Highlights of this issue:

◎  Do patients with prostatitis need to take antibiotics?

◎  Can prostate disease heal on its own?

◎  What is the root cause of prostate disease?

◎  What is the correct treatment idea for prostate disease?

Deep misunderstandings about many issues related to prostate disease have led to many treatment misunderstandings, which are likely to worsen the patient’s condition, prolong the treatment time, or reduce the patient’s confidence in treatment.

After taking stock of the most popular related questions on the Internet and having in-depth discussions with thousands of patients, Dianhetang summarized the 10 most common misunderstandings regarding patients’ understanding of prostate diseases. To clarify These key questions, especially the last one, may greatly help patients improve treatment efficiency/confidence.

Prostatitis 2 key questions

01

Do patients with prostatitis need to take antibiotics?

This is a question that many patients have, and many patients even buy antibiotics and take them by themselves regardless of the situation. This may be due to being misled by the word “inflammation”. Due to lack of relevant medical knowledge, the public often mistakenly believes that “inflammation = infection”.

But inflammation and infection are actually two concepts:

Inflammation

Inflammation is a basic pathological process that occurs when living tissues with a vascular system are stimulated by various damaging factors and are dominated by defense responses. Inflammation is a dynamic process of damage, damage resistance, and repair.

Infect

Infection refers to the local tissue and systemic inflammatory response caused by pathogens such as bacteria, viruses, rickettsia, mycoplasma, spirochetes, fungi and parasites invading the human body. It is a defensive response made by the body for self-protection, but There are also different degrees of harm. In mild cases, local redness, swelling, heat, and pain may occur. In severe cases, it may cause functional impairment and systemic infection symptoms such as chills, high fever, palpitations, and shortness of breath.

Infection may cause inflammation, but inflammation is not always caused by infection. Only when pathogens are present, antibiotics need to be taken. However, prostatitis is actually subdivided. Whether antibiotics (cooperative) treatment is required is shown in the table below.

According to the classification method proposed by the National Institutes of Health (NIH) in 1995, prostatitis is divided into 4 types:

Among them, type I and type II, that is, acute bacterial prostatitis and chronic bacterial prostatitis, both have positive bacterial cultures, indicating the existence of pathogenic infection and the need for antibiotics for sterilization treatment.

If you really can’t tell what kind of prostatitis you have, the best way is to go directly to a regular hospital to do a bacterial culture. If it shows positive, you need to take antibiotics regularly and quantitatively according to the doctor’s advice.

What needs to be explained here is that regardless of whether it is bacterial or sterile prostatitis, the fundamental cause is “blockage”.

Therefore, aseptic prostatitis only needs to be treated【Clear stasis】, if it is bacterial, it needs to be treated 【on the basis of dredging and antibiotics】.

02

Does prostatitis require abstinence?

As mentioned above, prostatitis is divided into bacterial and sterile types. If bacteria are present, try to avoid sex or use condoms to reduce the possibility of cross-infection.

Because sexual life will cause prostate congestion and aggravate congestion, even if you have aseptic prostatitis, you need to reduce sexual life (0-1 times per week is recommended). However, there is no need to be completely abstinent, because complete abstinence may lead to the accumulation of prostatic fluid, making the congestion of the prostate more serious and aggravating the condition.

Benign prostatic hyperplasia 3 key questions

01

Is “excessive” prostate volume benign prostatic hyperplasia?

Some men find that the size of their prostate seems to be “excessive” during a physical examination（Prostate standard size reference value: 2cmX3cmX4cm）.So the patient thought he was suffering from prostatic hyperplasia, but there are actually several possibilities for the enlargement of the prostate gland.

The first case is benign prostatic hyperplasia. As age increases, blockage in the gland continues to accumulate, causing the gland to gradually become larger, leading to increasingly serious hyperplasia.

In the second case, like other organs, the prostate size will vary between men due to genetic factors or body size differences. “Exceeding the standard” is not necessarily pathological.

The third case is an enlargement of the prostate caused by prostate cancer. If an enlargement of the gland is detected, but there are basically no symptoms, it is recommended to have a timely examination to rule out prostate cancer.

The reason why symptoms of prostate cancer are not obvious in the early and middle stages (especially urinary symptoms) is because the tumor is located close to the external glands and has not yet squeezed the urethra.

The fourth case is due to prostate enlargement caused by long-term inflammation. In this part of the hyperplasia patients, the volume of the hyperplasia is usually not very large. There may be some retraction after the inflammation is eliminated. It is also possible that the long-term swelling of the prostate may cause the gland to form some inability to function. The reversed fibrosis and connective tissue will not shrink significantly even after the inflammation is eliminated.

02

Is prostate enlargement inevitable in the elderly?

I believe many men have heard this sentence: “There is a 90% chance that a man will suffer from prostate disease in his life.” The main reason is that, in addition to poor eating habits and stimulation from the external environment, blockage will continue to accumulate during the normal metabolism and aging process of the human body.

Therefore, for men who do not have daily desilting habits, when the glands are blocked to a certain extent at a certain age, they will significantly increase in size and compress tissues such as the bladder and urethra, causing frequent urination, poor urination, and poor urination. Urination problems and pain problems such as incomplete urination and thin urinary lines are common but do not mean they are normal and should not be ignored.

The reason why prostate hyperplasia is so common is that most people do not have the awareness and habit of desilting. If they insist on daily desilting, the incidence of prostate disease in the elderly can be greatly reduced; if they lack the habit of desilting, hyperplasia has already occurred. Through timely desilting treatment, the condition can also be reversed.

03

Could prostate hyperplasia be completely reversed?

Prostatic hyperplasia generally occurs in middle-aged and elderly men, whose physical functions have begun to gradually decline; in addition, affected by hormonal changes and accumulation of congestion, the size of the prostate continues to increase for every man throughout his life.

Hyperplasia caused by stasis can be reversed by clearing the stasis. Including elimination of symptoms and reduction in size.

But about “whether it can be completely reversed.” Because benign prostatic hyperplasia is often more common in middle-aged and elderly people, these people’s bodies have already aged to a certain extent. Including that there may be some irreversible connective tissue in the enlarged part, it is difficult to completely restore the prostate gland to its youthful size and state by clearing stasis.

Therefore, there are two goals for the treatment of prostatic hyperplasia. The main goal is to eliminate symptoms by clearing stasis, and then to shrink the gland volume as much as possible through long-term clearing of stasis.

Comprehensive 5 key questions

01

Could prostate disease heal on its own?

Most prostate problems that have been recognized as diseases are difficult to heal on their own. Diseases are abnormal life activity processes that occur due to disorders of homeostasis under certain causes.

From mild discomfort symptoms to diseases, the biggest difference is “whether the body can still complete self-regulation/self-healing.”

There may be a small number of patients with mild symptoms who can reduce their symptoms or even recover through good living habits. But once it reaches the state of disease, the limit of the body’s self-healing ability is exceeded, and it is difficult to reverse it simply by relying on good living habits. Instead, it needs to be corrected with drugs or various treatments. And it is necessary to adhere to standard treatment according to the time, amount and course of treatment, so that the disease will not become more serious or not healedrepeatedly.

02

What exactly is the root cause of prostate problems?

The key pathogenesis that really causes prostate disease and makes it aggravate step by step is stasis. In the final analysis, the commonly mentioned causes of prostate diseases such as inappropriate sexual life, prolonged sitting, excessive drinking, and spicy food are because these bad habits will aggravate the occurrence of congestion and cause prostate problems.

Traditional Chinese medicine believes that all diseases arise from stasis.“Stagnation and blockage” are the root causes of many diseases, because the organs and tissues of the human body need to be nourished by Qi and blood. Improper diet and lifestyle will lead to qi stagnation, blood stasis, phlegm coagulation, dampness accumulation and other blockages in the body. If the internal organs become dysfunctional, the body will feel uncomfortable; if the blockage lasts for too long, it will easily evolve into various diseases.

Due to congestion or infection caused by various external stimuli, age, etc., when the prostatic fluid or semen secreted by the prostate, or the refluxed urine forms blockages in the gland ducts, these metabolites and garbage toxins will cause the glands to become clogged. Deterioration of the internal environment, leading to metabolic disorders, damage to glandular function, irritation and compression of the urethra and nerves, resulting in various uncomfortable symptoms(Such as frequent urination, urgency, incontinence, excessive nocturia, urinary incontinence; lower abdominal pain, low back pain, perineal swelling and pain, testicular pain; sexual dysfunction, impotence, premature ejaculation, weak erection and other problems such as moist scrotum and white dripping, semen does not liquefy, etc.). Or systemic chronic inflammation, seriously affecting the quality of life.

Stagnation may cause prostatitis in mild cases, but over time, it will lead to and accelerate prostate hyperplasia and increase the incidence of prostate cancer.

03

Do you need kidney supplements if you suffer from prostate disease?

Some folk Chinese medicine practitioners and many patients believe that prostate disease is related to kidney deficiency, and even say that kidney deficiency causes prostate problems. This statement is rather general and one-sided.

The two are related at some level, but the fundamental pathogenesis of the prostate is stasis. The kidney is an organ that metabolizes waste and regulates endocrine. If there is a problem, it is likely to aggravate stasis in the body and indirectly promote prostate problems. On the other hand, if prostate disease remains unresolved for a long time, it may also affect kidney health through the following mechanisms:

First, if prostatitis is not cured for a long time and infections occur repeatedly, there is a certain chance that it will spread to the urethra, bladder, and then up to the kidneys, causing chronic nephritis.

Second, prostatic hyperplasia causes bladder outlet obstruction. As the obstruction gradually worsens, it will cause bladder detrusor muscle atrophy and decompensation of bladder function, which will lead to incomplete emptying of the bladder and residual urine. As residual urine increases, chronic urinary retention and filling urinary incontinence may occur. Long-term chronic urinary retention can cause hydronephrosis and renal function damage, and may even lead to uremia in severe cases.

Third, after prostate disease occurs, it will affect urine excretion, leading to incomplete urination and residual urine. Urine accumulates in the urinary system, which increases the pressure on the kidneys and leads to damage to kidney function.

The above are only some of the possibilities. In addition, patients with chronic prostatitis often have a long-term history of drug use, and drugs require the liver and kidneys to participate in metabolism. Therefore, if prostate disease does not heal for a long time, it may affect liver and kidney function, and even the entire body function and immunity. power level.

Therefore, during prostate treatment, it makes sense to supplement the kidneys, including the liver. Traditional Chinese medicine has a holistic view and pays attention to the overall harmony of the body and even the external environment, and treats diseases by treating people. Only when the body’s functions are also improved will the disease be less likely to relapse.

However, it should be noted that the root cause of prostate disease is “stasis and blockage”, and tonic must be combined with “clearing stasis”, first clearing it and then tonifying it, or replenishing it at the same time. Otherwise, no matter how good the supplementary ingredients are, they will not be able to be supplemented, but will increase the body’s absorption and metabolic burden.

04

Why are the urination and low back pain problems not improved after treatment?

First of all, Dianhetang would like to remind patients that although prostate disease can cause urination symptoms and sometimes low back pain, it does not mean that urination or low back pain symptoms are necessarily caused by prostate disease. For example, urination problems may be caused by cystitis or diabetes, while low back pain may be caused by lumbar spine problems, lumbar muscle strain or some trauma. It is necessary to investigate in sequence and carry out additional corresponding treatments.

05

How should prostate disease be treated?

The current status of the treatment of prostate diseases is: the treatment methods in most hospitals are relatively traditional, and most of them are based on symptoms, including various folk treatments that are either taken internally or externally. But almost none of them targets the key pathogenesis of the disease – stasis, or there is a lack of good methods to deal with stasis, and some improper treatments can even make the condition worsen…

Either the stasis has not been cleared, or the stasis is not cleared. In the end, most patients’ prostate problems recur repeatedly and cannot be improved or solved for several years or even more than ten years.

Since the root cause of prostate disease is siltation, the key to treatment is naturally to remove siltation. What are the specific treatment ideas?

To treat problems caused by blood stasis and blockage such as prostate disease, the person should be treated as a whole, starting from the relationship between the normal physiological function of the human body, the immune mechanism and the occurrence and development of the disease, and focusing on the common characteristics and laws of the disease.

Based on the basic treatment concept of “7 points to remove stasis and blockage, 3 points to nourish the liver and kidneys“, “clearing” is the main focus, and “toning” is the supplement, while clearing and tonifying:

So how to implement this principle of “7 points to make up for it, 3 points to make up for it”?

From the thousands of years of theoretical practice of traditional medicine, we can find several raw materials with good desilting effects. Among them, the raw materials that can be used daily as medicine and food include: dandelion, Houttuynia cordata, purslane, poria, platycodon, peach kernel, etc., plus bee pollen which has a good tonic and conditioning effect. A scientific combination and proportion of these materials can achieve good dredging and replenishing effects.

But clearing stasis requires a process, which often goes through the following three stages:

Stage 1: This stage focuses on clearing congestion in organs and tissues to eliminate most symptoms. It mainly improves microcirculation through clearing and removes toxins such as metabolites and secretions that are clogged in organs and tissues. This relieves the compression of nerves and tissues and relieves various main symptoms of congestion problems.

Stage 2: Through continuous desilting and replenishing, body functions are continuously improved, the body’s strong disease resistance is restored, some remaining minor symptoms are completely eliminated, and systemic chronic inflammation is improved.

Stage 3: In this stage, regular/daily desilting can avoid the occurrence of new blockages, thereby achieving the purpose of preventing disease and keeping the body smooth, energetic and healthy.

Of course, no matter how good the treatment method is, it is inseparable from the development and maintenance of good living habits, such as eating lightly, avoiding alcohol, exercising appropriately, reducing sexual life, etc. Injury while treating often results in half the effort with half the effort.