Eight Self-Care Methods for Prostatitis and Analysis of Typical Symptoms of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia

Prostatitis is a common disease among middle-aged and elderly men. The main symptoms are frequent urination, pain at the end of urination, and difficulty urinating. In severe cases, urinary retention may occur. Urine tests may reveal cloudy urine, pyuria, and hematuria. Digital rectal examination may reveal prostate enlargement and tenderness. Patients with prostatitis often also experience sexual dysfunction and neurasthenia. Therefore, after contracting prostatitis, it is essential to actively treat the disease and cooperate with appropriate self-care to accelerate the early recovery. (1) Balance work and rest: Daily life should be regular, and sufficient sleep and rest should be ensured. Pay attention to keeping warm to prevent colds and respiratory infections. (2) Drink plenty of water and avoid strong tea: Do not hold your urine. Urinate as soon as you feel the urge to prevent difficulty urinating or acute urinary retention. (3) Absolutely avoid alcohol: Eat less spicy and irritating foods and more fresh vegetables and fruits to keep bowel movements regular. (4) Avoid prolonged sitting or walking: Cycling time should not be too long, generally within 30 minutes. The seat should not be too high, and the seat cushion should be soft to avoid congestion in the perineum, which can lead to difficulty urinating. (5) Hygiene and cleanliness: Wash the genitals and change underwear daily. (6) Physical therapy: Take a hot sitz bath 1-2 times a day, with the water temperature between 42℃ and 43℃, for 10-15 minutes each time, to promote blood circulation and help reduce inflammation. Empty your bladder and bowels before taking the sitz bath. (7) Physical exercise: Appropriate activities can help reduce inflammation and improve symptoms such as lower back pain and lower limb pain. (8) Drug treatment: Diethylstilbestrol, 0.1 mg each time, 2-3 times a day, orally, but should not be used for a long time to avoid adverse reactions. Metronidazole, 200 mg each time, 3-4 times a day, orally. Compound sulfamethoxazole, 1 gram each time, twice a day, orally. Patients allergic to sulfonamides can take gentamicin tablets or oxytetracycline and other antibiotics instead.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), also known as benign prostatic hyperplasia, is common in men over 40 years of age, and occasionally occurs before the age of 40. The incidence increases with age and is a common disease in elderly men. (1) Causes of BPH: ① Excessive sexual activity and incompletely cured posterior urethritis. ② Testicular dysfunction. ③ Urethral obstruction and other structural changes. ④ Excessive alcohol consumption and intake of irritating foods. (2) Clinical manifestations of BPH: ① Obstructive symptoms ● Increased frequency of nocturia. This is the most common symptom that appears first. The frequency of nocturia is often positively correlated with the degree of prostatic hyperplasia. When patients who did not have nocturia before start having 1 to 2 nocturia, it often reflects the onset of early obstruction. The progression from 1 to 2 nocturia to 4 to 5 nocturia indicates that the degree of bladder neck obstruction is gradually becoming more serious. ● Weak urination, dribbling, and thin urine stream. This is a common symptom. In severe cases, abdominal pressure is required to urinate, and there is interruption, bifurcation, or a feeling of incomplete urination. ● Hematuria. Due to obstruction of the bladder neck caused by glandular compression, and the enlarged glands surrounding the urethra, blood vessels on the mucosal surface dilate and may even rupture, resulting in bleeding. This can manifest as microscopic hematuria or gross hematuria. ● Urinary retention. More common in later stages of benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), where bladder neck obstruction is severe, preventing urine from being expelled from the bladder, leading to acute urinary retention. This symptom is often triggered by cold exposure, alcohol consumption, prolonged urinary retention, or infection. ② Obstruction complications ● Infection. If acute urinary tract infection develops on top of bladder neck obstruction, the above symptoms can be significantly aggravated, such as a sudden increase in nocturia, urinary frequency, urgency, difficulty urinating, hematuria, and cloudy, foul-smelling urine. Sometimes chills and fever may occur. Common infections include prostatitis, cystitis, urethritis, epididymitis, and pyelonephritis. ● Uremia. When bladder neck obstruction initially occurs, its location is low in the urinary tract, preventing immediate upper urinary tract dysfunction. However, as the obstruction progresses and worsens, bladder function decompensates, leading to vesicoureteral reflux and eventually hydronephrosis and renal insufficiency. Clinically, uremia symptoms appear, such as loss of appetite, nausea, vomiting, and anemia. These symptoms are often subtle and easily misdiagnosed as gastrointestinal diseases, only becoming apparent after a period of treatment. In severe cases, headache, high blood pressure, lethargy, drowsiness, and even convulsions and coma may occur. ● Abdominal mass. When obstruction causes significant hydronephrosis of the kidneys and ureters, an enlarged kidney can be palpated. In severe cases, a mass can be felt in the abdomen, and a cystic mass can be felt in the lower abdomen when the bladder is full. The increased abdominal pressure during urination due to overcoming the resistance at the bladder neck can cause complications such as hemorrhoids, rectal prolapse, rectal bleeding, hernia, and varicose veins in the lower extremities.