• Treatment explained
• See list of diets to moderate
An enlarged prostate, also known as benign prostate enlargement, is a medical condition more commonly seen in men over 50, which can affect the way you urinate. The prostate is a small gland in the pelvis, found between the penis and the bladder.
While benign prostate enlargement is not cancerous, nor does it increase the risk of developing prostate cancer, some symptoms can be troublesome and may need to be treated immediately. The condition is usually seen in ageing men, but it can affect younger men, although rare.
Buckingham Palace announced yesterday that King Charles will be admitted to hospital next week to be treated for an enlarged prostate. The monarch will undergo a corrective procedure for a condition which has been described as benign.
What are the symptoms of an enlarged prostate?
An elnarged prostate can place pressure on the bladder and the urethra, which is the tube that urine passes through. This can affect how you urinate, with symptoms including:
* Difficulty starting to urinate
* A frequent need to urinate
* Difficulty fully emptying your bladder
The condition can also lead to complications such as a urinary tract infection (UTI), chronic urinary retention (when you can only pass a small amount of urine), and acute urinary retention (a sudden inability to urinate).
The symptoms of benign prostate enlargement are usually mild and can be managed with a few lifestyle changes, inlcuding:
* Drinking less alcohol, caffeine and fizzy drinks
* Limiting your intake of artificial sweeteners
* Exercising regularly
*Drinking less in the evening
But if they become too troublesome, you may be prescribed medicine to reduce the size of the prostate and relax your bladder. In much rarer cases, surgery will be recommended – but only for moderate to severe symptoms that have failed to respond to prescribed medication.
• How to lower your risk of prostate cancer
“The risk of prostate cancer is no greater for men with an enlarged prostate than it is for men without an enlarged prostate”, the NHS stresses, and advised that patients who notice changes in the way they urinate should not ignore symptoms.
Symptoms of prostate cancer usually don’t appear until the prostate is large enough to affect the urethra. This can cause an increased need to urinate, straining while urinating, or a feeling that your bladder has not fully emptied.
While the causes and risks of prostate cancer aren’t exactly known, recent research suggests there are links between obesity and prostate cancer, as well as a poor diet. The NHS says: “a balanced diet and regular exercise may lower your risk of developing prostate cancer” and “there is some evidence that a diet high in calcium [like almonds, cheese, yogurt, nuts, sardines/salmon, white beans, orange juice, dairy, okra, milk are] linked to an increased risk of developing prostate cancer”.
Additional risks include age, ethnic group and family history. Prostate cancer is more common in men aged 50 and over, men who are black or Asian, and if you have a brother or father who developed prostate cancer before age 60, as well as a a close female relative who developed breast cancer.
Nick Ridgman, an expert at Prostate Cancer UK, told the Mirror that it is not usually very serious but advised that men should go to see a doctor with certain symptoms. “Over time it can become enlarged and the risk increases with age. For men over 50 it is very common with one in three suffering from the urinary symptoms,” he said.
“It is not very clear why the prostate gets bigger with age but there are risk factors around the oestrogen/testosterone balance. There are factors like obesity and diabetes that could increase the risk of an enlarged prostate but it’s mainly age related.
“It tends not to be serious and it is known for bothersome urinary symptoms. Weak flow, difficulty starting, not emptied properly, dribbling after, needing to go more often and incontinence. It can lead on to other things as well, so if people have these symptoms then they should go to see a doctor.
“For some men it could lead to urinary retention difficulty which is more serious but unusual. If any of these symptoms are persistent then we would always advise going to the doctors to have it checked out.”
He said that treatment for an enlarged prostate include lifestyle changes, medicines and also surgery but he did emphasise that there was not a direct link between an enlarged prostate and cancer. “Prostate cancer is not connected to prostate cancer and having it doesn’t increase the risk,” he said.