In men, cystitis is an infectious or non-infectious disease characterized by an inflammatory process of the mucous membrane of the bladder. According to statistics, women are more likely to experience cystitis, but despite this, sometimes men also have to experience the "magic" of this pathology.
Representatives of the stronger sex rarely suffer from this disease due to the peculiarities of the structure of their urinary tract, which is much longer than that of women, so it is very difficult to infect the bladder with bacteria. And even if the bacteria enter the urethra, they cannot continue along the urethra and are often completely washed out of the urethra with a stream of urine.
Therefore, representatives of the stronger sex can encounter this pathology only in a few cases:
- if their immunity is greatly reduced;
- if the infection has penetrated the urinary tract in large quantities.
The reasons
Doctors talk about two main forms of the disease in men - acute and chronic. The acute form is characterized by the severity of the clinical symptoms, while chronic cystitis in men can continue for years with subtle symptoms and periodic exacerbations.
Various factors can cause the disease:
- infections of the kidneys and ureters;
- chronic foci of infection in the body;
- genital infections;
- radiation exposure;
- the presence of prostatitis or urethritis;
- blood poisoning;
- the entry of Mycobacterium tuberculosis into the bladder;
- allergic reactions.
The main predisposing factor for the development of cystitis is hypothermia, during which this disease can occur in people with reduced immunity. In addition, cystitis often occurs in men who suffer from pathologies such as prostate adenoma or cancer of this organ.
As for the pathogen that causes acute cystitis, it is predominantly Proteus, but pathology can also occur due to coca, E. coli and other bacterial infections.
Types
As mentioned above, cystitis in men is acute and chronic. But these two main pathologies also have their own kind. So, acute cystitis can be:
- single;
- rare;
- frequent.
When the disease is said to be rare, it means an incidence of 1 or less per year, and when it is said to be frequent, it is assumed to occur twice a year or more.
As for chronic cystitis, there are several variants:
- it is latent, i. e. without serious symptoms or without symptoms at all, but nevertheless has periods of exacerbation occurring one to several times a year;
- persistent, in which signs of the disease appear 2-3 times a year;
- interstitial, characterized by regular exacerbations (more than 3 per year) and pain, as well as 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 must be said that when the pathology is divided into acute and chronic cystitis, the main criterion is not the number of exacerbations per year, but changes in the mucous membrane of the affected organ. Especially in chronic pathology, the mucous membrane changes, its structure and color change.
In addition to the types described above, this male disease is divided into two types, depending on the nature of the occurrence. This can be primary or secondary cystitis.
Primary is when the disease first appeared and its appearance is not related to any pathological process within the body. Secondary cystitis develops as a result of other diseases of the internal organs and the bladder. In particular, injuries to the bladder, the presence of stones, tumors in the organ, penetration of foreign bodies, etc. (causes of cystic origin), or prostatitis, spine diseases and other diseases (causes of non-vesicular origin). ) can lead to its appearance.
And the last classification of this pathology in men distinguishes three forms of pathology, depending on the affected area of the bladder. So, if the neck of the organ is affected, it is called cervical cystitis, if the triangle of the bladder is affected, it is referred to as dynitis, and when the walls of the organ are involved, it is called diffuse cystitis.
Types of inflammatory processes
Such a pathology as cystitis in men can develop according to 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 simply hyperemic. In the case of phlegmonous flow, the disease is accompanied by the release of a large amount of pus in the urine, and hemorrhagic - blood stains (due to damage to the mucous membrane of the bladder).
In addition, the disease has forms such as:
- cystic;
- goiter;
- ulcerated.
There are also rare types of this pathology in medical practice, such as cystitis with purpura and others.
Main symptoms
Cystitis has a certain symptom that is difficult to confuse with the symptoms of other diseases. Patients complain of particularly painful and frequent urination, after which the urge to urinate does not stop. A burning sensation in the urethra, impurities of pus or blood appear in the urine, the color and smell of the urine change.
In most cases, men also have the common symptoms of cystitis, such as hyperthermia, weakness, fatigue, muscle and joint pain, pain in the groin, scrotum and penis, as well as in the suprapubic region.
It is not enough to diagnose the pathology if only the signs of the disease are present - usually patients are also presented with tests such as a general blood and urine test, urine culture of microflora and 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 can treat this pathology - self-treatment can lead to complications. Acute cystitis is treated according to one scheme, and chronic cystitis according to another scheme. In acute cases, the patient is prescribed bed rest, lots of warm drinks, and some medicines. In particular, painkillers and antispasmodics are indicated to relieve the pain symptom, and antibacterial drugs to destroy the infection.
Diet is important - spices and condiments should be excluded from the diet, alcohol, smoked meat and pickles should be avoided. A good effect is the use of alternative medicine methods - the use of herbal decoctions with antiseptic and anti-inflammatory properties.
In general, the treatment of cystitis in men does not cause difficulties, and if the pathology occurs for the first time, then recovery occurs in 100% of cases, provided that the person follows all the recommendations of the doctor.
The medications prescribed for chronic cystitis in men will be similar, but they will be supplemented with physical therapy and some medical procedures. In particular, they use antibacterial drugs, drugs that relieve spasm and inflammation in the body, and drugs that treat the root cause of the disease.
Physiotherapy methods for the treatment of pathology are as follows:
- mud applications;
- UHF;
- iontophoresis.
In addition, we show how to wash the bladder in a medical institution with solutions of furacilin and silver nitrate.
If the patient has a gangrenous form of cystitis, then the affected areas of the mucous membrane must be surgically removed, and then antibacterial and anti-inflammatory drugs are prescribed.
If the disease is not treated, serious complications can develop. For example, the development of the gangrene form, acute urinary retention, the development of fistulas, etc. If you treat acute cystitis correctly, you can get rid of the disease completely. With chronic, appropriate treatment, it becomes inactive and symptom-free for a long time.