BPH treatments can take six basic directions:
BPH Treatments with Medications
Invasive, Nonsurgical BPH Treatment Options
Watchful Waiting
There are a number of BPH treatments that may be prescribed but the first step may be to just “watch and wait”, which is the advice your doctor may give to you once it’s been determined that you do not have another disease and that BPH is the diagnosis. If your BPH symptoms are mild and tolerable, you and your doctor may decide that no further BPH treatments are required at this time, and so you’ll just wait to see if anything new develops.
BPH Treatment with Medications
Medications for BPH treatment include alpha-blockers to relax the muscles in the prostate and the neck of the bladder so that urine flows more easily, 5-alpha reductase inhibitors to slow the growth of the prostate and cause it to shrink by altering the actions of certain male hormones, and the phosphodiesterase 5 inhibitor tadalafil (Cialis), which can be used to treat erectile dysfunction and BPH.
See also
BPH Drugs May Contribute to Sexual Dysfunction
GSK no longer looking to obtain approval for duasteride (Avodart) and prostate cancer treatment
FDA Issues Prostate Cancer Warning on Jalyn, Avodart, Propecia and Proscar
Invasive, Nonsurgical BPH Treatment Options
If medications for BPH do not provide relief, then your doctor may recommend one of the following BPH treatments to keep the urethra open:
- TUNA: Transurethral Needle Ablation
- TUMT: Transurethral Microwave Thermotherapy
- PVP: Photo-Selective Vaporization
- Holmium Laser Ablation of the Prostate
- Interstitial Laser Therapy
- TUBD: Transurethral Dilation – Pushing the Prostate
- Stent: Prop It Open
- Prostatic Arterial Embolization
Read more on Nonsurgical BPH Treatment Options
Surgery for BPH
Advances in medical technology have made surgery for BPH less common, now that clinicians can blast, vaporize, and burn away extra prostate tissue using invasive nonsurgical BPH treatment options. But surgery for BPH is still an option for some men who may have severe symptoms that do not respond to other approaches or who have complications that make surgery a wiser choice. Surgical procedures available to deal with BPH include:
TUIP: Transurethral incision of the prostate
TURP: Transurethral resection of the prostate
TVP: transurethral vaporization of the prostate
Incontinence after Treatment for BPH
Natural and Alternative BPH Treatments
Non-conventional and naturopathic BPH treatments combine a number of approaches including nutrition and supplements, exercise, lifestyle changes, hormone management and stress reduction. The purpose of this approach is to give the body and immune system the tools it needs to manage inflammation and control the hormonal actions that can cause excessive prostate growth.
Other alternate treatments for BPH include Botox injections into the prostate and well as the use of drugs for erectile dysfunction to treat BPH such as tadalafil (Cialis)
Read more on Natural and Alternative BPH Treatment
See also
Can Lifestyle Modifications Treat BPH and Urinary Tract Infections?
Exercise, BPH and Urinary Tract Infections
Supplements for BPH Treatment
Nutritional and herbal supplements have been shown to help relieve some of the symptoms of BPH. Many of the supplements that are beneficial for BPH treatments are also beneficial to prostate health in general and include Vitamin D3, Zinc, Saw Palmetto, Beta sitosterol, Pygeum africanum, Stinging Nettle Root, Rye pollen (cernilton), Quercetin, Indole-3-carbinol (I3C), Curcumin and Green tea extract.
Top Supplements for BPH Treatment
Determining Your Treatment Options
The severity of symptoms and BPH treatment are initially determined by the results of the International Prostate Symptoms Test as well as other tests to detect and diagnose BPH. The nature and extent of the symptoms and severity of the diagnosis will determine the appropriate treatment option(s).
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