This month we’re putting a focus on men’s health by looking at three conditions that can affect the health of the prostate. For a quick overview of Part 1’s blog post where we talked about Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH), click here. This week our focus is on
prostatitis and how our Toronto naturopaths can help.
Prostatitis
Affecting about 50% of men at some point in their lives, most often for a short period of time but sometimes chronically, prostatitis is inflammation of the prostate gland. Only about 10% of prostatitis cases are due to bacterial infection. Much of the time, the cause is unknown. Contributing factors can include other pathogenic organisms like yeast, dietary, and environmental factors. Pain is a distinguishing symptom of prostatitis, with pain on ejaculation and urination, and pain in the perineum (the area between the anus and scrotum), penis, testicles, or lower abdomen. If there is an acute infection, these symptoms may be accompanied by fever and chills.
A thorough medical assessment will be performed to determine the cause of prostatitis. This can often include blood testing, urinalysis and urine culture, as well as semen analysis. Medical imaging is sometimes also performed.
Naturopathic care for prostatitis focuses on reducing the underlying causes of inflammation and infection. Our naturopaths take a careful history that goes beyond the prostate and includes an in-depth look at digestion, hormone balance, inflammation and the microbiome (microorganisms of a specific environment that live in and on the body). Recommendations will include a nutritional plan, lifestyle change focusing on stress, mood, sleep and exercise, botanical medicine, nutritional supplementation, and other remedies specific to the individual based on their history.