Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia: Symptoms, Causes and Treatments

What is Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia(BPH)

Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia is commonly known as enlarged prostate, a condition found in men as they age to 60 years and go through it as they reach 80. The normal size of the prostate is that of a walnut or a golf ball, but it grows to as large as an orange as the gland enlarges and hence squeeze the urethra causing symptoms of weak urine stream or strain to pass urine. These problems could worsen leading to renal failure. Hence this condition needs immediate medical treatment. Although BPH is non-cancerous, in the sense it is benign, a complete diagnosis is required to get proper relief from it.

Picture Courtesy: Urology Of Virgina

Symptoms of BPH

  • Incomplete emptying: The feeling your bladder is full, even after passing urine.
  • Frequency: The need to pass urine often, once in two or three hours.
  • Intermittent: The need to start and stop urine while urinating.
  • Urgency: The feeling of an urgent need to urinate.
  • Weak Stream: Weak urine flow.
  • Straining: Trouble in starting to urinate
  • Nocturia : The need to wake up more than two or three times in the middle of the night to urinate.
Picture Courtesy: DC Urology

Who gets BPH

  • Men over the age of 50 are at risk of BPH.
  • Men whose father has had BPH.
  • Men who are overweight or obese.
  • Men who don’t do enough physical exercise.
  • Men who suffer from ED(Erectile Dysfunction)
Picture Courtesy: MedLife

Diagnosis

  • Physical Examination : A digital rectal exam is done by the doctor to feel the back wall of the prostate for enlargement, tenderness, lumps or hard spots, taking about 10-15 seconds.
  • Urine Tests : Urinalysis, Post-void residual volume(PVR), Uroflowmetry, Urodynamic pressure flow study.
  • Scans : Ultrasound, Cystoscopy, Magnetic Resonance Imaging(MRI), Computed tomography(CT).
  • Blood Tests : Prostate-specific antigen(PSA), Urinary blood tests,

Note : As for the treatment of BPH, talk about the pros and cons, be careful of what you read online, finally find a doctor who has a lot of experience in the treatment. Also take more opinions from other experts as expertise matters a lot.

Text Credits: https://www.urologyhealth.org/