Prostate health is typically very important in old age, but can affect male health earlier on as well. It’s not uncommon for benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) to appear around age 35-40, and in some cases mild treatments through alpha blockers will not be enough to solve the problem.
BPH basically involves a disease in which the prostatic gland becomes larger and can cause varying discomfort while impairing certain functions of the body. Urination may become painful or disrupted, and sexual function could also decline. Although BPH is less common in males under the age of 40 (affecting only 8%), it occurs in more than 80% of men who have reached the age of 80.
Once it’s diagnosed, BPH may be treated through the use of various medical drugs such as alpha-reductase inhibitors or a phosphodiesterase inhibitor which can also help with erectile dysfunction as well as other symptoms of the disease. Alpha blockers like doxazosin and terazosin are also commonly prescribed by medical experts trained to treat BPH effectively, before it gets too serious.
As it becomes more problematic, minimally invasive surgeries could also be used to treat the disease. These may include laser ablation, prostate artery embolization, an incision of the prostate, a prostatic lift or the use of a suprapubic catheter which is placed straight inside of the bladder to treat bladder outlet obstruction. In some extreme cases, a surgical BPH treatment intervention might be required to remove the prostate entirely.
