Understanding Benign Hypertrophy of Prostate (BPH): Causes, Symptoms, and Management

What is it?

Benign prostatic hyperplasia, also called BPH, is a condition in men in which the prostate gland is enlarged and not cancerous.
As the prostate grows, it can block a tube called the urethra, which is responsible for emptying the urine from the bladder. As a result, the bladder does not empty completely, and urinary retention may occur.
The cause of benign prostatic hyperplasia is not well understood; however, it occurs mainly in older men, and it does not increase the risk for prostate cancer.

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Additional names

This group contains additional names:
- Nodular Prostate
- Cyst of Prostate
- Prostate cyst
- Prostatic cyst

Signs & symptoms

Common symptoms include:
-the inability to completely empty your bladder when urinating
-frequent urination in small amounts
-difficulty starting the flow of urine, called hesitancy
-a slow urine stream
In rare cases, an enlarged prostate can cause a complete inability to urinate, also called acute urinary retention. This is a medical emergency and if it occurs, you should seek for medical attention urgently.

Diagnosis

The doctor will take your medical history and perform a physical exam inducing a digital rectal exam to assess the size of your prostate.
Further tests including urine tests and blood tests might be needed according to the physical exam findings and your symptoms.

Treatment

Treatment options may include:
-Lifestyle changes- if your symptoms are mild and manageable, changes like reducing daily fluid intake, lowering alcohol and caffeine consumption, and performing bladder training might be the right way to start treatment.
-Medications- such as 5-alpha reductase inhibitors and Alpha-blockers, to try to shrink the prostate and relief symptoms.
-Minimally invasive procedures- using ultrasound waves or heat to reduce the size of the prostate.
-Surger that takes out a part of the enlarged prostate gland and brings long-term symptoms relief.

☝️ This is not a substitute for professional medical advice. Please consult with your physician before making any medical decision.

Learn more about our editorial process for content accuracy.

Source of Information - We analyze big data of more than 23 million patients de-identified medical records from the following sources:

National Institution of Health ∙ World Health Organization ∙ University of Illinois hospital