Benign prostate enlargement (BPH) - also known as benign enlargement of the prostate (BEP), benign prostatic hypertrophy or odular hyperplasia - is a common ailment suffered by middle-aged and elderly human males. While it is not cancerous or life-threatening, it can cause a great deal of discomfort. Of course, it is not uncommon for men afflicted with this problem to look into prostate treatments.
Which prostate treatments should you go for? This article is a primer to some of the most widely patronized modern techniques for fighting BPH.
1. Medication. Unquestionably the most common method, with alpha blockers such as terazosin, doxazosin and prazosin being the recognized bestsellers. Alpha blockers have been proven effective in around 75% of all men with BPH. They operate by relaxing the muscles in the neck of the bladder, making it easy to urinate. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has approved three alpha blockers for commercial use: terazosin Hytrin, tamsulosin Flomax and doxazosin Cardura.
Another effective form of medication is finasteride Proscar. It is considered as an alternative in cases where the prostate has already been significantly enlarged. Side effects may include reduced libido and a lower semen count during ejaculation. Finasteride Proscar is also known as Propecia, and is used to treat male pattern baldness.
2. Heat therapy. This is a more modern form of treatment conducted in hospitals, primarily as an outpatient procedure. Heat is applied directly into the urethra, aided by a local anaesthetic. Microwave therapy, electro vaporization, and laser therapy are currently the best known kinds of heat therapy.
3. Ultrasound. High intensity focused ultrasound (HIFU) as a treatment for BPH is a fairly new discovery, and as such is still gaining ground as a means of prostate treatment. It has been approved and proven effective in many countries as a form of therapy. A catheter must be worn for one week after therapy, but after that the patient can resume his normal lifestyle almost immediately.
4. Surgical methods. This is the one form of treatment that has proven to be most effective in the long term. There are many kinds of surgery for treating BPH, suiting different patient requirements. There are, for example, transurethral incision of the prostate, transurethral resection of the prostate, Radical Prostatectomy (drastic removal of the prostate) or Open Prostatectomy.
5. Alternative medication. While this is not a "modern" technique per se, alternative prostate treatments have also improved with the times. For example, some herbal concoctions are out in the market with claims that they can slow down or even stop prostate enlargement altogether. Saw palmetto (serenoa repens) has proven to be somewhat as effective as Propecia and produces even fewer side effects - however, it takes a bit of time to work, and may not work for everyone. If after 3 months of regular use, one still does not detect any improvement, it may be time to stop using this product, or any other form of herbal supplement.
