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Acute prostatitis

Acute prostatitis is any inflammation of the prostate gland that is caused by a sudden infection, usually by bacteria that get into the prostate by traveling up into the body through the urethra. Some of these bacteria are the normal germs that live on and inside your body. Other infections are transmitted through sexual contact.

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Most men who will develop prostatitis have a normal prostate gland, although the infection may be more common in older men as the gland gets larger with age. There is no known link between prostatitis and prostate cancer. Prostatitis is more common in men with AIDS, but many men who develop this infection have a normal immune system.

Some of the major symptoms include: Burning or dribbling with urination, difficulty starting the urine stream or total inability to pass urine, cloudiness or blood in the urine, pain above the penis, in or below the scrotum, in the back or in the rectum, fever and chills, nausea and vomiting, muscle aches and fatigue or flu-like symptoms.

Antibiotics are the first line of treatment in acute prostatitis (Cat. I). Antibiotics usually resolve acute prostatitis infections in a very short period of time. Appropriate antibiotics should be used, based on the microbe causing the infection. Some antibiotics have very poor penetration of the prostatic capsule, others, such as Ciprofloxacin, penetrate well. Severely ill patients may need hospitalization, while nontoxic patients can be treated at home with bed rest, analgesics, stool softeners, and hydration.