Men's Health Prostatitis Alert

Prostatitis has never been exclusive to middle-aged men. Young adults aged 18-50 are the most susceptible group. Domestic epidemiological data show that more than 50% of men will have prostatitis-related symptoms at least once in their lives. With early detection and early intervention, more than 90% of prostatitis can be quickly relieved. Only if it is delayed and left untreated, it will develop into a chronic disease, which will affect the quality of life in the long term. There is no such thing as "cannot be cured", and there is no need to think that it is a shameful "hidden disease".

This is really not an alarmist statement. Last week I met a 22-year-old graduate student in the urology clinic. He sat in the study room for 12 hours a day to review. He didn’t even dare to drink more water for fear of delaying his exams. He held it in for almost two weeks. First, he had to urinate so frequently that he had to run to the toilet every 40 minutes. Later, Even the perineum was painful. I searched blindly and thought it was "kidney deficiency". I secretly bought hundreds of supplements and tried them, but they didn't help. I found out that it was acute bacterial prostatitis. I prescribed antibiotics for a week and told him to get up and walk two steps after sitting for an hour. He was completely cured in less than half a month.

Nowadays, people’s understanding of prostatitis is particularly easy to fall into two extremes. Either they think it is just a “minor problem and it will be over if you tolerate it”, or they are frightened by the messy advertisements on the Internet and think that if you get it, it will lead to impotence, infertility, or even cancer. It is completely unnecessary.

From the classification of Western medicine, prostatitis is divided into four categories: acute bacterial, chronic bacterial, chronic pelvic pain syndrome, and asymptomatic prostatitis. The first two categories account for less than 10% and can be cured with symptomatic antibiotics. Chronic pelvic pain syndrome, which accounts for the highest proportion, is actually more like "muscle strain" in the prostate area, and is more closely related to pelvic floor muscle tension and repeated congestion of the prostate caused by long-term sitting and holding urine. The treatment plan is more to adjust living habits + symptomatic pain relief. The traditional Chinese medicine system often classifies such problems as "dampness and heat" and "qi stagnation and blood stasis", and prefers to use prescriptions to clear away heat and dampness, activate blood circulation and remove blood stasis. There is no absolute difference between the two ideas. Just follow the doctor's advice according to your own symptoms. I have met many patients with chronic pain, and the effects of western medicine are average. I changed the prescription from a regular traditional Chinese medicine hospital, combined with a 10-minute warm water sitz bath every day, and the relief was very fast.

Oh, by the way, many people ask me what habits are most likely to cause prostatitis. It is not like what is said on the Internet, "Eating spicy food and drinking alcohol will definitely lead to the disease." I know several old patients in Chongqing who have eaten hot pot and drank alcohol all their lives. They have no problems with the prostate at all. On the contrary, for people who have mild inflammation or whose prostate itself is relatively sensitive, eating spicy food and drinking alcohol will induce congestion and worsen symptoms. What you really need to be vigilant about is long-term sedentary life - especially when you are slumped in a chair. The prostate will be pressed by the pubic symphysis, and the congestion will not go away for several hours. You also often hold back your urine, and you hold back your urine when working on projects or playing games. High bladder pressure can easily cause urine to reflux into the prostate, inducing inflammation. Also, having sex or masturbating too frequently, or abstaining from sex for a long time. Both extremes will cause repeated congestion of the prostate, which is also a trigger. Some people also ask whether riding a bicycle will have any impact. In fact, as long as you don’t ride a road bike with a particularly narrow seat cushion for a long time, and the stiffness keeps pressing on the perineum, it is perfectly fine to ride for more than ten or twenty minutes during daily commuting, and there is no need to overdo it.

If you have frequent urination, urgent urination, inability to urinate, or a dull pain in the perineum or lower abdomen for more than one week in a row, don't be embarrassed. Go directly to the urology department of a regular tertiary hospital to get a routine urine test and a prostate fluid routine. It only costs tens of dollars in total. Don't go to a private men's hospital to do "ablation therapy" or "perfusion therapy" blindly. Not to mention the cost, it may also cause unnecessary damage to the prostate.

Many patients come and ask, "Does one have to abstain from sex if they have prostatitis?" There is indeed no unified standard answer to this question. The mainstream view of Western medicine is that regular ejaculation is better. Once or twice a week can bring out the inflammatory secretions accumulated in the prostate and recover faster. Some schools of traditional Chinese medicine recommend suspending sexual intercourse during the acute phase to avoid repeated congestion of the prostate and aggravating inflammation. You can just listen to your doctor, and don't worry about which one is right.

Finally, here is a rumor that has been circulating for many years: There is no evidence-based medical evidence to prove that chronic prostatitis and prostate cancer are directly related. It really doesn’t have to be frightening to sleep even if you have frequent urination. To put it bluntly, this disease is like a male’s “prostate cold.” It is easy to get the disease if your resistance is weak and you are not used to it. You can get better by making good adjustments. There is no need to be mentally burdened.

To be honest, many young men nowadays are careless and only regret it when they suffer from chronic prostatitis and the pain becomes unbearable even after sitting for half an hour. It is really better to pay more attention as usual. After sitting for forty or fifty minutes, get up to get a glass of water, take a few steps, don't hold in your urine, and stay up less late. It is more effective than any tonic worth thousands of dollars.