Chronic Prostatitis — Antibiotics Alone Are Often Not Enough
Table of Contents
Why chronic prostatitis is hard to cure
Prostatitis is the most common urological condition in men, but once it becomes chronic, treatment becomes complicated. In particular, with chronic non-bacterial prostatitis / chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CP/CPPS), no causative organism is found on bacterial culture, so antibiotics alone rarely produce a clear improvement.
Main symptoms
- Chronic pain or discomfort in the perineum, lower abdomen, or pelvic region
- Voiding dysfunction such as frequent urination or a sense of incomplete emptying
- Reduced sexual function and pain on ejaculation
- Symptoms tend to worsen after prolonged sitting
Why Korean medicine is effective
In Korean traditional medicine, chronic prostatitis is diagnosed as damp-heat pouring downward (seup-yeol-ha-ju, 濕熱下注) or qi stagnation and blood stasis (gi-che-hyeol-eo, 氣滯血瘀). Damp-heat accumulates in the pelvic cavity, or qi-and-blood circulation becomes sluggish, allowing the inflammation to become chronic.
- Heat-clearing, damp-draining (cheong-yeol-i-seup, 清熱利濕) prescriptions: Remove damp-heat from the lower jiao to reduce the inflammatory response.
- Blood-activating, stasis-resolving (hwal-hyeol-geo-eo, 活血祛瘀) prescriptions: Improve pelvic blood flow and promote tissue recovery.
- Acupuncture and pharmacopuncture: Stimulate acupoints around the perineum to release tension in the pelvic floor muscles.
- Sitz herbal steam (jwa-hun, 坐熏): Steaming the perineum with herbal vapor improves local circulation.
Lifestyle changes also matter
Prolonged sitting, excessive alcohol intake, and irregular sexual activity can worsen prostatitis. Standing up and moving every hour, along with consistent pelvic floor relaxation exercises, helps treatment work better. The key with chronic prostatitis is patient and persistent care.