4 tips for coping with an enlarged prostate

Around age 25, a man's prostate starts to grow. This natural enlargement, called benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH, is the most common reason the prostate grows. BPH does not cause prostate cancer, although the two conditions can exist side by side.

Some men with BPH never notice they have an enlarged prostate, but BPH usually produces at least bothersome symptoms, such as:

A hesitant, interrupted, or weak urine stream

Urgency, leaking, or dribbling

A feeling that the bladder has not fully emptied

More frequent urination, especially at night.

Your doctor may ask you to fill out a questionnaire that scores how much BPH affects your life. That score captures the condition's impact on your quality of life and helps you and your doctor settle on an initial course of action.

If your symptoms are not especially troublesome, your doctor may suggest watchful waiting - regular monitoring to catch any developing complications, with no active treatment. For more disruptive symptoms, most doctors start with a combination of lifestyle changes and medication.

Tips for relieving BPH symptoms

A few simple measures can ease some BPH symptoms:

Lower stress by exercising regularly and practicing relaxation techniques such as meditation. Nervous tension makes some men urinate more often.

When you use the bathroom, take the time to empty your bladder as completely as you can. That reduces the need for return trips.

To prevent dribbling after urinating, you can "milk out" the residual urine: place two or three fingers of one hand about an inch behind your scrotum and press upward gently, maintaining that pressure as you draw your fingers toward the base of the penis under the scrotum.

Review all your prescription and over-the-counter medications with your doctor. Some - antihistamines and decongestants among them - can interfere with urination. Your doctor may adjust dosages, change when you take these drugs, or prescribe alternatives that cause fewer urinary problems.

Skip fluids in the evening, particularly caffeinated and alcoholic drinks. Both can alter bladder muscle tone and prompt the kidneys to produce urine, which leads to nighttime trips to the bathroom.

On long flights, avoid alcohol and try to urinate every 60 to 90 minutes.

Men and their doctors now have more medications and treatment options than ever to choose from. If one approach falls short, another can be tried. And thanks to refinements in BPH surgery, men have several effective surgical choices with fewer side effects than ever before.