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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