Fact Check: There is no Japanese method to cure prostatitis in 3 days: Viral link to cure is clickbait

Hyderabad: A Facebook post carrying a link that featured a person named Aretha Tanaka who is said to be a ‘urologist, professor, and renowned Japanese academic and a Nobel Laureate’ claiming that prostatitis could be cured in three days is being widely shared on social media.

The text on the thumbnail reads, ‘Prostatitis will disappear in 3 days and never come back.’

Fact Check

NewsMeter found that the claim is fake.

The article featured an interview of Aretha Tanaka. However, even after an extensive search, we couldn’t find anyone by that name. If ‘Aretha Tanaka’ is really a Nobel Laureate, then their name should be widely available. The article advised readers to take a drug called Xenoprost Active to treat prostatitis.

To confirm the veracity of the interview, we performed a keyword search but could not yield any such information online.

Calling the claim to be an absolute myth, MD physician and sexologist Dr Vinod Raina, said, “Xenoprost cannot treat prostatitis in 3 days for sure. Japanese people use massaging and certain exercises to treat prostatitis and by doing so, they get the swelling under control to an extent. But claiming to cure prostatitis with any physical method in five days is quite impossible.”

Talking about the condition, he added, “The prostate gland is a pea-sized gland just below the bladder in men and its function is to drain urine from the bladder and to produce the fluid that nourishes and transports sperms. Prostatitis is when this gland swells up and causes inconvenience in urination, releasing sperms and causing pain.”

What is prostatitis?

Prostatitis is a disorder caused due to inflammation of the prostate gland. Prostatitis makes urination painful and causes a burning sensation during urination. Other than this, there is severe pain in the groin, pelvic area or genitals. A prostatitis also interferes with sexual intercourse making ejaculation painful.

Two types of prostatitis

Acute prostatitis: It occurs when there is a sudden aggravation of severe symptoms. It generally does not subside without immediate treatment. This is a life-threatening condition. Acute prostatitis is usually treated with painkillers and a 2 to 4-week course of antibiotics. Visit your healthcare provider as soon as you suffer unidentified pain in your pelvic area.

Chronic prostatitis: It occurs when the symptoms are mild and reoccur over months. In this condition, the treatment is aimed at controlling symptoms like pain before and after urination and defecation, pain during sex, ejaculation and erectile dysfunction. This can be done by taking a course of painkillers, laxatives and lifestyle changes.

A study found that the drug dutasteride improves urinary symptoms and flow rate and reduces prostate volume. In Japanese men with BPH, it is effective and generally well tolerated during the one-year treatment period.

However, there is no Japanese technique that cures prostatitis in 3 days.