There are different types of prostatitis, and some can give long-lasting symptoms that reduce the patient’s quality of life.
Many patients reach a point where they start asking themselves if they are ever going to feel any better from prostate pain or prostatodynia.
Prostatitis is a prevalent condition that affects the prostate gland.
Prostate problems are usually caused by infections and inflammation and can be very painful.
While the exact cause of prostate pain is often hard to pinpoint, treating the condition effectively and relieving the symptoms is possible. But it is not as easy in every case.
What is prostatitis?
Prostatitis is a common disease that primarily affects young men, compared to benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostate cancer. It is caused by prostate inflammation, which causes an infection that leads to pain and swelling of the gland.
Most of the time, the infection is caused by bacteria, but sometimes it can be caused by viruses or fungi. In rare cases, it can be triggered by another agent that is difficult to trace. These cases usually feature chronic prostatitis, meaning they have had prostatitis symptoms for at least three months.
The pain in prostatitis can be very intense, and it is usually located in the groin area. It is sometimes accompanied by fever, chills, and a feeling of being unwell.
The most common traceable causes of prostatitis are sexually transmitted infections (STIs), such as gonorrhea, chlamydia, and trichomoniasis. However, it is not considered a sexually-transmitted disease, and prostatitis prevention goes beyond avoiding STIs.
Patients with an indwelling urinary catheter can develop the condition. Those with sarcoidosis and primary voiding dysfunction problems can also have prostatitis.
Chronic prostatitis can also be due to ejaculatory duct obstruction, which is associated with the formation of prostate stones or calculi that obstruct prostate fluid (1).
Types of prostatitis
Prostatitis is sometimes not very noticeable and causes mild pain or discomfort. In other cases, it leads to more severe pain but is limited to a very short period.
However, some patients experience long-standing symptoms that affect their quality of life for an extended period. That’s why we talk about different types of prostatitis. They include (2,3):
Acute bacterial prostatitis
This is a bacterial infection of the prostate that triggers acute symptoms. Symptoms of acute prostatitis are usually more severe, but it is limited to a short period and not recurrent once it is treated and cured.
Chronic bacterial prostatitis
This bacterial infection causes significant pain and discomfort. An infection of the prostate gland usually triggers it, but once it is apparently solved, the symptoms become recurrent.
When symptoms return or keep bothering patients within three months, we’re talking about chronic bacterial prostatitis.
Chronic pelvic pain syndrome
This condition causes constant pain in the lower back and pelvis. It is not well understood, and the causes are difficult to trace.
This prostatitis is usually not infectious, and antibiotics are probably not helping relieve the pain in any way.
Thus, treating this type of prostatitis can sometimes be difficult because it does not respond to the usual treatment.
Your healthcare provider needs to try different options until they find one that suits the patient. It is a more complex problem that compromises the patient’s health and quality of life.
Asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis
An impressive number of males have prostatic inflammation without realizing it. This is known as asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis. It is usually found incidentally when examining the prostate for another condition.
There’s no consensus about treating asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis or not because it doesn’t give out symptoms but may increase the risk of prostate cancer.
Treatment for prostatitis
Acute and chronic bacterial prostatitis can be treated with analgesics and antibiotics. Other medications can also be used for chronic pelvic pain syndrome.
All in all, the treatment of this ailment can include (4,5):
Urinary analgesics
These are used to relieve pain triggered by prostate inflammation. They reduce the pain and burning sensation.
Two examples are phenazopyridine and flavoxate. These prostatitis medications work similarly to other analgesics but mainly aid urinary tract symptoms.
Antibiotics
They are used to treat the symptoms of prostate infections by tackling the bacteria. Antibiotics for prostatitis include fluoroquinolones, macrolides, doxycycline, and tetracyclines.
Alpha-blockers
These medications reduce the urinary symptoms of BPH (benign prostatic hyperplasia) and prostatitis. The most common alpha-blocker tablet is tamsulosin. They work by relaxing the smooth muscles of the bladder and improving urinary flow.
Anticholinergic drugs
These medications work on the nervous system to reduce the sensitivity of the bladder. They are only used as a treatment for nonbacterial chronic prostatitis, and the effectiveness is highly variable.
Transurethral microwave thermotherapy
In some cases of chronic bacterial prostatitis, a doctor may recommend surgical care, such as transurethral resection of the prostate or microwave thermotherapy, which involves heating the prostate gland through microwaves. These treatment methods for prostatitis are only available in specialist centers.
Can prostatitis be cured?
Most types of prostatitis can be cured, especially when doctors understand the cause of your condition.
In other cases, the reason is difficult to trace. Thus, the only treatment available is symptomatic and aimed to reduce flare-ups.
We’re talking about chronic pelvic pain syndrome, which sometimes takes years to detect and diagnose and even more time to control and achieve prostatitis pain relief.
All types of bacterial prostatitis can be cured. In nonbacterial chronic prostatitis or pelvic pain syndrome, many patients have experienced excellent results with different treatments.
But since there are many gaps in our understanding of the disease, there are still no definite treatments that apply to all patients.
This is a trial-and-error type of treatment, and in some cases, it works to prevent flare-ups and reduce the burden of the disease.
How to cure prostatitis without antibiotics
As noted above, two types of prostatitis are termed “bacterial” because they are caused by infectious agents invading the prostate. However, you still have two other types not necessarily triggered by infection.
Antibiotics for prostate gland infection are required when bacterial agents are the main trigger of prostatitis. When no bacterial agents are found, and in patients with chronic pelvic pain syndrome, other treatments are more practical, and we can treat the symptoms without antibiotics.
Here are some home remedies used to relieve the symptoms of prostatitis with natural treatment:
Saw palmetto
This supplement is effective for symptoms of prostatitis and BPH. It is a plant that grows in the United States, Canada, Europe, and Asia. It can be found in the form of tea, capsules, or tinctures.
Besides the antiproliferative effects on the prostate, saw palmetto also has anti-inflammatory effects. They relieve prostate irritation and improve the symptoms of an inflamed prostate (6).
Quercetin
One study also found that quercetin (a flavonoid) was effective in treating symptoms of prostatitis.
It is a prostatitis home remedy because quercetin is found in many foods, including onions, oranges, and green tea.
More research needs to be done, but the mechanism is probably also related to the anti-inflammatory properties of this substance (7).
Pollen extracts
Pollen is a substance found in plants. It is used by bees to make honey and other bee products. Pollen extracts are used as natural remedies for allergies and other inflammatory conditions. There is anecdotal evidence that it also works for prostatitis (8).
Ben’s Natural Prostatitis Treatment: Prostate Healer
We formulated Prostate Healer to effectively combat prostatitis and BPH, protect bladder health, and provide symptomatic relief from urinary tract infections, urgency, frequency, and nocturia.
Prostate Healer is a blend of modern science and holistic healing. We’ve taken a 5,000 year old Ayurvedic recipe for prostate health and made it available for the men of today.
It works on the prostate, kidney, and bladder simultaneously, coaxing cells gently to resume normal function. So, by this action, you’re fighting against prostatitis and BPH.
If you’re like many men that use the formula, you’ll see a reduction in the number of times you get up to go to the bathroom to urinate. Plus, you’ll see an improvement in the flow of your urine.
How long does it take for prostatitis to clear up?
Depending on the type of prostatitis, the duration of treatment can take a few days or several weeks, and you need to give it full compliance.
One or two weeks of treatment for acute bacterial prostatitis is often enough to solve the problem. Doctors follow up with patients at two weeks to ensure the prostate is clear.
The follow-up period extends to four weeks in chronic prostatitis. In pelvic pain syndrome, the clearing process takes longer, and the symptoms are sometimes recurrent. Thus, patients need routine evaluations yearly after the resolution, especially after 50 years old.
Conclusion
Patients with chronic prostatitis often experience long-term symptoms and sometimes relapse. If you’re experiencing this problem and want to know when prostatitis will go away and if your symptoms will stop worsening, the answer depends on different factors.
For instance, if you have signs of prostate infection after being cured of prostatitis, it is probably a chronic condition that requires a longer antibiotic course.
In some cases, it might take several weeks to recover, and if you’re diagnosed with chronic pelvic pain syndrome, you may even need a yearly check-up.
As new treatments become available, we can still speed up the recovery with natural remedies for prostatitis. They include saw palmetto, quercetin, pollen extract, and other ingredients with proven or anecdotal evidence in patients with this problem.
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