‘Don’t ignore prostate problems’

Taking prostate problems lightly may aggravate the same into a big trouble, warned eminent urologists here on Wednesday.

The need to urinate more often than usual, need to wake up at night to urinate, sudden need to urinate, inability to completely empty the bladder and involuntary loss of urine, are some of the symptoms, particularly if they appear after 50 years of age should not be ignored, said Prof SN Sankhwar, HoD, urology, at KGMU.

“One must pay attention before the problem aggravates,” said Dr Rajesh Arora an eminent urologist.

He said the prostate is a small walnut-sized gland and is a part of male reproductive system. It surrounds the urethra, the tube that carries urine from the bladder to the outside. As the prostate gland enlarges it tightens around the urethra, almost squeezing it like pinching a straw. This in turn may cause urinary problems. This condition is known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). He said the BPH was a very common phenomenon and chances of it affecting a person increases with age.

“By 60 years, more than 50% of men develop BPH and by 85, nearly 90% of men will have BPH,” he claimed.

BPH interferes with the normal flow of urine, thus causing uncomfortable symptoms like frequent visit to toilet, especially during the night, an urgent need to urinate, etc. Prof Sankhwar said it was easy to treat BPH with available drugs in the market.