Prostate Changes That May Signal Disease

The gland known as the prostate grows as the male grows and is a part of the man’s reproductive system. It changes by growing larger as the male ages. The fact that the gland grows bigger can present health problems for males such as infection and even cancer.

Men should be aware of changes they should look out for in order to catch health issues surrounding their prostate early on so they can get medical attention promptly when needed.

Changes that should be addressed with a doctor are:

Passing urine more frequently than normal

Experiencing a sense of urgency to pass urine

A decrease in the flow of urine

A burning when passing urine

Having to get up to pass urine during the night

What is the three most common prostrate problems men face?

Prostatitis (infection in the prostate)

Enlarged prostate

Prostate cancer

The good news is that one of these changes does not lead to one of the others in other words if you have an infection it does not necessarily lead to prostate cancer. You can however have more than one of these changes at the same time. Another good thing is that most of the changes men go through that concern their prostate have nothing to do with cancer.

What happens when the prostrate enlarges?

The growing prostate doesn’t usually cause any medical problems until the man reaches his later half of life. The prostate continues to grow but the layer of tissue surrounding it stops ti from expanding further which then causes the gland to press against the urethra. The bladder wall than becomes thicker and becomes irritated. The bladder will then contract even if there is only a small amount of urine in it. This contraction is what causes the frequent urination symptom. The bladder can weaken and lose the ability to empty completely, and urine remains in the bladder.

The enlarging of the prostate is a common part of aging for the male.

There are three courses of action a man can take if he has an enlarged prostate:

Regular follow-ups with his doctor to watch and observe the prostate

Drug therapy

Surgery

Prostatitis is an inflammation or infection of the prostate and can affect men when they are young or when they are middle-aged. The symptoms are:

Painful urination

Frequent urination

Pain in the lower back and genital area

Antibiotics can successfully treat some forms of prostatitis.

Prostatitis is often caused by a bacterial infection. If a man has the nonbacterial form of prostatitis antibiotics will do no good.

There are four types of prostatitis including acute bacterial prostatitis, chronic bacterial prostatitis, chronic prostatitis also called chronic pelvic pain syndrome, and asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis. Chronic prostatitis is the most common of the four types.

Prostate cancer when caught early has a cure rate of over 90%. This type of cancer occurs when the cells of the prostate start to grow uncontrollably.

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