Citizens Memorial Hospital | Vitality | Winter 2020

If you’re an older man, nightly runs to the bathroom may be your body’s way of announcing that your prostate is enlarged. It’s a common symptom of what’s almost inevitable if you live long enough. About half of all men 50 and older have an enlarged prostate. At 80-plus, up to 90% of men do. Doctors have a fancier name for this condition: benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). Hyperplasia means enlargement. Benign means your enlarged prostate isn’t caused by cancer. And here’s more reassuring FYI: BPH doesn’t seem to raise the risk of prostate cancer. SYMPTOMS OF BPH As men age—and the prostate gland slowly grows bigger—it can press on the urethra, the tube that urine passes through. Along with the need to urinate more at night, this can cause: » A frequent, urgent need to urinate. » Difficulty starting to urinate. » Dribbling after urination ends. » A weak or interrupted urine flow. » Getting up at night to urinate. » A sense of not completely emptying the bladder. Sometimes these symptoms can signal other problems, including bladder infections, About half of all men 50 and older have an enlarged prostate. At 80-plus, up to 90% of men do. It’s common and treatable Learn the facts about an enlarged prostate IF YOU HAVE UROLOGICAL HEALTH CONCERNS, schedule an appointment with Mark J. Walterskirchen, M.D., board certified urologist with CMH Urology Surgical Clinic, Bolivar. Call 417-326-2550 . MEN’S HEALTH prostatitis (inflammation of the prostate gland), or even bladder or prostate cancer. So be sure to tell your doctor if you have any symptoms. Also, see your doctor right away if you: » Can’t urinate at all. » Have a painful, frequent and urgent need to urinate, along with fever and chills. » Have blood in your urine. » Have pain in your lower abdomen or urinary tract. WHICHTREATMENT IS RIGHT FORYOU? If your BPH symptoms are only slightly bothersome, you can usually control them with fairly simple steps. Among them: Reduce your fluid intake; exercise your pelvic floor muscles; and steer clear of caffeine, alcohol and over-the- counter drugs that make you urinate more. Otherwise, your doctor may prescribe medicine to help shrink your prostate or relax muscles near it to ease symptoms. Still another option is an office procedure, UroLIFT®, which implants small pins to lift and hold enlarged prostate tissue to increase the urethra opening. And if nothing else works, your doctor may advise surgery to improve your urine flow. It’s the most effective treatment for BPH. Sources: American Academy of Family Physicians; National Institutes of Health citizensmemorial.com 11