Most men will encounter prostate problems as they get older with problems often appearing at about 50 years of age. By 60 years of age approximately 50% of men will be affected and by 80 years of age nine out of every ten men will be experiencing some symptoms of an enlarged prostate.

In a lot of cases symptoms will be quite mild and, because at this point in life the majority of us are starting to develop a range of medical problems, we have a tendency to simply put our prostate symptoms down to little more than part of the normal ageing process. On many occasions this is fine as the majority of prostate problems are not serious and, as long as the symptoms don’t worry you too much you can get along with them quite happily and they won’t do you any harm.

Sadly however all too frequently the problem is prostate cancer and if you ignore this it may well spread and literally kill you. Indeed, prostate cancer accounts for the second highest cancer death toll in the America today.

There are a variety of symptoms that could point to developing problems and, as with many things, such symptoms can also result from a whole range of other problems. In most cases however if the symptoms do not result from prostate problems they will frequently be short lived, being caused perhaps by a simple infection that clears up in a week or so without the need for treatment. If however any of these symptoms start appearing on a regular basis or pop up and remain with you then it is a fair bet that they are coming from an enlarged prostate gland. Prostate symptoms will include:

1. Difficulty beginning urination and possibly a need to strain in order to start urinating.

2. A weak flow of urine.

3. A tendency for the flow of urine to stop and start.

4. The feeling that your bladder is not empty even after you have just been to the toilet.

5. The feeling that you have to visit the bathroom urgently and problems in “holding on”.

6. The need for more frequent trips to the toilet and the need to keep getting up through the night.

7. The tendency to dribble urine after you have been to the toilet.

These symptoms are your body’s alarm signals that problems may be starting to develop and, although in the majority of instances this is not at all serious and nothing to be concerned about, for some men these turn out to be the alarm signals for a serious and in many cases deadly disease.

The only certain way to find out whether you fall into the former or the latter category is get yourself checked out by your physician who will do a couple of tests including a simple and effective digital rectal exam.

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