A prostate infection is a painful condition in which your prostate gland becomes swollen. Your doctor can treat the infection with antibiotics and other medications. You can also use home treatment to help relieve symptoms. Drinking more liquids, avoiding certain foods and taking warm baths may help. You can also take over-the-counter pain medicines, such as ibuprofen or naproxen.
You can get a prostate infection at any age, but it usually happens in men between 30 and 50. The condition can cause pain or burning during urinating, ejaculation, and bowel movements. In some cases, you may have a high fever or chills, and blood in your urine.
Some types of prostatitis are caused by bacterial infection. This can happen in two ways: Bacteria from a urinary tract infection (UTI) moves through the urethra into the prostate ducts, or bacteria from an uninfected urination move into the prostate by backflow through the ejaculatory ducts. Bacterial prostatitis is not contagious and is not a sexually transmitted disease.
The bacteria that cause bacterial prostatitis include E. coli, staphylococcal and streptococcus organisms. Infrequently, fungi and genital viruses can also cause prostatitis.
Acute bacterial prostatitis often responds to antibiotics, which are used to kill the bacteria. Your doctor may give you antibiotics by mouth or intravenously, depending on the type of antibiotic and your case. If the infection is severe, you may need to stay in the hospital. You may need to take antibiotics for 14 to 30 days or longer, depending on your doctor’s orders.
Chronic bacterial prostatitis can be more difficult to treat. It can return after you finish taking antibiotics. You may need to take long-term antibiotics, such as erythromycin (E-Mycin, Erythrocin), doxycycline (Atridox, Vibramycin), or a fluoroquinolone (ciprofloxacin [Cipro, Cipro XR, Proquin XR]). In rare cases, you might need surgery to drain an abscess in your prostate.
Symptoms of a prostate infection can include painful or difficult urination, ejaculation, and painful bowel movements. You can also have burning or stinging during urination, blood in your urine, and pain or pressure in your testicles or groin. Some people can also have low-grade inflammation in the prostate without any signs or symptoms, called asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis.
The main treatment for asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis is to drink more fluids to flush the bladder and reduce discomfort. You can also use over-the-counter pain medicines, such ibuprofen or naproxen, and warm baths. You can also take medicine that helps the bladder and prostate work better, such as oxybutynin (Dyazide), doxazosin (Urisulin), prazosin (Alfuzosin) or tamsulosin (Flomax). Some men find relief with pelvic floor physical therapy, including myofascial release, which is a gentle massage to ease tight pelvic muscles. In some cases, you may need to take a medication to help prevent future infections. This medicine is a PDE-5 inhibitor, which stops bacteria from entering the prostate. It is typically prescribed as a daily dose of 40 mg. It is important to talk with your doctor before taking this medication.
