What is prostate calcification, is it dangerous?

The article was professionally consulted with MSc Vo Thien Ngon - Urologist, Department of General Surgery, Vinmec Da Nang International Hospital.

Prostate calcification is a disease with a high incidence in middle-aged men. If not promptly detected and treated, the disease can progress seriously, easily leading to complications of prostatitis, urinary tract obstruction, ... seriously affecting the quality of life and sex life of women. patient.

Calcification of the prostate gland is also known as prostate stones. This is a condition of calcium deposition in the prostate gland, blocking the small sacs that secrete fluid into the urethra, thereby causing fluid stagnation, leading to infection and precipitation of lime. The disease is common in middle-aged men, is a fairly benign disease because the stones in the prostate gland hardly affect health. However, if the disease is not detected early, the stones can cause prostatitis, making treatment difficult, and can adversely affect men's health.

Prostate calcification may be associated with conditions such as prostate enlargement , prostatitis or prostate cancer . The causes of calcification are usually:
Men have urinary tract infections but are not treated early. Over time, more lime deposits are deposited in the prostate gland and calcified nodules are formed; Men with other diseases such as carcinoma, prostate enlargement, after surgery for an enlarged tumor, after radiation therapy for prostate cancer,...; Other causes: Improper diet, body hygiene, ...

Prostate calcification is often difficult to detect because the disease has almost no specific symptoms in the early stages. Therefore, many cases are discovered accidentally during periodic health check-ups. Others, only when the disease is severe, go to the doctor to detect the disease.
According to specialists, the symptoms of this disease include:
Weak urine stream, difficulty urinating, painful urination, burning when urinating, frequent urination, frequent urination, or nocturia; Unusual pain in the abdomen and groin; Pain in the perineum, rectum and penis; Have symptoms of discomfort in the penis, testicles; After sex, pain when ejaculating, semen turns pale yellow, only flowing out, not ejaculating as strongly as before. Diagnostic methods include: Ultrasound, X-ray, CT scan and prostate biopsy.

Increase the risk of infertility: For men, the prostate plays an extremely important role because it contributes to the maintenance and production of sperm. If you ignore the early symptoms of the disease, do not treat it early, men can face the risk of having problems in fertility later in life. Specifically, if the calcified lump in the prostate is infected, it is easy to cause chronic prostatitis. The prostate gland is swollen, inflamed, it will press on the urethra, preventing ejaculation and the semen is yellowish in color. This condition affects fertility, reduces the ability to conceive, increases the risk of infertility - infertility; Vulnerable to many dangerous diseases: Prostate calcifications can easily cause chronic prostatitis, which can turn into prostate enlargement or even lead to prostate cancer and blood infections. Besides, this disease requires a long time of treatment but is easy to recur, so it is difficult to treat completely.

Calcified nodules in the prostate are a haven for many types of bacteria and microorganisms, which are difficult to completely destroy. These nodules are also difficult to remove completely. If the calcifications are not too large or too numerous, they are unlikely to cause problems, so sometimes no intervention is needed.
In other cases, the doctor may appoint the patient to treat according to the following methods:
Use of antibiotics: As a common treatment for cases of prostate calcification nodules. Cases of acute prostatitis can be cured easily with the use of antibiotics. However, the drug does not have much effect on chronic prostatitis. In chronic patients, when taking antibiotics, the symptoms of the disease will be relieved, but when stopping treatment, the disease will recur. High-dose antibiotics can also be prescribed for patients, but the cure is not high and comes with the risk of hepatotoxicity and nephrotoxicity; Prostate injections: As an adjunct to oral antibiotics. The injection of drugs into the prostate helps to increase the concentration of the therapeutic drug. However, many clinical cases show that injection does not completely cure prostate calcification; Using herbs: According to traditional medicine, calcification or prostatitis are caused by heat blockage and accumulation of gas in the lower abdomen, stagnation of gas and blood. The treatment with herbs to eliminate cold and heat can help improve the disease. In case of prolonged inflammation, herbal diuretic is also a necessary choice. However, this treatment method is still unproven; Physical therapy: Doctors use ultrasound machines to increase prostate perfusion or massage to relieve blockages, clear ducts, and help antibiotics penetrate deeper into glandular tissues. However, this method can increase the inflammatory response, cannot destroy pathogenic microorganisms, so this is only an adjuvant treatment, not the main therapy; Other methods: Surgery to remove blocked or calcified prostate ducts to avoid dangerous complications of the disease.

When detecting stones or calcifications in the prostate gland, the disease has not caused unpleasant symptoms, the patient should refer to the following measures to avoid complications caused by the disease:
Maintain a regular sex life and regularly to avoid the risk of prostate blockage; Limit eating foods with too much salt or hot spicy foods; Limit the use of alcohol, beer, no smoking or stimulants,...; Should drink a lot of water every day to support the elimination of toxins from the body; Exercise regularly, practice sports to have a healthy and supple body. Good exercises for the pelvic area such as walking, yoga, ... will be good for the patient; Keep your genitals clean to avoid prostate infections. Prostate calcifications can affect fertility or lead to dangerous complications such as prostate cancer. Therefore, men should go for regular health check-ups, especially if there are warning signs to detect the disease early and take appropriate treatment interventions.
Periodic health check-ups help to detect diseases early, so that there are treatment plans for optimal results. Currently, Vinmec International General Hospital has general health checkup packages suitable for each age, gender and individual needs of customers with a reasonable price policy.
The patient's examination results will be returned to the home. After receiving the results of the general health examination, if you detect diseases that require intensive examination and treatment, you can use services from other specialties at the Hospital with quality treatment and services. outstanding customer service.