Prostatitis Diagnosis

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Prostatitis is a disease that is only true for us men. From the term itself you may already get that the affected part of the body is prostate. Yes, it is the prostate that gets sick when you have prostatitis. This is a gland that is included in your reproductive system. It is between your bladder and rectum.

Of course you have not seen your prostate yet. If you do not have an idea about this gland, you may simple do a google and find an image. Let me give you a description. It has the same shape as that of a walnut and has the same size as that of the chestnut. It houses an important component of semen, and it can be responsible for a mind-blowing orgasm.

To be able to know if you have prostatitis, you have to check with a doctor. However, before you even check with a professional, there are symptoms that can already tell you if you have one. The downside is, its symptoms are similar to other urological disorders. Hence, it is best to have your prostate checked regularly.

Usually, prostatitis symptoms are characterized by frequent urination at night, painful or burning sensation during urination, difficulty with urinating, fever, and chills. There are also other signs like low-back pain, muscle or joint pain, traces of blood in the urine, as well as painful ejaculation. The signs that I have mentioned are also true for other urological problems or even other prostate diseases.

Now, when you visit your doctor he or she will have to check your prostate by doing a digital rectal exam or DRE. In this procedure, your doctor will be inserting a gloved finger into your rectum. Don’t fret, the finger is lubricated. Of course, you might feel a little discomfort but that would be it. Since the prostate is adjacent to the rectum, the doctor can check it properly from that position. The doctor will check if there are swollen or tender spots on you prostate.

Another test for prostatitis diagnosis is doing a urine sample. Your urine will be tested on a laboratory where bacterial forms will be checked. The urine can also be cultured in order to see if bacteria will grow from it. The process is much longer with urine culture as it has to be tested with different antimicrobials. The bacteria’s resistance to the antimicrobials determines its identification.

In order to validate the disease, there are pre and post tests that should be done. One is before having a prostate massage, and the second one will be done after having a massage. You might be wondering what kind of procedure this prostate massage is. Well, it is done by stimulating the prostate for it to release the fluid it houses.

To massage this, the doctor will again insert a gloved finger, covered with lubricant, inside the anus. The prostate will be massaged with a gentle stroke or gentle tapping. After few minutes of stimulation, you might be feeling a urinating sensation which signifies the incoming release of a prostate fluid.

The doctor will then check the post-massage sample. If the last sample does carry the bacteria or infection-fighting cells that did not exist in the previous sample, this result suggests an infection in the prostate.

As people have mentioned, prevention is better than medication. Hence, if you feel a little different down there, do not hesitate to check with your doctor. Better yet, have an over-all check-up every year. This would be one of the best investments you can do for yourself.