Prostate
Infection:
Acute and Chronic Bacterial Infections of the Prostate Gland
Located
near a man’s urinary tract and reproductive system, the prostate
gland has ample opportunity to develop a prostate infection. The
prostate gland is a walnut-sized and -shaped gland situated under
the male bladder. Two common infections of the prostate gland are
acute bacterial prostate infection and chronic bacterial prostate
infection. Both of these prostate infections are also called prostatitis.
A
prostate infection is most likely to occur in men between the ages
of 30 and 50. Prostate infection is also quite common in older men.
It is estimated that prostate infection affects 6-8 percent of men
at any given time, and half of all men are expected to develop a
prostate infection in their lifetimes. Even though prostate infection
is a widespread condition, it can be difficult to treat and is not
completely understood by the medical community.
The
symptoms of a prostate infection usually involve problems with urination
and pain in the area of the prostate. It is easy to confuse a prostate
infection with a urinary or bladder infection. Both acute and chronic
prostate infections will result in the following symptoms:
- Painful urination
- Frequent urination
- Difficult urination
- Pain in the groin and lower back
- Fever
- Erectile difficulties
Once
a man has a prostate infection, he is more likely to have another.
Antibiotics may be prescribed for a prostate infection, but due
to the physiology of the prostate gland, it is difficult for antibiotics
to reach all the bacteria inside the gland. As a matter of fact,
it is possible for a man to take a full course of antibiotics for
a prostate infection and have a serious prostate infection return
shortly thereafter. While a prostate infection is painful and uncomfortable,
there is no evidence that prostate infection causes prostate cancer.
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