The key difference between prostatitis and urethritis is that prostatitis is the inflammation of the prostate glands due to an infection, while urethritis is the inflammation of the urethra due to an infection.
Prostatitis and urethritis are two inflammatory conditions that are caused by infections to the prostate glands and urethra, respectively. These conditions may trigger symptoms like dysuria, pain, urethral discharge, and fever. Moreover, prostatitis is mainly caused by bacteria, whereas bacteria, viruses, and yeast infections can cause urethritis. Therefore, prostatitis and urethritis can be treated with similar medicines, such as antibiotics.
CONTENTS
1. Overview and Key Difference
2. What is Prostatitis
3. What is Urethritis
4. Similarities – Prostatitis and Urethritis
5. Prostatitis vs. Urethritis in Tabular Form
6. Summary – Prostatitis vs.Urethritis
What is Prostatitis?
Prostatitis is the inflammation or swelling of the prostate glands. The symptoms of this condition may include trouble passing urine, pain in the bladder, testicles, penis or between these and anus, trouble and pain with ejaculation, burning sensation while urinating, frequent urgency to urinate, chills, fever, and trouble draining the bladder. Bacterial infections, stress, nerve inflammation or irritation, injuries, or prior urinary tract infections can cause prostatitis. The risk factors for prostatitis include a catheter or something else placed in the urethra, abnormality found in the urinary tract, a recent bladder infection, older men, prior prostate biopsy, sexually transmitted infection, HIV/AIDS, anal sex, injured pelvis, other painful abdominal conditions like irritable bowel disease and sexual abuse.
Figure 01: Prostatitis
Prostatitis can be diagnosed through digital rectal examination, physical examination, ultrasound, urine and prostate fluid tests, cystoscopy, and urine flow studies (urodynamics). Treatment options for prostatitis include intravenous (IV) antibiotics (trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, doxycycline, ciprofloxacin, norfloxacin and ofloxacin), prescribed pain medications such as acetaminophen or ibuprofen, and psychotherapy to manage stress, depression, and anxiety.
What is Urethritis?
Urethritis is an inflammation or swelling and irritation of the urethra. The risk factors for urethritis include being a female, being a male aged between 20 to 35, having many sexual partners, having high-risk sexual behaviours, and having a history of sexually transmitted diseases. The causes of urethritis are sexually transmitted infections (STIs) such as gonorrhea, Chlamydia, trichomoniasis, genital herpes, urinary tract infections, yeast infections, exposure to irritants like spermicides and soaps, squeezing the penis roughly, activities that put pressure on the urethra such as riding a bicycle or some sexual acts and putting things like a catheter in the urethra that helps to urinate. The signs and symptoms of urethritis may include pain while urinating, pain during sexual intercourse, itchiness at the tip of the urethra, penile discharges such as pus or blood, and pelvic pain.
Figure 02: Urethritis
Urethritis can be diagnosed through medical history, physical examination, lab tests, blood tests, and urine tests. Furthermore, treatment options for urethritis may include antibiotics such as azithromycin, doxycycline, ofloxacin, levofloxacin, ceftriaxone, and cefixime, antiviral and antifungal medications, stopping wearing tight clothing, stopping using the irritants and cutting back on time spent doing the activity that causes friction.
What are the Similarities Between Prostatitis and Urethritis?
- Prostatitis and urethritis are two inflammatory conditions caused by infections to the prostate glands and urethra, respectively.
- Both conditions can occur at the same time.
- Prior urinary tract infections can trigger both.
- Bacteria can cause them.
- Both conditions may have symptoms like dysuria, pain, urethral discharge, and fever.
- They can be diagnosed through physical examination and urine tests.
- They can be treated through specific antibiotics.
What is the Difference Between Prostatitis and Urethritis?
Prostatitis is the inflammation of the prostate glands, while urethritis is the inflammation of the urethra. Thus, this is the key difference between prostatitis and urethritis. Furthermore, prostatitis only affects males, while urethritis affects both males and females.
The infographic below presents the differences between prostatitis and urethritis in tabular form for side-by-side comparison.
Summary – Prostatitis vs. Urethritis
Prostatitis refers to the swelling and irritation of the prostate glands, while urethritis refers to the swelling and irritation of the urethra. This is the key difference between prostatitis and urethritis. They are two inflammatory conditions caused by infections to the prostate glands and urethra of the urogenital system, respectively. Both these conditions may occur simultaneously and have similar symptoms, such as dysuria, pain, urethral discharge, and fever.
Reference:
1. “Urethritis: Causes, Symptoms, and Treatment.” WebMD.
2. “Prostatitis.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.
Image Courtesy:
1. “Acute inflammation of prostate” By Nephron – Own work (CC BY-SA 3.0) via Commons Wikimedia
2. “Urethritis glandularis usual type, intermed. mag” By CoRus13 – Own work (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Commons Wikimedia