of cancer. The symptoms of prostate cancer may also be determined by its stage and the extent of its spread. Some of the symptoms that may occur at the advanced stage of the prostate problem include:
- Hematuria or presence of blood in the urine.
- Painful ejaculation.
- Impotence or difficulty in getting an erection.
On spreading other organs of the body such as the lymph nodes and bones, the metastasis symptoms might present, these include the following:
- Malaise
- Fatigue
- Weight loss.
- Deep bone pain, especially in the back and hips.
- Bone fractures due to the weakening of bones.
Symptoms of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH)
BPH presents some of the most remarkable symptoms of prostate problems. They are noncancerous conditions which mostly occur in men older than 50. BPH is simply an enlargement of the prostate. The enlarged prostate causes impairment in the urination and masculine sexual functions. In several cases, the enlargement could be such that the urethra is blocked, causing painful symptoms. BPH presents similar symptoms with prostate cancer, thus, the occurrence of the symptoms do not immediately indicate the type of condition in place. The symptoms only tell you that you need an immediate medical attention. A few of the symptoms are outlined below.
The first category is the storage or irritative urinary symptoms which include
- Problem starting or stopping urinary streams.
- Increased frequency of urination.
- Pain and discomfort during urination.
- An urgent need to urinate.
The second stage is avoiding or obstructive urinary symptom which includes:
- Reduction in urinary stream.
- Unintended loss of urine.
Symptoms of Prostatitis and Prostate Problems
Prostatitis is of various kinds. Basically, it is classified as acute bacterial prostatitis, chronic bacterial prostatitis, and chronic (nonbacterial) prostatitis. On a general note, bacterial prostatitis is caused by bacteria, usually E.coli or some other Gram negative bacteria. Unlike BPH, prostatitis can occur in men both under and above the age of 50. The symptoms of the infection depend on the type that presents but each of them has similar symptoms with the other. Here, we discuss the kinds of prostatitis and their symptoms.
Acute bacterial prostatitis
Bacterial prostatitis usually begins with the acute stage before it degenerates to the chronic stage. However, the former is associated with greater pains and discomfort than the later. Some of the most common symptoms of acute bacterial prostatitis include the following.
- Pain and burning during urination causing trouble with urination.
- Fever, chills and muscular aches.
- Pains underneath the penis and scrotum.
- Lower back and joint pains.
- The flow of the urinary stream becomes weak.
- Discomfort and pain during orgasms.
- Thick, yellowish substance discharged from the penis.
Chronic Bacterial Prostatitis
Acute bacterial prostatitis could deteriorate to the chronic stage. This prostatitis could also occur in men that have urinary tract infection. However, the pains and discomfort are less severe at this stage than the former. The symptoms of prostate problems at this stage include:
- Discomfort and pain when urinating
- Pains when releasing semen and blood in the semen.
- Increased frequency of urination.
- Pains in the lower back, abdomen, rectum, and groins.
- Urinary impediment and poor urinary stream.
- Pains and discomfort during orgasms.
Chronic (nonbacterial prostatitis)
Prostatitis may also arise due to nonbacterial causes; examples include stress, physical injury and nerve damage. This condition may also be caused by bacteria but often a proper examination would be needed to notice this. The presence of a chemical in urine, immune disorder, and UTI can most often cause this problem. A few of the symptoms include:
- Pains during and after ejaculation.
- Pains below the scrotum and lower abdomen.
- Pains in the penis and lower back.
Conclusion
As pointed out above, it is often better to prevent prostate infections but if they have already occurred they can be treated. The first thing to do on identifying these symptoms of prostate problems is to contact a urologist for an examination. The urologist may recommend some treatment process, usually antibiotics after the examination. If detected and diagnosed early, BPH and prostatitis symptoms can be treated with prostate food supplements and prostate massage therapy. These natural ways of treating the aforementioned prostate infections have been proven to be very effective.