Cystitis in men is a disease of an infectious or non-infectious nature, characterized by an inflammatory process in the bladder mucosa. According to statistics, women are more likely to suffer from cystitis, but sometimes men also have to experience all the "charms" of this pathology.
Representatives of the stronger sex rarely suffer from this disease due to the peculiarities of the structure of their urinary canal, which is much longer than the female one, and therefore infection of the bladder with bacteria is very difficult. And even if the bacteria enter the urethra, they cannot move further down the urinary canal and are often flushed out of the urethra completely with a stream of urine.
Therefore, representatives of the stronger sex can encounter this pathology only in a few cases:
- if their immunity is sharply reduced;
- if the infection has entered the urinary tract in large quantities.
The reasons
Doctors speak of two main forms of this disease in men - acute and chronic. The acute form is characterized by the severity of clinical symptoms, and chronic cystitis in men can persist for years with subtle symptoms and periodic aggravation.
Various factors can cause the disease:
- kidney and ureter infections;
- chronic foci of infection in the body;
- genital infections;
- radiation exposure;
- the presence of prostatitis or urethritis;
- Sepsis;
- Entry into the bladder of Mycobacterium tuberculosis;
- allergic reaction.
The main predisposing factor in the development of cystitis is hypothermia, with which this disease can occur in people with reduced immunity. In addition, cystitis often occurs in men suffering from pathologies such as prostate adenoma or cancer of this organ.
The causative agent of acute cystitis is predominantly Proteus, but pathology can also occur as a result of exposure to coca, E. coli and other bacterial infections.
sorts
As mentioned above, cystitis in men is divided into acute and chronic. But these two main types of pathology also have their own variants. So, acute cystitis can be:
- Single;
- Rarely;
- frequently.
When they say that the disease occurs rarely, they mean frequency of occurrence 1 time per year or less, and when they say often, it is assumed that it occurs 2 times per year or more.
As for chronic cystitis, there are also several variants:
- latent, d. H. Course without severe symptoms or asymptomatic at all, but still phases of exacerbation that occur once or several times a year;
- persistent, in which the signs of the disease appear 2-3 times a year;
- interstitial, characterized by regular exacerbations (more than 3 times a year) and the presence of pain and general symptoms (weakness, fever, etc. ).
Interstitial cystitis is the most severe form of this pathology and is much more difficult to treat than other forms of the disease.
It should be said that when dividing the pathology into acute and chronic cystitis, the main criterion is not the number of exacerbations per year, but the changes that occur on the mucous membrane of the affected organ. In particular, in chronic pathology, the mucous membrane undergoes changes, its structure and color change.
In addition to the types described above, this disease in men is divided into two types depending on the type of occurrence. It can be either primary or secondary cystitis.
They talk about the primary when the disease appeared for the first time and its occurrence is not associated with pathological processes in the body. Secondary cystitis develops as a result of other diseases of the internal organs and bladder. In particular, injuries to the bladder, the presence of stones, tumors in the organ, the penetration of foreign bodies, etc. (causes of cystic origin) or prostatitis, diseases of the spine and other diseases (causes of non-vesical origin . ) can lead to its appearance.
And the last classification of this pathology in men is to distinguish three forms of pathology depending on the affected area of \u200b\u200bthe bladder. So, when the neck of the organ is affected, they speak of cervical cystitis, when the triangle of the bladder is affected - tregonitis, and when the walls of the organ are involved in it - diffuse cystitis.
Types of inflammatory processes
Such a pathology as cystitis in men can develop in different scenarios. The most favorable is the catarrhal course, in which there are no changes in the mucous membrane of the bladder and it is just hyperemia. With a phlegmonous course, the disease is accompanied by the release of a large amount of pus in the urine and hemorrhagic impurities in the blood (due to injury to the mucous membrane of the bladder).
There are also such forms of the disease as:
- cystic;
- gangrenous;
- ulcerative.
There are also rare types of this pathology in medical practice, for example, cystitis that develops with purpura, and others.
main symptoms
Cystitis has a specific symptomatology that is difficult to confuse with the symptoms of other diseases. In particular, patients complain of painful and frequent urination, after which the urge to urinate does not stop. There is also a burning sensation in the urethra, impurities in the urine from pus or blood, a change in the color and smell of urine.
In most cases, men also have common symptoms of cystitis, such as hyperthermia, weakness, fatigue, muscle and joint pain, pain in the groin, scrotum and penis, and in the suprapubic region.
For the diagnosis of pathology, it is not enough just to have signs of the disease - usually patients are also shown such examinations as a general blood and urine test, a urine culture for microflora, and a PCR test.
Ultrasound of the kidneys, cystoscopy and cystography are also shown.
treatment
If we talk about the treatment of cystitis in men, it depends on the form of the disease. Only a urologist should treat this pathology - self-treatment can lead to the development of complications. Acute cystitis is treated according to one scheme, and chronic - according to another. In acute cases, the patient is prescribed bed rest, plenty of warm drink, as well as some medicines. In particular, analgesics and antispasmodics are indicated to relieve the pain symptom, and antibacterial drugs to destroy the infection.
Diet is important - it is necessary to exclude spices and spices from the diet, not to drink alcohol, smoked meat and pickles. A good effect is the use of alternative medicinal methods - the use of herbal decoctions with antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties.
Usually, the treatment of cystitis in men does not cause difficulties, and when the pathology appears for the first time, recovery occurs in 100% of cases, provided that the person follows all the doctor's recommendations.
Medications for chronic cystitis in men prescribed to him are similar, but complemented by physiotherapy and some medical procedures. In particular, antibacterial drugs, drugs that relieve spasms and inflammation in the organ, and drugs that treat the underlying cause of the disease are used.
Physiotherapeutic methods of treating this pathology include:
- mud applications;
- UHF;
- iontophoresis.
Also shown is washing the bladder in a medical facility with solutions of furacilin and silver nitrate.
If a patient has a gangrenous form of cystitis, it is necessary to surgically remove the affected areas of the mucous membrane, after which antibacterial and anti-inflammatory drugs are prescribed.
If the disease is not treated, serious complications can arise. For example, the development of a gangrenous form, acute urinary retention, the formation of fistulas, etc. If you properly treat acute cystitis, you can completely get rid of the disease. Chronically, with proper treatment, it becomes inactive, with long periods without symptoms.