Men’s Health Series: Peeing Difficulties? Enlarged Prostate may be the Reason
In my practice, it is common to see about half the men older than 50 have enlarged prostate condition as a common problem in men’s health. And it is something men usually attached shame too, hence did not seek treatment early, even though holistic treatments like what I do can help them resolve the discomfort and issues easily.
Understanding Prostate Enlargement
Prostate gland enlargement is also known as benign prostatic hyperplasia. It can have serious complications if left untreated such as bladder, urinary tract, kidney problems. It is however not a cancer and is generally due to aging’s hormonal changes and the accompanying poor lifestyle habits. Very few but possible cases are due to infections or inflammation from external factors.
Silent and Overlooked
Many men with enlarged prostates show no symptoms. And it is important to note the size of the prostate enlargement is not correlated to the severity of symptoms.
The condition will be given attention when men keep getting woken up in the middle of the night to urinate or that he has to go to the bathroom every 15 to 20 minutes in the day.
Some common symptoms of prostate enlargement are difficulty starting a urine stream, weak flow, dribbling after urination, feeling bladder not completely empty, urge to urinate again after finishing, frequent urination, night urination, sudden uncontrollable urge to urinate.
The alarm is to be raised when the man is completely unable to urinate, urination is painful, aches in lower back not due to injury, blood urine.
How I help my patients with Enlarge prostate
I often approach the condition with an integrative holistic method with TCM as the basis. Because it is also important to note that over-the-counter medicines such as diphenhydramine (eg Benadryl), pseudoephedrine (eg Sudafed), oxymetazoline spray (eg Afrin) and also prescribed medicines such as antidepressants, testosterone, painkillers can also worsen the prostate enlargement.
Therefore natural and non chemical methods such as Traditional Chinese Medicine, Ayurveda, Energy Medicines have greatly help my patients recover and improve their quality of life.
Further reading:
Everything you need to know about Acupuncture
Men’s Health Series: Which is the Better Way to Treat Prostatitis - TCM or Western Medicine?
How do Acupuncture and Acupressure work and which is the Better One
Everything you need to know about Dampness
It is not normal to have cysts and fibroids
Why Everything Cold is Discouraged during Menstruation