Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH)
You are not alone if you have been diagnosed with Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH), also referred to as an enlarged prostate. Men often experience this as they become older. In actuality, BPH affects almost 50% of all males between the ages of 51 and 60. It affects up to 90% of males over the age of 80.
An enlarged prostate is called BPH. In mature males, the prostate typically measures around the size of a walnut or golf ball, but it has the potential to grow as big as an orange. A larger gland has the ability to compress the urethra.
If you have symptoms, it is of great value to get a complete diagnosis and learn what you can do to get relief .
BPH, or benign prostatic hyperplasia, is an enlargement of the prostate and surrounding tissue. As a man ages, his prostate goes through two key growth phases.
The prostate doubles in size in the early stages of puberty. The second lasts for the majority of a man’s life and starts at age 25. Your prostate may enlarge with age. BPH is the point at which it becomes problematically huge.
The urethra is compressed by the growing prostate.
The wall of the bladder thickens. The bladder may get weaker and less able to empty completely with time. The bladder then holds onto the urine. Many of the BPH lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) are brought on by these issues. The way in which BPH creates symptoms may aid your medical team in deciding whether and what kind of treatment to recommend.
Who is at Risk for BPH?
Men who are overweight or obese; Men whose dads had BPH; Men who don’t stay active; Men over 50, as the risk for BPH increases with age; Some men with erectile dysfunction (ED)
What are the Symptoms of BPH?
An enlarged prostate may irritate or obstruct the bladder. Urinary frequency is a typical sign of bladder prolapse (BPH). This may involve the requirement to urinate every one to two hours, primarily at night.
These are a few more BPH symptoms:
• Inadequate emptying: the sensation that your bladder is still full after urinating.
• Frequency: the requirement to urinate often, typically every one to two hours.
• Intermittency: the need to urinate repeatedly, stopping and starting.
• Urgency: the overwhelming need to urinate without waiting.
• Weak stream: a feeble trickle of pee.
• Straining: having to push or strain in order to pass pee, or having difficulty starting to pass pee. Nocturia is the incessant need to urinate more than twice during the night.
What are the Causes of BPH?
BPH’s etiology is unclear. It mostly affects guys who are older. Changes in hormones are thought to be involved.
Testicular hormones could be the primary cause. For instance, men’s blood levels of active testosterone decrease with age. Levels of estrogen remain constant.
When these hormonal changes spur the growth of prostate cells, BPH may result. Regarding the function of dihydrotestosterone (DHT), there is another theory. This hormone in men promotes the growth of the prostate. According to certain research, DHT levels are higher in older males. Testosterone production declines.
This ends part 1 for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH)