WHAT IS AN ENLARGED PROSTATE And HOW CAN YOU DEFEAT IT?
“Menopause” is a very well-known term, sitcoms are having a great time exposing all the associated symptoms in various funny ways, although when your wife has them, they do not appear so funny…
However, when it comes to what you have to deal with in your 50s there is not much talk about it. I guess that urinary problems sounds less “sexy”, maybe having a sudden urgency to urinate, does not seem as critical for a man, when it seems so easy for men to just stop and pee wherever there are. This might have been true in the stone age, when we were out hunting, however this is not the case these days.
As opposed to the female menopause, that is accompanied by a clear biological sign – the cessation of menstruation, prostate enlargement in men develops gradually and cannot be marked by any outer sign, except the gradual distress that is formed around our peeing habits. Since nobody speaks about it, most men don’t even notice the gradual progress of the symptoms and treat the changes in their bodies as a natural part of aging, our organs are getting older, and hence their function gets impaired.
So let’s speak about it, as although it is a natural process, it can progress into distressing symptoms
So, what is this prostate and what is happening?
The prostate gland is one of the three sexual glands in the male’s body. This small gland, that can be found under the bladder, has a major part in the process of producing semen and is therefore very important.
Staring from maturation until the age of 20, the prostate grows at a quick pace due to the accelerating growth of the levels of testosterone in the male body. Between the ages 20-40, the prostate continues to grow at a slow and moderate pace. The growth of the gland at these ages is proportional, and usually does not cause any functional or health disorders.
At the age of 50, about half of the men experience an accelerated growth of the prostate gland, although this growth is benign and not life threatening, this disproportionate growth in the small space in which it is located affects the organs around it, such as the urinary tract and pinch your urethra, the tube that carries urine from your bladder through your penis. This translated into many different symptoms that all relate to our peeing habits. As men age this situation expands and by the age of 80 about 80% of men have benign prostatic hyperplasia- BPH, and its accompanying urinary symptoms.
Why does the prostate grow and how can you diagnose its growth?
Today it is assumed that the benign growth of the prostate is due to changes in the hormonal balance within males. This assumption can be consistent with the fact that the symptoms appear as men age. As a rule, the benign growth of the prostate, in its initial stages, do not necessarily lead to functional disorders and health problems.
The growth of the prostate gland can cause pressure and partial blockage of the urine flow, a situation which is expressed by hesitation and effort in urinating, a weak and disrupted stream, high frequency of urinating and sometimes even loss of control in urinating, as the urgency is very high.
HOW CAN YOU CHECK WHETHER YOU HAVE AN ENLARGED PROSTATE?
The diagnose of an enlarged prostate should be done by an expert urologist it is easy to see through a simple blood test and through an ultrasound of the urinary tract. There are also questionnaires such as the International Prostate Symptoms Score- IPSS, that you can fill and you will be able to see for yourself how bad your situation is and seek treatment.