Cavernitis - Causes, symptoms and treatment. MF.

Cavernitis is an inflammation of the cavernous or cavernous bodies of the penis, which in most cases has an acute course and is complicated by a disturbance of the erectile function.

Causes of cavernitis

The immediate cause of cavernitis is the introduction into the corpus cavernosum of the penis of the causative agent of an infectious disease. The most common is gonorrhea. The spread of infection in the cavernous body comes from the urethra, where it usually parasitizes. To promote this can microtraumatism of the mucous membrane, which occurs after the smears are taken for a bacteriological study of the excreta on the pathogen of urethritis.

In addition, the causes of cavernitis may be acute urethritis of another etiology, trauma of the penis with rupture of one of the cavernous bodies, as well as angina or osteomyelitis. The latter become causes of cavernitis due to hematogenous dissemination of the causative agent of the infectious disease. Also, the cause of cavernitis can be lymphogenous dissemination of the causative agent of the disease.

Symptoms of cavernitis

The most characteristic clinical sign of acute cavretitis is the sharp soreness of the penis, which has a rapidly progressive nature. At the same time the skin of the penis acquires a bright red hue, it becomes smooth and swollen. There may be an erection of the penis, which, however, has nothing to do with sexual arousal. During the touching of the penis, the pain intensifies, and a dense, painful thickening is palpable in the place of redness.

Cavernitis - appearance of the penis

The next stage in the development of cavernitis is suppuration of the infiltrate. The formed abscess, soon, is opened in the lumen of the urethra, which is accompanied by a reduction in pain and an improvement in the general condition. At the same time, a large amount of turbid foul pus is released from the urethra.

After the opening of the abscess, the third stage begins - sclerosing. As a result, a scar tissue forms on the site of the former abscess, which deforms the penis, which significantly complicates the sexual intercourse or, in general, makes it impossible.

The chronic form of cavernitis has a slowly progressive course, which ends with the formation of a seal on the body of the penis, which can have different lengths and shapes.

Self-medication with cavernitis is unacceptable due to serious consequences of the disease. Therefore, if the patient has one of the above signs, you should immediately contact the urologist to set a course for effective treatment.

Diagnosis of cavernitis

Diagnosis of inflammation of the cavernous bodies of the penis usually ends at the stage of clinical examination. Painful thickened penis with hyperemic( reddened) skin and violation of erectile function are unprecedented signs of acute cavernitis. To determine the cause of cavernitis, a bacterioscopic or bacteriological examination of the discharge from the urethra can be used. This is necessary both to clarify the origin of the causative agent of the disease, and to determine its sensitivity to antibiotics. These tests are performed by any clinical laboratory, so the diagnosis of cavernitis is not a difficult matter in medicine.

If there is a suspicion that the cavity has arisen due to traumatic damage to the urethral wall, an ultrasound examination of the penis can be performed to help identify the traumatic course from the urethra to the cavity of the cavernous body.

Treatment of cavernitis

Treatment of inflammation of the cavernous bodies depends on the stage of the disease. For example, at the initial stage, when there is only infiltration of the corpus cavernosum, a course of antibiotic therapy is prescribed. If the causative agent of cavernitis is gonorrhea, then the drug of choice for its treatment is penicillin. It is administered intramuscularly or intravenously from four to six times a day. In a place with this, local treatment is used in the form of rinsing of the urethral lumen with antiseptic solutions( decasane, furacillin).They can be purchased at the pharmacy without a doctor's prescription.

When the inflammatory process passes the stage of infiltration and an abscess forms in the cavity of the cavernous body, then an operative intervention is used. It consists in cutting the body of the penis and draining the purulent cavity. It is washed with solutions of antiseptics.

Operation - opening of abscess

If a large keloid scar is formed during the healing of the wound, which interferes with normal sexual life, then a special plastic operation is necessary to excise the scar and perform the plasticity of the skin with the remaining tissues.

In the postoperative period, it is extremely important to perform permanent dressings with the washing of the operating wound. This is done in order not to join a secondary infection, which can cause a recurrence of the disease.

Treating cavernitis with folk remedies

Men's health is probably the most popular branch of medicine that has suffered from traditional healers. The fact is that because of fear and shame before doctors, with similar problems people turn to healers to this day. Naturally, this leads to a huge number of unnecessary and harmful manipulations.

As a rule, everything that people's "doctors" can offer in inflammatory diseases is compresses and lotions. With cavernitis, such treatment has only a negative effect, due to the fact that it contributes to the early progression of the disease. Under the compresses, a moist warm medium is formed, which is ideal for the propagation of bacteria.

Often, patients who turn to normal clinics after treatment with folk remedies have more neglected forms of cavernitis than those who just sat at home and did nothing.

Features of nutrition and lifestyle

In principle, with the disease cavernitis, no special diet should not be adhered to. Unless, when prescribing a course of antibacterial therapy, it is temporarily necessary to refrain from drinking alcoholic beverages, since they are very poorly combined with antibiotics and can cause a lot of side effects.

With regard to lifestyle, after the treatment of cavernitis, it is necessary to temporarily abstain from sexual relations. The fact is that in the postoperative period a person becomes very susceptible to infectious diseases and even a conditionally pathogenic microflora can cause secondary infection of cavernous bodies.

Rehabilitation after illness

First of all, rehabilitation after illness should be aimed at returning to the man his male strength. For this it is necessary, after the completion of the course of antibacterial therapy, to undergo several courses of physiotherapeutic treatment. This type of rehabilitation consists in the effect on the region of the penis special radiation, which has positive effects on the healing process.

In order to prevent the curvature of the penis, patients after surgery can be assigned to wear a special tire that supports the shape of the penis and contributes to the normal recovery of erectile function.

Since antibacterial drugs are used in the treatment of cavernitis, and are by no means the weakest ones, after treatment it is necessary to restore the normal intestinal microflora. As is known, this is done by using bifido- and lactobacilli in tablet or capsule forms. As practice shows, capsular probiotics have a more pronounced effect on the restoration of normal intestinal microflora.

Complications of Cavernitis

One of the most dangerous and frequent complications of this disease is erectile dysfunction, which develops as a result of sclerosis and curvature of the penis.

With weakened immunity in patients, there may be a local spread of the infection, which usually ends with gangrene of the penis. If after such a complication the patient remains alive, it is only due to the operation of amputation of the genital organ.

It is not excluded that the disease spreads up the genitourinary system, which, as a rule, ends with cystitis.

Prevention of cavernitis

Because the causative cavernitis in most cases is an infection, preventive measures, in the first place, should be directed to its prevention. This can be achieved by eliminating casual sexual contacts and observing personal hygiene rules.

It should be remembered that, for example, gonorrhea is a venereal disease that can not be clinically manifested in women. And this means that if a spouse has a gonorrheal urethritis, then he could really get infected from a wife who does not even suspect about her infection, which could be "hooked up" even in the public pool. To avoid such situations, it is necessary to undergo periodic examinations at the venereologist, even if you live in a happy marriage and do not have sexual relations on the side.

In case of detection of urethritis, it is necessary to immediately take a course of treatment to prevent its spread not only to the cavernous bodies, but also to other sections of the genito-urinary tract.

Also one of the areas in the prevention of cavernitis is the careful processing and sterilization of urological instruments, which can be a source of infection with a variety of strains of bacteria. It should be performed in central sterilization rooms, which are available at any city or district hospital.

Prognosis with cavity

The prognosis for life is usually favorable, except for those rare cases when, for certain reasons, the gangrene of the penis may develop. The prognosis for recovery is relatively favorable, given the fact that many patients develop cicatrical changes in the penis, which results in erectile dysfunction. The prognosis for working capacity is unequivocally favorable, because even the worst outcome of treatment in the form of amputation of the penis does not affect human performance. Is that psychologically.

Rev.doctor urologist Astashin Е.Е.