An enlarged prostate gland is something for men over forty years old to begin to worry about. The longer you live, the higher the odds that you will have an enlarged prostate. An enlarged prostate simply means that the gland has gotten bigger, and it is non-cancerous in nature. But as the gland grows, it can begin to press on the urethra; problems urinating are the biggest complaint that comes with an enlarged prostate. The actual condition of an enlarged prostate is known medically as benign prostatic hyperplasia, and the fact that you have an enlarged prostate does not mean you are any more at risk of developing prostate cancer than anyone else. There are medications and procedures now available to help men with the urinary troubles brought on by an enlarged prostate.
A man’s prostate gland is a small organ that lies below the bladder and surrounds the urethra. The bladder stores urine as it comes from the kidneys while the urethra is the tube that empties away from the bladder and through the penis. The prostate gland, about the size of a ping-pong ball, has the task of manufacturing the fluid that becomes part of semen. When an enlarged prostate develops, the prostate gland pushes against the urethra, and the trouble begins. Science does not know what causes the prostate gland to enlarge, but they feel it may be somehow linked to hormones. While the reason for an enlarged prostate is a mystery, the dilemma that it causes is not.
As the prostate gets bigger and bigger, pushing against the urethra, it can become increasingly difficult for a man to urinate. At first the muscles in the bladder wall itself try to compensate for the effects from the enlarged prostate by strengthening, and they can successfully push the urine out and through the constricted urethra, but eventually they will weaken. When this happens, the bladder fails to empty completely every time you urinate. The fact that the bladder still contains urine means that someone with an enlarged prostate will need to urinate more often, which causes frequent trips to the bathroom, both day and night. Other symptoms that can accompany an enlarged prostate include a slowed or delayed beginning to the urinary stream when you try to pee. The urine stream will be weak and there can be lots of “dribbling” after you are done. Straining to urinate is a common occurrence when you have an enlarged prostate, and there can be sudden and strong urges to have to urinate.
There can be pain when you urinate as well, and the straining can cause the rupture of tiny veins in the bladder wall and urethra, with blood in the urine as a consequence. An enlarged prostate can be much more than an inconvenience when the urinary stream becomes totally blocked, as urine will now collect in the bladder and cause severe distress. This acute urinary retention is bad news, since urine that is just sitting in the bladder with nowhere to go can easily become infected. Backed-up urine can eventually cause kidney problems
The actual growth of the prostate can begin while a man is in his early thirties, but the symptoms of an enlarged prostate won’t appear for a considerable amount of time after that, usually in the early fifties. As you pass that age, your odds of having an enlarged prostate that interferes with your urinary function get higher and higher. More than forty percent of men that are in their seventies suffer from an enlarged prostate; approximately ten percent of all males will require some sort of treatment for an enlarged prostate, which, for reasons still not clear, do not trouble Chinese, African, and other Asian populations nearly as much as it does whites.
If you suspect you are afflicted with an enlarged prostate, suffering from some of the symptoms associated with the condition, see your doctor. You will be given a rectal exam, not the greatest moment of your life, but still necessary. Your physician will insert a finger into the anus to see how enlarged the prostate is and if there is a sign that it could be cancerous. A blood test to detect elevated levels of certain compounds related to the prostate can help identify the problem, and an ultrasound can help to rule out cancer. There is an instrument called a uroflowmeter that measures the rate of your urine flow, a catheter can be passed through the urethra to see how much urine remains in the bladder after you pee, and a cystoscope can give your doctor a very detailed view of the bladder, but that last one is very invasive and is often a last resort at getting to the problem. Urine samples can tell if there is any infection or kidney complications involved.
An enlarged prostate can be treated with drugs designed to help shrink it, such as finasteride, but things may not get better for some time after treatment has begun. Other medications such as doxazosin are known as alpha-adrenergic blockers; they can relax the muscle tissue surrounding your bladder outlet and outer urethra, allowing urine to flow more easily. Other methods of dealing with an enlarged prostate include using a needle, after the region has been anesthetized of course, to deliver radiofrequency energy to destroy the obstructing tissue. A newer device called a Prostatron attempts to do the same using microwave energy. Surgical options are available as well, with incision-less surgery performed to free up the urethra from the surrounding tissue that is causing the problem, but there are side effects such as blood in the urine for a few days after and there is the risk of impotence occurring in less than ten percent of those who have this done.
If you have an enlarged prostate but experience only mild symptoms, then urinate when you first get the urge that you need to. Refrain from alcohol and caffeine, especially after you have eaten and do not drink loads of liquids all at once. Do not drink for two hours before going to bed, and be aware that over-the-counter cold and sinus meds can increase the symptoms of an enlarged prostate. Stay warm and exercise on a regular basis, since cold weather and sitting around doing not much at all can make the symptoms worse. There is no way to avoid an enlarged prostate, and many men can have one with no symptoms at all, but knowledge of the situation will allow you to have the best chance to deal with what can be a frustrating condition as you get older.
