MEN'S HEALTH CONCERNS: BLADDER ISSUES

However confident you are in your personal life, it's sometimes difficult to cope with symptoms relating to your bladder. Knowing about the symptoms and learning strategies to cope can be effective and empowering.

The prostate is a walnut sized gland sitting just beneath the bladder and wrapped around the urethra which carries urine to the penis. As you get older it enlarges, a condition called Benign Prostate Hyperplasia(BPH). Another issue is prostate cancer, often a slow growing tumor which can need surgical treatment.

Bladder Issues:

• An enlarged prostate - BPH - is very common over age 50, and increases with age.






• By 60, around six out of ten men are affected, rising to nine out of ten by age 85.






• It can cause lower urinary tract symptomw, or LUTS.






• These can affect bladder control, ranging from dribbling, needing to go urgently and at night, to starting and stopping.






• If you experience any of these symptoms, it is worth visiting a health professional, you may need simple tests to see if you have BPH or something more serious.






• The tests involve a blood test to measure your Prostate Specific Antigen(PSA) and possibly a digital examination of the prostate via the rectum.






• If a diagnosis is made, there are lots of ways to improve symptoms, including pelvic floor exercises, bladder retraining, altering fluid intake and eating a high-fiber health diet.






• There are also medicines such as Alpha-blockers can help imporve urine flow quickly and 5-alpha reductase inhibitors can reduce prostate growth.






• Specially designed absorbency products for men can halp with leaking and accidents.






• In severe cases an operation to remove some prostate tissue can improve urine flow.

source: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/