What is prostatitis?
Prostatitis covers a group of conditions involving inflammation of the prostate. Acute bacterial prostatitis is a sudden infection causing fever, pelvic pain and difficulty urinating, and needs prompt antibiotic treatment. Far more common is chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome (CPPS), a persistent or relapsing pattern of pelvic, genital or lower back pain with urinary and sometimes sexual symptoms, in which no active infection is usually found.
Prostatitis can affect men of any age and is the most common urological diagnosis in men under 50. Diagnosis involves a history, examination including the prostate, urine tests and sometimes semen or post-massage urine cultures, with PSA testing and imaging used selectively. Chronic symptoms are thought to involve muscle tension, nerve sensitisation and inflammation rather than simple ongoing infection.
Common symptoms
- Pain in the perineum, lower abdomen, groin, testicles or penis
- Burning or discomfort when passing urine
- Frequent or urgent urination
- Pain or discomfort during or after ejaculation
- Lower back pain
- Fever and feeling very unwell in acute bacterial prostatitis
- Symptoms that wax and wane over months
How long will you wait?
Acute bacterial prostatitis is treated urgently, but men with chronic prostatitis commonly wait three to five months for a routine NHS urology appointment at many trusts, with further waits for physiotherapy and follow-up.
Privately, you can typically see a consultant urologist within 3–7 days, with urine tests, PSA and any imaging usually completed within 1–2 weeks.
NHS England median referral-to-treatment wait: 12.4 weeks, with 2.5 million people waiting over 18 weeks (May 2026). Individual waits vary by trust and urgency.
Treatment options
- Antibiotics. A prolonged course treats acute bacterial prostatitis and is often trialled early in chronic cases where infection is suspected.
- Alpha-blockers. Tamsulosin-type drugs relax the prostate and bladder neck, easing urinary symptoms in many men.
- Pain management and anti-inflammatories. Analgesia, and in some cases neuropathic pain medication, address the pain-sensitisation component of chronic prostatitis.
- Pelvic floor physiotherapy. Specialist physiotherapy releases pelvic muscle tension, one of the most consistently helpful treatments for chronic pelvic pain syndrome.
What does private treatment cost?
As a guide, a private urology consultation typically costs around £200–£350, with a full assessment including urine cultures, PSA and ultrasound typically around £500–£1,500 in the UK in 2026.
Does health insurance cover prostatitis?
An acute episode of prostatitis after your policy starts is usually covered by private medical insurance, including consultations, tests and treatment of the infection. Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome is trickier: insurers typically cover the initial investigations, but once the condition is established as long-term, ongoing consultations, physiotherapy and medication are often classed as chronic management and fall outside cover. Symptoms that began before your policy would normally be excluded as pre-existing.
Frequently asked questions
Is prostatitis caused by an infection I caught?
Sometimes, but usually not. Acute bacterial prostatitis is a genuine infection, typically by common urinary bacteria rather than anything exotic, and chronic bacterial prostatitis accounts for a small minority of persistent cases. The large majority of chronic prostatitis is chronic pelvic pain syndrome, where cultures are negative and the problem involves muscle tension, nerve sensitisation and inflammation. That distinction matters, because endless repeated antibiotics rarely help CPPS.
Does prostatitis increase my risk of prostate cancer?
There is no good evidence that prostatitis leads to prostate cancer. One practical wrinkle is that inflammation can temporarily push up the PSA blood test, which can cause understandable alarm and sometimes unnecessary investigation. If your PSA is raised during or soon after an episode of prostatitis, it is usually sensible to repeat the test once things have settled before drawing any conclusions.
Will my chronic prostatitis ever go away?
For most men, yes, symptoms improve substantially over time, though often over months rather than weeks and sometimes with relapses along the way. The evidence favours a combination approach tailored to your symptom pattern: alpha-blockers for urinary symptoms, appropriate pain management, pelvic floor physiotherapy for muscle-related pain, and attention to stress, which reliably aggravates flares. Persistence with treatment, and a urologist who takes the condition seriously, both matter.