Toronto-Centre Naturopathic Medicine is a Toronto naturopathic clinic dedicated to providing safe and effective treatment of a wide variety of health conditions using natural therapies and the principles of naturopathic medicine.
Prostatitis is well treated using naturopathic medicine. Prostatitis is an inflammation or infection of the prostate gland, a male organ about the size and shape of a walnut, located just below the bladder in males that produces semen. It may be acute (i.e., sudden and short-term) or chronic (i.e., slowly developing and long-term) in nature. Prostatitis does not increase prostate cancer risk, but can affect fertility, ability to urinate, and in severe cases result in bacteria in your bloodstream (bacteremia). Professional healthcare should be sought out if you notice any symptoms that cause you to suspect you may have chronic prostatitis.
Seek emergency medical care if you have symptoms that cause you to suspect you have acute prostatitis.
Symptoms of prostatitis
Possible symptoms of acute prostatitis include:
- Fever and chills
- Influenza-like symptoms
- Prostate gland, lower back or groin pain
- Increased urinary urgency and frequency
- Difficulty or pain when urinating
- Incomplete urination
- Blood in urine (hematuria)
- Painful ejaculation
Possible symptoms of chronic prostatitis include:
- A frequent and urgent need to urinate
- Increased frequency of urination at night (nocturia)
- Difficulty starting urination
- Diminished urine flow
- Painful urination (dysuria)
- Blood in semen or urine (hematuria)
- Painful ejaculation
- Pelvic pain
- Lower back and genital pain
- Mild slight fever
- Recurring bladder infections
Chronic prostatitis treatment at Toronto-Centre Naturopathic Medicine
At Toronto-Centre Naturopathic Medicine, the goals of chronic prostatitis treatment are to decrease or eliminate urinary symptoms, eradicate microorganisms responsible for the infection and boost immunity to prevent infection recurrence.
Conventional treatment for chronic prostatitis may include physical therapy or surgery, and a variety of medications, including antibiotics, alpha blockers, pain relievers and muscle relaxants which may have short- or long-term side effects. For this reason, you may choose to try natural treatment to possibly avoid use of conventional medications, or together with conventional medications in order to decrease dosages of conventional medications required to manage your chronic prostatitis symptoms.
Naturopathic treatment of any chronic health concern must be recognized as a process that involves identifying specific treatment goals, a thorough understanding by your naturopathic doctor of all factors affecting your health, including physical, psychological, emotional and lifestyle factors, development of a comprehensive treatment plan and execution of that plan through periodic monitoring and adjustment.
At Toronto-Centre Naturopathic Medicine a typical approach to treating chronic prostatitis is to first identify and address underlying factors in your lifestyle (e.g., exercise habits, caffeine and alcohol use) or general health (e.g., chronic dehydration). Where appropriate, a number of therapeutic options are available, to be used alone, or more often in a complementary fashion, including:
- Hydrotherapy
- Botanical (herbal) medicines
- Nutritional supplements
- Acupuncture
- Homeopathic medicines
- Lifestyle counseling
- Relaxation techniques
- Exercise prescription
Reference
Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research. Prostatitis [Online]. [cited 2009 Feb 18]; Available from: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/prostatitis/DS00341