Enlarged Prostate (BPH): A Common Part of Aging
Information courtesy of Physician's Choice
Enlarged Prostate (BPH): A Common Part of Aging
Many people feel uncomfortable talking about the prostate, since the gland plays a role in both sex and urination. Still, prostate enlargement is as common a part of aging as gray hair. As life expectancy rises, so does the occurrence of BPH.
Male prostate problems have now reached epidemic proportions. Over 400,000 cases of prostate cancer are diagnosed in men each year - more cases than breast cancer in women.
As his urethra is compressed more and more, it causes various urinary problems: increased urinary urgency and frequency (getting up 3, 4 even 5 times during the night to urinate), a decrease in the urine stream, often feeling that his bladder is not completely empty at the end of the urination and hesitancy in urinating.
In the United States alone, 375,000 hospital stays each year involve a diagnosis of BPH.
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