Commonly this problem is first seen in men once they pass the age of 45, but it can sometimes appear at younger ages, and you will have about a 50 percent chance of experiencing the problem of an enlarged prostate gland by the age of 60.

Once passed the age of 60 the odds of experiencing the problem increase substantially and, by the time you reach the age of 80, your chances of suffering from an enlarged prostate will be a staggering 90 percent.

The prostate gland, which sits just below the bladder and is a part of the reproductive system, grows quickly during puberty and by the time you reach maturity it weighs approximately one ounce and is roughly the same size as a walnut. What is often not appreciated however is that it does not stop growing at this stage and that the prostate gland goes on growing very slowly for the remainder of a man's life.

However, in middle age cell growth typically starts to accelerate in one particular section of the prostate that partially surrounds the urethra, which is responsible for carrying urine from the bladder out of the body.

At first this accelerated growth of cells, that are not cancerous, is fairly slow and many men will not experience any symptoms at all from it, or any symptoms will be so mild that they will be dismissed as a simple case of 'getting older'.

With time however, as the prostate continues to grow, it will start to pinch the urethra interfering with the flow of urine from the bladder and the symptoms of the problem will start to become evident. To start these will not be painful, or even especially uncomfortable, but they will get increasingly annoying as you start to develop difficulty in passing water, the need to get up in the night to visit the bathroom and perhaps the upsetting tendency to continue to dribble urine even after you have visited the bathroom.

At this point you should talk to your physician not only to seek treatment for your enlarged prostate but also so that you can undergo screening for the possibility of any underlying and developing signs of prostate cancer.