마지막 업데이트: 8월 30, 2026

When an 급성 전립선 감염 is not treated properly, around 10% of cases turn into a long-term problem — what we call 만성 전립선염. This article deals specifically with that chronic inflammation of the prostate gland. Any man who has lived with it will recognise the description immediately: it is a condition that erodes quality of life and reaches into almost every part of daily living.

Inflamed prostate gland in bacterial prostatitis
One cause of chronic prostatitis is inadequately treated bacterial prostatitis.

Chronic prostatitis is reported in up to 9% of men, and the recurrence rate can reach 50%. It divides into two categories.

  1. Chronic bacterial prostatitis — a bacterial cause is confirmed on culture.
  2. Chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS) — no bacterial cause is found on culture. Most patients fall into this group, and it is the reason so many men end up confused about their treatment plan: without a bacterial target, there is no single antibiotic that will fix it.

The difficulty is that both categories produce identical symptoms, so the symptoms alone cannot tell them apart.

That distinction has a practical consequence worth stating early, because it is where most of the wasted years go. If cultures are repeatedly negative, further courses of antibiotics are not the answer — not a longer course, not a stronger one, not a different one. It is the same trap that catches women with 방광 통증 증후군, and men with CPPS are frequently given that same treadmill for exactly the same reason. Antibiotics belong in this condition when there is something to treat.

Possible symptoms of chronic prostatitis

A man affected by the chronic pelvic pain of prostatitis
Chronic prostatitis erodes quality of life and reaches into almost every part of daily living.

What has to be excluded first

Chronic prostatitis is partly a diagnosis of exclusion, and that step is not a formality. Pelvic pain and urinary symptoms in a man can also come from bladder or prostate cancer, stones, a narrowing of the urethra, a bladder condition rather than a prostate one, or from problems outside the urinary tract altogether — the hip, the lower spine, a hernia, the bowel. Which of these need looking for depends on your age, your history and what exactly you are describing, which is why the tests are chosen rather than run as a fixed panel.

Two things must not be absorbed into the diagnosis once you have it. 혈뇨 is not a feature of chronic prostatitis and needs investigating in its own right. And a change in the character of the symptoms, as opposed to a flare of the usual ones, deserves a fresh look rather than another adjustment to the same treatment.

When to be seen the same day

Chronic prostatitis is a grinding condition rather than a dangerous one. Its acute counterpart is different, and a man with chronic symptoms can develop an acute infection on top. Go to an emergency department the same day — in Thailand you can call 1669 — for:

How it is assessed and treated

After a careful history and physical examination, the investigations are tailored to the symptoms the patient actually reports rather than run as a fixed panel, and treatment then follows the evidence that emerges. The available options are:

  1. Anti-inflammatory medication
  2. Neuropathic pain medication
  3. Prostate medication (alpha-blockers for the urinary symptoms)
  4. 발기부전 치료제
  5. Oral steroids
  6. Herbal extracts
  7. Pelvic floor physiotherapy, and other physical treatments — extracorporeal shockwave therapy, microwave thermotherapy, acupuncture
  8. 심리적 지원

That is a long list, and it is fair to ask why. The reason is that the label covers several different problems that happen to produce the same symptoms, and the treatments are aimed at different ones. This is why modern practice tries to work out which components are actually driving your case rather than starting at the top of the list and working down. The usual groupings are the urinary symptoms, the psychological burden, the prostate itself, infection where it is genuinely present, nerve-related pain, and tenderness of the pelvic floor muscles. Most men have two or three of these rather than all six, and matching the treatment to the ones you have is what makes the difference between a plan and a series of guesses.

Pelvic floor muscle tenderness deserves particular mention, because it is the component most often missed and the one where physiotherapy from a therapist trained in pelvic floor work is genuinely effective. If your pain is reproduced by pressure on those muscles, that is a finding rather than an incidental, and it points to a treatment that has nothing to do with the prostate at all.

It is also worth being straight about the evidence behind that list, since it is not uniform. The medications aimed at the urinary and pain components have the most behind them. Steroids, herbal preparations and some of the physical treatments have weaker or more mixed support, which does not mean they never help — some men respond well — but does mean they belong in a considered trial with a defined review point rather than as something to stay on indefinitely because it was started once. If you have been on something for months without being able to say whether it helped, that is worth raising.

A few practical measures are worth trying alongside whatever is prescribed, because they cost nothing: breaking up long periods of sitting, adjusting or pausing cycling if that reliably provokes symptoms, warm baths, and reducing alcohol, caffeine and spicy food if you notice they make things worse. None of these are cures. All of them are things you control, which matters in a condition where much of the frustration comes from feeling that nothing is.

Chronic prostatitis is genuinely difficult to treat, and it is rarely controlled by any single drug on its own. It takes a longer period of trial and adjustment to find the combination that works for a particular patient — which is why a steady, continuing relationship between patient and doctor matters more here than in almost any other urological condition. Progress is real, but it is measured in months rather than days.

One last thing, and I put it here rather than in a list because it gets left out of consultations. This condition affects sleep, work, mood and relationships, and men in particular tend to arrive having decided that the psychological side is not a medical matter and not worth mentioning. It is both. Low mood and anxiety are on the symptom list above for a reason, they make the pain worse through a well-recognised mechanism rather than an imagined one, and addressing them improves the pain rather than merely helping you tolerate it. Saying how much this is affecting your life is useful clinical information, not a complaint.

If you have been struggling with chronic pelvic pain, prostatitis symptoms, or have not responded to repeated antibiotic courses, Dr. Soarawee Weerasopone offers specialist consultations at Bangkok Hospital Headquarters. 진료 예약. 사미즈 시라차 병원 예약은 비뇨기과로 전화하여 하실 수 있습니다. 088-022-1445. Questions about the cost of consultation or treatment should go to the hospital directly — for Bangkok Hospital, by email to bhquro@bdms.co.th.

Bangkok Hospital also runs a Telemedicine service, arranged in advance by email to the Urology department at bhquro@bdms.co.th. It suits this condition unusually well, because so much of the work is the history and reviewing what has already been tried — and men who have been through several clinics often have a great deal of that to go through. Send previous urine culture results in particular, since a run of negative cultures alongside persistent symptoms is one of the most useful things in the file. Examination and any procedures are done in person. Samitivej Sriracha is in-person only.

Frequently Asked Questions about Chronic Prostatitis

What is chronic prostatitis?

Chronic prostatitis is a long-term inflammation of the prostate gland that significantly impacts quality of life. It is reported in up to 9% of men, with a recurrence rate as high as 50%. It is divided into two main categories: chronic bacterial prostatitis, where a bacterial cause is confirmed by culture, and chronic pelvic pain syndrome, where no bacterial infection is found.

What are the symptoms of chronic prostatitis?

Chronic prostatitis can cause a wide range of symptoms including urinary urgency and frequency (especially at night), pelvic and genital pain, rectal discomfort, painful ejaculation, premature ejaculation, and neuropathic pain. It can also lead to psychological effects such as depression, anxiety, and stress due to its chronic and often frustrating nature.

What is the difference between chronic bacterial prostatitis and chronic pelvic pain syndrome?

Chronic bacterial prostatitis is confirmed when bacterial cultures from urine or prostatic secretions test positive. Chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS) presents with the same symptoms but without any evidence of bacterial infection. CPPS is the more common category, yet more difficult to treat, as there is no specific bacterial target and the underlying mechanism involves nerve sensitization and inflammation.

My cultures keep coming back negative. Should I try another antibiotic?

No. Where cultures are repeatedly negative, further antibiotic courses are not the answer, whether longer, stronger or different, because there is no bacterial target to treat. Repeated courses in this situation cause antibiotic resistance and side effects without benefit, and they are the commonest reason men spend years without progress. Antibiotics belong in this condition where infection is genuinely demonstrated. The productive step instead is working out which components are driving your particular case and treating those.

How is chronic prostatitis treated?

Treatment is highly individualized and often requires a combination of therapies. Options include anti-inflammatory medications, neuropathic pain drugs, alpha-blockers for urinary symptoms, erectile dysfunction medications, oral steroids, herbal extracts, pelvic floor physiotherapy and other physical treatments (including shockwave therapy, microwave thermotherapy, and acupuncture), and psychological support. Modern practice identifies which components are driving the individual case — urinary symptoms, psychological burden, the prostate itself, genuine infection, nerve-related pain, and pelvic floor muscle tenderness — and matches treatment to those, rather than working down the list. Monotherapy alone is rarely sufficient, and a trial-and-adjust approach over time is typically needed.

Do all these treatments have equally good evidence?

No, and it is worth knowing which is which. The medications aimed at the urinary and pain components have the strongest support. Steroids, herbal preparations and some physical treatments have weaker or more mixed evidence, which does not mean they never help, but does mean they belong in a considered trial with a defined review point rather than something continued indefinitely because it was once started. If you have been taking something for months and cannot say whether it helped, raise it at your next appointment.

What can I do myself?

Several measures are worth trying alongside prescribed treatment: breaking up long periods of sitting, adjusting or pausing cycling if it reliably provokes symptoms, warm baths, and reducing alcohol, caffeine and spicy food if you notice they make things worse. None are cures, but all are within your control, which matters in a condition where much of the frustration comes from feeling that nothing is. Reporting the effect on your sleep, work and mood is also useful, since low mood and anxiety worsen pain through a recognised mechanism and treating them improves the pain rather than merely helping you tolerate it.

When does this need emergency care?

Chronic prostatitis is a grinding condition rather than a dangerous one, but an acute infection can develop on top of it. Go to an emergency department the same day, or call 1669 in Thailand, for fever or shaking chills, particularly with severe pain low between the legs or in the lower abdomen or feeling generally very unwell, since an acutely infected prostate can lead to bloodstream infection quickly. The same applies to being unable to pass urine, and to pain escalating rapidly rather than following its usual pattern. Blood in the urine is not a feature of chronic prostatitis and should be investigated in its own right rather than attributed to it.

Can chronic prostatitis be cured?

Chronic prostatitis, particularly the chronic pelvic pain syndrome type, is difficult to cure completely due to its multifactorial nature and high recurrence rate. However, most patients can achieve significant symptom relief with proper multimodal treatment. Long-term follow-up with a urologist, patient education, and a strong doctor–patient relationship are essential for managing this chronic condition effectively.

고지 사항: This content is written and reviewed by Dr. Soarawee Weerasopone, a board-certified urologist at Bangkok Hospital Headquarters. It is intended for educational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Chronic prostatitis is diagnosed after other causes have been excluded, and new or changing symptoms should be assessed rather than attributed to it. No medical advice, diagnosis or prescription is provided through personal messaging channels or social media. Always consult a qualified healthcare professional before starting any medical treatment. In an emergency, attend the nearest emergency department — in Thailand the emergency number is 1669.

의학적으로 작성 및 검토됨: 소아라위 위라소폰 박사(폼 박사) - 방콕 병원 본부 소속 비뇨기과 전문의, 2016년부터 비뇨기과 진료 중. 펠로우십: 로봇 수술, 창궁 기념 병원, 대만(2019) · 참관: 내시경 비뇨기과, 준텐도 대학 병원, 도쿄(2022) · 연구원 및 임상 참관: 베일러 의과대학 스콧 비뇨기과, 미국(2025~2026).

한 개의 응답

ko_KR한국어

Dr. Soarawee Weerasopone — Urologist Bangkok에서 더 알아보기

지금 구독하여 계속 읽고 전체 아카이브에 액세스하세요.

계속 읽기