What You Need to Know About Enlarged Prostate (BPH)

Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), also referred to as benign prostatic hypertrophy, nodular hyperplasia or benign enlargement of the prostate (BEP) refers to the non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate gland, a gland that surrounds the urethra in males.

What Causes BPH?
Men produce testosterone as well as estrogen throughout their lives. With age, the amount of testosterone that is produced decreases and results in a higher proportion of estrogen being present. According to studies, BPH may be due to the fact that higher estrogen levels in the body leads to promotion of cell growth.

Once the growth of the prostrate begins it generally continues until medical therapy is used. Prostrate growth happens in two ways. In the first type the cells grow around the urethra, and in the second type there is middle-lobe prostrate growth where the cells grow into the bladder outlet region. As the prostrate enlarges there is pressure on the urethra which causes problems in urination. When the disorder is severe it might also lead to the damage of the kidneys.

What are the Symptoms?
BPH symptoms are generally classified as voiding or storage. The storage symptoms include urgency, urgency incontinence, urinary frequency, and voiding at night. The voiding symptoms are hesitancy, weak urinary stream, dysuria, straining to void, intermittency, and dribbling. The symptoms are evaluated through the International Prostate Symptom Score (IPSS) questionnaire which helps one to know the severity of the condition.

The symptoms of BPH mostly occur from the obstruction of the urethra as well as the gradual loss of the function of the bladder. The symptoms of the disorder vary but some of the most common ones revolve around changes in urination or problems with the same such as:

• A hesitant, weak stream
• Urgency and dribbling or leaking
• Increase in the frequency of urination

The severity of the symptoms is not always determined by the size of the prostrate. There might be individuals who, even with enlarged prostate, face less obstruction than people with lesser enlarged glands.

Severe symptoms might lead to serious problems. Urine retention may lead to urinary tract infections, bladder stones, kidney or bladder damage and incontinence. If the bladder gets damaged there might not be any effective treatment for it. It is thus recommended that BPH be addressed at the initial stages to avoid such complications.

Treatment Options
Individuals with BPH symptoms should consider treatment at some stage of the condition. However recent research has shown that treatment at the early stages might not be required as the symptoms clear up without any kind of treatment in mild cases. Instead the patient can go for regular checkups. If the condition starts to be a major problem, it is then addressed more diligently. If left untreated, benign prostatic hyperplasia can be a progressive disease.

The cause of BPH is not yet known. BPH affects men differently and the treatment is different in each case as well. While some turn to drug therapy or surgical options, there are ways to naturally reduce the symptoms of BPH:

• Reduce or avoid liquids close to bedtime
• Reduce or eliminate coffee from your diet  (instead, drink green tea which has been shown to help with symptoms)
• Avoid heavy alcohol consumption (although moderate alcohol consumption is considered to be protective)
• Get more soy in your diet (genistein, an isoflavone found in soy, has been found to reduce the growth of BPH tissue)
• Eat more fruit (studies have shown a reduced risk in BPH)

More and more research is also being done on alternative therapies and ingredients. One such ingredient is cernitin Swedish flower pollen, which has helped shrink swollen prostates to normal size. Other helpful ingredients include saw palmetto, zinc, and selenium. These ingredients can often be found in combination in herbal/nutritional supplements.

Certain lifestyle changes or adjustments may also help to relieve symptoms, including exercise and stress-reduction.

While you may not be facing BPH at this time in your life, you certainly aren’t immune. By knowing as much as you can about the condition now, you can be ready to face BPH if or when it strikes.