Benign prostatic hyperplasia
(BPH) is an enlarged
prostate gland. The prostate gland surrounds the
urethra, the tube that carries urine from the
bladder out of the body. As the prostate gets bigger,
it may squeeze or partly block the urethra. This often causes problems
urinating.
BPH occurs in almost all men as they age. BPH is not
cancer. An enlarged prostate can be a nuisance, but it is usually not a serious
problem. About half of all men older than 75 have some symptoms.1
Benign prostatic hyperplasia is also known as benign prostatic
hypertrophy.
What causes BPH?
Benign prostatic hyperplasia is probably a normal part of the aging
process in men, caused by changes in hormone balance and in cell growth.
What are the symptoms?
BPH causes
urinary problems such as:
Trouble getting a urine stream started and
completely stopped (dribbling).
Often feeling like you need to
urinate. This feeling may even wake you up at night.
A weak urine
stream.
A sense that your bladder is not completely empty after
you urinate.
In a small number of cases, BPH may cause the bladder to be
blocked, making it impossible or extremely hard to urinate. This problem may
cause backed-up urine (urinary retention), leading to
bladder infections or
stones or kidney damage.
BPH does not
cause prostate cancer and does not affect a man's ability to father children.
It does not cause
erection problems.
How is BPH diagnosed?
Your doctor can diagnose BPH by asking
questions about your symptoms and past health and by doing a physical exam.
Tests may include a urine test (urinalysis), a blood test (serum creatinine), and a
digital rectal exam, which lets your doctor feel the
size of your prostate. In some cases, a prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test is
done to help rule out prostate cancer. (Prostate cancer and BPH are not
related, but they can cause some of the same symptoms.)
Your
doctor may ask you how often you have symptoms of BPH, how severe they are, and
how much they affect your life. If your symptoms are mild to moderate and do
not bother you much, home treatment may be all that you need to help keep them
under control. Your doctor may want to see you regularly to check on your
symptoms and make sure other problems haven't come up.
You can
use this tool to help you think about how bothersome your symptoms are:
As
a rule, you don't need treatment for BPH unless the symptoms bother you or you
have other problems such as backed-up urine, bladder infections, or bladder
stones.
Although home treatment cannot stop your prostate from
getting larger, it can help reduce or control your symptoms. Here are some
things you can do that may help reduce your symptoms:
Practice "double voiding." Urinate as much as
you can, relax for a few moments, and then urinate again.
Avoid
caffeine and alcohol. They make your body try to get rid of water and can make
you urinate more often.
If possible, avoid medicines that can make
urination difficult, such as
over-the-counter antihistamines, decongestants
(including nasal sprays), and allergy pills. Check with your doctor or
pharmacist about the medicines you take.
If home treatment does not help, BPH can be treated with
medicine. Medicine can reduce the symptoms, but it rarely gets rid of them. If
you stop taking medicine, symptoms return.
If your symptoms are
severe, your doctor may suggest surgery to remove part of your prostate. But
few men have symptoms or other problems severe enough to need surgery.
Can BPH be prevented?
You cannot prevent BPH or
the urination problems it may cause. Some people believe that regular
ejaculations will help prevent prostate enlargement. But there is no scientific
proof that ejaculation helps.
Frequently Asked Questions
Learning about benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH):
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is probably a normal part of the aging process in men,
caused by changes in hormone balance and cell-growth factors. Genetics may also
play a role.2 This is especially true for severe BPH
requiring surgery in men younger than 60.
Men who are older than
50 have a higher chance of developing BPH. But why some men have more severe
symptoms than others is not known.
Symptoms
Many men with
benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) have no symptoms.
When symptoms (known as lower urinary tract symptoms, or LUTS) occur, they may
range from mild and barely noticeable to serious and disruptive. The amount of
prostate enlargement is not always related to the severity of the symptoms.
Some men with only slight enlargement have serious symptoms, and some men with
a great deal of enlargement have few symptoms.
Your symptoms may
become worse during cold weather or as a result of physical or emotional
stress.
Some medicines can make your symptoms worse. These
include over-the-counter cold medicines such as diphenhydramine hydrochloride
(Benadryl, for example), pseudoephedrine hydrochloride (such as Sudafed),
oxymetazoline spray (such as Afrin), and prescription medicines such as
antidepressants, water pills (diuretics), testosterone (gels, implants, or
injections) and pain medicines (narcotics).
The symptoms of BPH
may involve problems emptying the
bladder or problems with bladder storage.
Symptoms related to bladder emptying include:
Difficulty starting a urine stream (hesitancy
and straining).
Decreased strength of the urine stream (weak
flow).
Dribbling after urination.
Feeling that the
bladder is not completely empty.
An urge to urinate again soon
after urinating.
Pain during urination (dysuria).
Symptoms related to bladder storage include:
Waking at night to urinate
(nocturia).
Frequent urination.
A sudden,
uncontrollable urge to urinate.
These symptoms are not always related to prostate
enlargement and can be caused by other conditions. BPH symptoms are often
balanced between the two types of symptoms. If symptoms come on rapidly, or if
you have more of one type of symptom than the other type, you may have another
condition. Other conditions that may cause similar symptoms include
urinary tract infections,
prostatitis,
prostate cancer,
diabetes,
heart failure, and neurologic diseases.
The prostate gland grows as
men age, with the fastest growth occurring at middle age. By age 50, 5 out of
10 men have an enlarged prostate. By age 80, up to 9 out of 10 men have an
enlarged prostate.3 Having an enlarged prostate does
not always cause symptoms.
As the prostate enlarges, the
urethra (the tube that carries urine from the
bladder out of the body) may become narrowed or
partially blocked. The narrowed or blocked urethra is what causes the symptoms
of
benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). By age 55, over 2
out of 10 men have some symptoms. By age 75, 5 out of 10 men complain of a
decrease in the force of their urine streams.1
Every man's experience with BPH is different. Symptoms may be stable, may
come and go, or may become more bothersome over time. Some men find the
symptoms to be mild and do not require treatment with medicines. Other men find
the symptoms bothersome and choose treatment with medicine or, less commonly,
surgery.
BPH does not cause
prostate cancer. But prostate cancer may cause
symptoms similar to those of BPH. It is important to have your symptoms checked
by a doctor to be certain they are not caused by prostate
cancer.
The
hormone
testosterone, which is produced mainly by the
testicles, is necessary in order for BPH to develop.
Men who have their testicles removed before puberty never develop BPH. Men who
have their testicles removed after puberty (but before they have symptoms of
BPH) rarely develop BPH.
A family history of BPH may increase your
risk for requiring treatment for this condition, especially if a relative
required treatment before age 60.
Call your doctor if you have painful urination and any of
the following signs of a possible
urinary tract infection or prostate infection that
last longer than 24 hours:
A burning sensation while
urinating
Painful ejaculation
Problems controlling your
urination during the day or at night
Call your doctor if you have urination problems that have
developed over a few weeks or a few months and are frequent.
Watchful Waiting
If urinary symptoms are minor and not
bothersome, and you do not have prostate cancer or a prostate infection, it may
be appropriate to try watchful waiting or home treatment. Call a doctor if you
develop any of the symptoms of
benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) or if your symptoms
change or get worse.
Who To See
Mild and moderate urinary symptoms that are caused by
BPH can be evaluated and treated by any of the following health
professionals:
Your doctor will first want to make
sure that your urination problem is caused by
benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and not by
something else. This can usually be determined from your
medical history, a physical exam that focuses on the
urinary tract, a urinalysis, and a blood test. A neurological exam should also
be done to determine whether your symptoms are related to a problem with the
nerves to the bladder. A questionnaire such as the
American Urological Association (AUA) symptom index
may be used to evaluate how bothersome your symptoms are. It is not used to
diagnose BPH.
Tests that are often done
A
digital rectal exam checks the size and firmness of
the prostate. The size of the prostate does not always determine the severity
of the symptoms. A man with only a small degree of prostate enlargement may
have more severe symptoms than a man with more enlargement.
A
urinalysis and
urine culture check for a urinary tract infection that
might be the cause of the symptoms.
Pressure flow studies measure
pressure in the bladder while urinating. They may help distinguish between
urinary symptoms caused by obstruction, such as BPH, and those caused by a
problem affecting the bladder muscles or nerves.
Cystometrogram measures the bladder's pressure,
compliance, and capacity during urinary storage. This may include a
uroflowmetry test, which measures how fast the urine
flows out of the bladder.
Tests that may be done
The following tests may be
done if you have
complications of BPH or if there is a need to look for
other causes of the symptoms.
Ultrasound
uses sound waves to check the size and structure of the kidneys, bladder, and
prostate. A small device called a transducer is inserted into the rectum
(transrectal ultrasound) to evaluate the prostate.
Cystoscopy allows the doctor to look inside the
urethra and
bladder. This may allow the doctor to see the extent
of blockage of the urethra caused by an enlarged prostate and estimate its
severity.
Intravenous pyelogram (IVP) uses X-rays
to show the function of the kidneys and the flow of urine from the kidneys to
the bladder.
Spiral (helical)
computed tomography (CT) scan uses X-rays to make
detailed pictures of structures inside the body. These scanners can check for
an enlarged
prostate gland, blockage, and urine flow from the kidneys.
Early Detection
There is no routine screening test for prostate
enlargement. But it may be detected during other screening tests that are
regularly done to check for prostate or rectal cancer, such as the digital
rectal exam and prostate-specific antigen (PSA) test.
Many doctors recommend yearly digital rectal
exams and
PSA tests for all men over age 50 to check for
prostate cancer. But some doctors don't recommend this type of regular
screening, saying there is no proof that such routine testing results in more
successful treatment of prostate cancer.
The best screening method
and schedule for you may depend on other risk factors you have. Talk with your
doctor about this.
Treatment Overview
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) cannot be cured, so treatment focuses on reducing your
symptoms. Treatment is based on how severe your symptoms are, how much they
bother you, and whether you have
complications.
Deciding how to treat BPH
is greatly influenced by how bothersome your symptoms are. The
American Urological Association (AUA) symptom index is
an interactive questionnaire that can help you tell how bad your symptoms are
and measure how well your treatment is working. This questionnaire ranks the
severity of your symptoms on a numerical scale. The higher the number, the more
you are bothered by your symptoms and the more aggressive you may want to be in
your treatment.
Initial treatment
The American Urological Association (AUA) makes the following treatment
recommendations for
benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) based on the
severity of your symptoms.4
Symptoms that are mild or that do not bother
you (AUA score of 0 to 7) may be best treated by watchful waiting. This means
you may make small changes to your lifestyle to control your symptoms, but you
do not take medicines or have surgery. You have regular checkups to be certain
your symptoms are not getting worse.
The treatment of moderate to
severe symptoms (AUA score of 8 or more) depends on how much you are bothered
by them. If the symptoms are not greatly affecting your quality of life, you
may choose watchful waiting or treatment with medicine. If the symptoms are
bothersome or you want more aggressive treatment, you may be offered surgery or
less invasive therapies, such as transurethral microwave therapy (TUMT) or transurethral needle ablation (TUNA).
Severe symptoms, such as ongoing
inability to urinate, bladder stones, kidney damage, or ongoing blood in your
urine, should be treated with surgery.
There are some things you can do that may help reduce how
much BPH affects your quality of life.
If
your symptoms of
benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) remain mild and not
bothersome, watchful waiting may be your best treatment. With this treatment,
you may make small changes to your lifestyle to control your symptoms, but you
do not take medications or have surgery. You have regular checkups to be
certain your symptoms are not getting worse.
There are some things
you can do that may help reduce how much BPH affects your quality of
life.
You cannot urinate. About half of men who
cannot urinate need
catheterization. Half of these men will be able to
urinate again after catheterization. Those who do not improve may need
surgery.
Unless surgery is required
because of a
complication, choosing a treatment is largely up to
you and your doctor. If complications arise, surgery may be necessary.
The extent to which treatment improves your symptoms depends partly on
how bad your symptoms are and how much you are bothered by them. If you are not
bothered by your symptoms before treatment, you are less likely to notice much
improvement after treatment.
Surgery offers the best chance for
improving the symptoms but also has the risk of causing other problems. For
more information, see the Surgery section of this topic.
Prevention
The urination problems caused by
benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) cannot be
prevented. Some people believe that regular ejaculations will help prevent
prostate enlargement. But there is no scientific proof that ejaculation
helps.
Home Treatment
If your urination problem caused by
benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is mild to moderate
and does not bother you, home treatment may be all you need to help keep your
symptoms from interfering with your daily activities. Your doctor may want to
see you regularly to check on your symptoms.
The following tips
may help minimize your symptoms:
Practice 'double voiding.' Urinate as much as
possible, relax for a few moments, and then urinate again.
Relax
before you urinate. Worrying about your symptoms can make them worse.
Take plenty of time to urinate.
Urinate while sitting
down instead of standing.
While you are waiting, think of other
things or read.
Turn on a faucet or picture running water in your
mind. This may help get your urine flowing.
Do not limit your fluid
intake to avoid urinating. You could become
dehydrated, which can cause other problems.
If you
often wake up because you need to urinate, limit your fluid intake in the
evening, and empty your bladder before bedtime.
Avoid caffeine and alcohol. These substances make your body try
to get rid of water and can make you urinate more often.
If
possible,
avoid medicines that can make urination difficult,
such as nonprescription antihistamines, decongestants (including nasal sprays),
and allergy pills. Check with your doctor or pharmacist about all of the
medicines you take.
You may want to try an
herbal therapy for BPH, such as saw palmetto or
beta-sitosterol. Before you start an herbal therapy, talk to your doctor about
whether it might be helpful.
Call your doctor if:
You are completely unable to
urinate.
Urination is painful and you have a fever over
100
°F (37.8
°C), chills, or body
aches.
You have pain in your lower back, just below your rib cage,
that is not related to an injury or physical activity.
Medicines are sometimes used to help
relieve bothersome, moderate to severe urination problems caused by
benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). If you stop using
medicine, the symptoms will usually return.
The
American Urological Association (AUA) symptom index is
an interactive questionnaire that can help you determine how bad your urinary
symptoms are and check how well your treatment is working. But the most
important factor in deciding whether to use medicines is not your AUA score but
how much the symptoms bother you and affect your quality of life. A high score
on the AUA does not necessarily mean you need medicines.
The side
effects of the most commonly used medicines are generally minor, and they stop
when you stop taking the medicine.
Alpha-blockers, including doxazosin (Cardura) and
terazosin (Hytrin), relieve symptoms within a few weeks but do not stop the
process of prostate enlargement.
5-alpha reductase inhibitors, such as dutasteride (Avodart) or finasteride (Proscar), may
reduce the size of an enlarged prostate but may take 6 months or more to show
any effect on symptoms.
Using a combination of an alpha-blocker
with a 5-alpha reductase inhibitor may help your symptoms more than either
medicine alone.5, 6
What To Think About
Alpha-blockers and 5-alpha
reductase inhibitors affect different prostate tissues. How much your symptoms
improve may depend on which tissue is contributing most to your symptoms. None
of these medicines will work for everyone.
Alpha-blockers may help
symptoms caused by a blockage at the opening to the bladder. With this type of
obstruction, you may have difficulty starting urination and have a weak urine
stream. Alpha-blockers relax the smooth muscle tissue in the prostate and the
opening to the bladder. This muscle tissue must relax to allow urine to flow.
5-alpha reductase inhibitors can reduce the size of your prostate
and can slow the rate of enlargement. Men with smaller prostates see less
benefit than those with larger prostates. Men who have only slightly enlarged
prostates usually find alpha-blockers more helpful.
5-alpha
reductase inhibitors may cause you to have less desire to have sex (decreased
libido).
Cannot urinate. About half of the men who
cannot urinate need
catheterization. In catheterization, a tube is passed
up the penis into the bladder and urine is drained. Half of these men will be
able to urinate again after catheterization. Those who do not improve may need
surgery.
Have
blood in your urine that is not getting better.
Have kidney
damage.
If you have no complications but have symptoms that bother
you or if other treatment has not worked, you may choose to have surgery. In
this case, consider:
How much you expect the surgery to improve your
symptoms.
How severe your symptoms are.
How you feel
about the risk of developing a
complication because of the surgery.
Surgery that does not require an incision through the
skin is usually used. The surgical instruments are passed up the urinary
opening in the penis to the location of the prostate. This is described as a
transurethral surgery of the prostate.
Transurethral resection of the prostate (TURP) is the
surgery for benign prostatic hyperplasia that has been studied the most. It is
the surgery that is used the most to treat symptoms of BPH. All other surgeries
are compared to TURP. In TURP, part of the prostate is removed.
Some of the other surgeries that have been studied and compared to TURP
include:
Laser therapy (transurethral laser coagulation and
transurethral laser vaporization), in which a laser is used to make incisions
in or remove a portion of the prostate.
In most cases, these treatments have been studied for
only a few years, so their long-term effectiveness is not yet known. There are
some other surgeries that are used in rare cases.
The oldest surgical method to treat BPH is an
open prostatectomy, in which an incision is made
through the skin to reach the prostate. Doctors use this method less often now,
but it is still preferred if the prostate is very large.
What To Think About
Surgery is the most reliable way
to relieve symptoms. But surgery may not relieve all your symptoms, and it puts
you at risk for certain
surgical complications, including
erection problems (erectile dysfunction). Other
complications include the inability to control the release of urine (urinary
incontinence) and ejaculation of semen into the bladder instead of out through
the penis (retrograde ejaculation). The complication depends on which type of
surgery is used.
Men who have severe symptoms often notice great
improvement in the quality of life following surgery. Men whose symptoms are
mild may find that surgery does not greatly improve quality of life, and they
may want to think carefully before deciding to have surgery to treat
BPH.
If you have decided to have surgery, or if there are clear
medical reasons to have surgery, the best surgical option depends on the size
and shape of your prostate and the experience of the surgeon.
Transurethral resection of the prostate
(TURP) is the most common surgery for
BPH.
Transurethral incision of the prostate (TUIP) is most effective for men with smaller
prostates. It has fewer risks and a shorter recovery period than TURP, and it
appears to be nearly as effective in relieving symptoms.
Other Treatment
Herbal therapy for
difficulty urinating caused by
benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), such as saw
palmetto or beta-sitosterol, may be helpful. Talk with your doctor about how
herbal therapy may be used in addition to medical treatment for BPH.
For information on transurethral treatment options, see the Surgery
section of this topic.
Balloon dilation is no longer used to
treat prostate enlargement because it was found to be ineffective.
Other Places To Get Help
Organization
National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney
Diseases (NIDDK)
Building 31, Room 9A06
31 Center Drive, MSC 2560
Bethesda, MD 20892-2560
Phone:
(301) 496-3583
E-mail:
dkwebmaster@extra.niddk.nih.gov
Web Address:
www.niddk.nih.gov
The National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney
Diseases (NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health, conducts and
supports research on many of the most serious diseases affecting public health,
particularly the diseases of internal medicine.
NIDDK sponsors the National Kidney and Urologic Diseases
Information Clearinghouse (NKUDIC), which provides information about diseases
of the kidneys and urologic system to people with these diseases and their
families, health professionals, and the public.
References
Citations
Presti JC, et al. (2008). Benign prostatic hyperplasia
(BPH) section of Neoplasms of the prostate gland. In EA Tanagho, JW McAninch,
eds., Smith's General Urology, 17th ed., pp. 348-370.
New York: McGraw-Hill.
Roehrborn CG, McConnell JD (2007). Benign prostatic
hyperplasia: Etiology, pathophysiology, epidemiology, and natural history. In
AJ Wein, ed., Campbell-Walsh Urology, 9th ed., vol. 3,
pp. 2727-2765. Philadelphia: Saunders Elsevier.
Paterson R, Goldenberg L (2001). Benign prostatic
hyperplasia. In J Teichman, ed., 20 Common Problems in Urology, part 2, pp. 185-198. New York: McGraw-Hill.
AUA Practice Guidelines Committee (2003). AUA
guideline on management of benign prostatic hyperplasia (2003). Chapter 1:
Diagnosis and treatment recommendations. Journal of Urology, 170(2, Part 1): 530-547.
McConnell JD, et al. (2003). The long-term effect of
doxazosin, finasteride, and combination therapy on the clinical progression of
benign prostatic hyperplasia. New England Journal of Medicine, 349(25): 2387-2398.
Roehrborn CG, et al. (2008). The effects of
dutasteride, tamsulosin and combination therapy on lower urinary tract symptoms
in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostatic enlargement: 2-year
results from the CombAT study. Journal of Urology,
179(2): 616-621.
Other Works Consulted
Aho TF, Gilling PJ (2003). Laser therapy for benign
prostatic hyperplasia: A review of recent developments. Current Opinion in Urology, 13(1): 39-44.
ALLHAT Collaborative Research Group (2000). Major
cardiovascular events in hypertensive patients randomized to doxazosin vs.
chlorthalidone. JAMA, 283(15): 1967-1975.
Dambro MR (2006). Prostatic hyperplasia, benign (BPH).
In Griffith's 5-Minute Clinical Consult 2006.
Philadelphia: Lippincott Williams and Wilkins.
Murray MT, Pizzorno JE (2006). Serenoa repens (saw
palmetto). In JE Pizzorno Jr, MT Murray, eds., Textbook of Natural Medicine, 3rd ed., vol.1, pp. 1245-1250. St. Louis: Churchill
Livingstone Elsevier.
Saw palmetto (2004). In A DerMarderosian et al., eds.,
Review of Natural Products. St. Louis: Wolters Kluwer
Health.
Soliman SA, et al. (2007). Rotoresection versus
transurethral resection of the prostate: Short-term evaluation of a prospective
randomized study. Journal of Urology, 177(3):
1036-1039.
This information does not replace the advice of a doctor. Healthwise disclaims any warranty or liability for your use of this information. Your use of this information means that you agree to the Terms of Use. How this information was developed to help you make better health decisions.
Presti JC, et al. (2008). Benign prostatic hyperplasia
(BPH) section of Neoplasms of the prostate gland. In EA Tanagho, JW McAninch,
eds., Smith's General Urology, 17th ed., pp. 348-370.
New York: McGraw-Hill.
Roehrborn CG, McConnell JD (2007). Benign prostatic
hyperplasia: Etiology, pathophysiology, epidemiology, and natural history. In
AJ Wein, ed., Campbell-Walsh Urology, 9th ed., vol. 3,
pp. 2727-2765. Philadelphia: Saunders Elsevier.
Paterson R, Goldenberg L (2001). Benign prostatic
hyperplasia. In J Teichman, ed., 20 Common Problems in Urology, part 2, pp. 185-198. New York: McGraw-Hill.
AUA Practice Guidelines Committee (2003). AUA
guideline on management of benign prostatic hyperplasia (2003). Chapter 1:
Diagnosis and treatment recommendations. Journal of Urology, 170(2, Part 1): 530-547.
McConnell JD, et al. (2003). The long-term effect of
doxazosin, finasteride, and combination therapy on the clinical progression of
benign prostatic hyperplasia. New England Journal of Medicine, 349(25): 2387-2398.
Roehrborn CG, et al. (2008). The effects of
dutasteride, tamsulosin and combination therapy on lower urinary tract symptoms
in men with benign prostatic hyperplasia and prostatic enlargement: 2-year
results from the CombAT study. Journal of Urology,
179(2): 616-621.