Is Type 2 Diabetes Reversible?
When it comes to progressive health conditions like type 2 diabetes, you want to know whether there’s a way to reverse the course of your health. There is, and we get into the ins and outs of managing diabetes here.
5 Signs of an Enlarged Prostate
The wisdom that comes with aging is often accompanied by certain health issues that become more prevalent as the years go by. A good example of this for men is an enlarged prostate, which affects half of men by the age of 60 and 90% of men by the age of 85.
Medically known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), we first want to emphasize that the issue isn’t cancerous. We also want to highlight the fact that BPH doesn’t always lead to symptoms.
When an enlarged prostate does make itself known, however, it’s hard to ignore. To give you an idea about this common men’s health issue, our experienced team of primary care providers at CareOne Internal Medicine and Primary Care reviews a few key signs of BPH and how we can help resolve them.
Behind your enlarged prostate
Let’s first quickly address what occurs when you develop BPH. Your prostate is a gland that produces semen to carry and nourish your sperm. Your prostate is located right where your bladder meets your urethra and encircles the top of your urethra.
During puberty, your prostate goes through its first growth spurt, and then, during your 20s, it enters its second growth phase — a much slower one that lasts for the rest of your life.
As your prostate grows, it can start to interfere with your urinary tract and lead to some of the symptoms we get into next.
Key signs of BPP
Now, let’s look at some key signs men encounter when they develop symptomatic BPH.
1. Trouble starting urination
When your prostate growth starts to narrow the connection between your bladder and urethra, it can become more difficult to start your urine stream.
2. Weak stream
Another side effect of BPH is a weaker than normal stream of urine. It might also dribble toward the end.
3. Trouble emptying your bladder and frequent urination
As your prostate grows, you might find completely emptying your bladder a challenge, which can lead to frequent urination.
4. Nocturia — urinating at night
If you have to get up during the night to urinate — at least twice — this is one of the hallmarks of symptomatic BPH.
5. Urgency
Many men also feel a heightened urgency to urinate, even if they’ve just gone, thanks to an enlarged prostate.
At first, these side effects of BPH may not be too problematic, but they can worsen and pose serious comfort and quality-of-life issues.
Treating BPH
The good news is that if we find you have BPH, there are treatments such as medications to relax the muscles of your prostate and bladder, as well as medications that can shrink your prostate.
There are also minimally invasive procedures that can clear away excess prostate tissue to relieve your symptoms.
Before we get too far ahead of ourselves, let’s step back so you can go ahead and schedule an appointment with one of our men’s health experts to determine whether BPH is behind your issues. To make this happen, please contact CareOne Internal Medicine and Primary Care in Houston or Katy, Texas, today. We also offer telehealth appointments.
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