Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia
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An enlarged prostate is also known as benign prostatic hyperplasia, or BPH. Men who have an enlarged prostate often have problems urinating. They may find that they have to urinate more often than usual, or that they have a difficult time urinating at all. They may also have more urinary tract infections due to the urine being unable leave the body. This phenomenon occurs because the prostate is very near the urethra, and when it enlarges, it may press against the urethra, obstructing the urine from exiting the body.
The prostate is one of the few organs that men and women do not share, as it is not necessary to the women’s reproductive system. The prostate is necessary to create a clear fluid that mixes in with sperm to create semen. This fluid is anywhere from ten to thirty percent of the semen. The prostate also has some muscles that are responsible for helping to expel semen when a man ejaculates.
A physician may discover that a man has an enlarged prostate during a rectal examination. It is recommended, after a man hits middle age, that he get a rectal exam done once a year as part of his physical. Blood tests can be done to discover if the enlarged prostate is cancerous or not. If no cancer is present, medication will be started to try to shrink the prostate back down to its regular size. Surgery is considered if medical treatment does not work. The most popular surgery involves removing some, or all, of the prostate. There has been some new treatments tried, such as a laser ablation and a type of microwave therapy, in order to shrink the prostate, but these treatments are still being studied and are not available everywhere.
If prostate cancer is found to be present, then a different treatment will need to be attempted. This treatment may include surgery to remove the prostate, and chemotherapy or radiation to stop any further spreading of the cancer. Prostate cancer is one of the most frequently seen types of cancer in men, which is why it is vital that older men get thoroughly checked by a physician once a year. Doctor’s state that regular ejaculation as a man gets older can lower the possibility of the man having an enlarged prostate by as much as 30%.
