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Most sufferers of benign prostatic hyperplasia do not develop complications, but when they do, the consequences can be severe and surgical intervention is often required. The most common complications of BPH include urinary stones, kidney or bladder damage, urinary tract infections, hematuria, bladder outlet obstruction, and urinary retention. Any symptoms that negatively affect the sufferer\u2019s quality of life are considered to be serious enough to warrant immediate treatment. Patients with moderate symptoms, however, must balance the costs and benefits of different treatment options and weigh the potential complications against their current condition.<\/p>\n
Urinary stones, otherwise known as bladder stones, are hard masses of minerals that form in the bladder when it does not empty completely. Since an enlarged prostate gland can block the flow of urine out of the bladder, the urine may become concentrated and crystallize, resulting in the formation of these stones in the urinary tract. Bladder stones may or may not cause symptoms, depending on their size. Small stones will pass through the bladder with urine, while large stones will irritate the bladder wall.<\/p>\n
There are links between benign prostatic hyperplasia and kidney damage, specifically renal failure. Renal failure, otherwise known as kidney failure, means that the kidneys are not able to filter waste products from the blood as well as they should. This is a form of end-stage kidney disease and is the most severe type of kidney damage. Bladder damage is another complication of BPH, specifically damage to the bladder wall. Since an enlarged prostate puts pressure on the urethra as well as the bladder, issues in the bladder, and changes in the bladder wall may develop as a result.<\/p>\n
A urinary tract infection, or UTI for short, refers to an infection of the urinary system. Different parts of the urinary tract can be affected, namely the bladder, the urethra, or the kidneys. A UTI of the bladder is known as cystitis, a UTI of the urethra is known as urethritis, and a UTI of the kidneys is known as pyelonephritis. The most common symptoms of UTIs include a burning sensation while urinating, feeling tired or shaky, cloudy or dark pee that may be accompanied by a strange smell, having pain or pressure in the lower abdomen or back, and feeling an intense need to urinate, even though very little pee actually comes out. In addition, having fever and chills may be a sign that the infection has reached the kidneys.<\/p>\n
Hematuria refers to the presence of blood in the urine. Since benign prostatic hyperplasia results in an enlarged prostate, bleeding in the urinary tract is not uncommon. Bladder outlet obstruction, on the other hand, refers to a blockage at the base of the bladder. Bladder outlet obstruction, or BOO for short, can occur as a result of BPH because benign prostatic hyperplasia compresses the urethra. This greatly reduces the flow of urine into the urethra and in more severe cases, the flow of urine can come to a complete stop. Lastly, urinary retention has to do with the inability to fully empty the bladder. There are two types – acute and chronic, otherwise classified as obstructive and non-obstructive.<\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.webmd.com\/women\/guide\/your-guide-urinary-tract-infections#1<\/a><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.mayoclinic.org\/diseases-conditions\/bladder-stones\/symptoms-causes\/syc-20354339<\/a><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.hopkinsmedicine.org\/health\/conditions-and-diseases\/benign-prostatic-hyperplasia-bph<\/a><\/p>\n [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Most sufferers of benign prostatic hyperplasia do not develop complications, but when they do, the consequences can be severe and surgical intervention is often required. The most common complications of BPH include urinary stones, kidney or bladder damage, urinary tract infections, hematuria, bladder outlet obstruction, and urinary retention. Any symptoms that negatively affect the sufferer\u2019s […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":557,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":" Unfortunately yes.<\/p> Shingles are nothing if not sneaky. It\u2019s almost always unilateral, affecting only one side of the head or body, but it can be bilateral. It\u2019s difficult to diagnose in the prodromal or initial stage because the first symptoms can be so varied and affect different parts of the body.<\/p> Strange intermittent stabbing pains, burning, itching, fever, headache, swollen lymph nodes, nausea and generally feeling unwell can be attributed to many other illnesses. If the pain is severe, shingles can even be misdiagnosed as appendicitis or a heart attack.<\/p> One of the most significant defining features of shingles it the telltale rash that develops one to four days after the prodromal phase. The rash is so synonymous with shingles that it\u2019s hard to imagine the infection without one.<\/p> Zoster sine herpete (zoster without herpes) is \u201cChronic unilateral, dermatomal distribution pain without rash\u201d[i]<\/a><\/p> ZSH (zoster sine herpete) can come with all the discomfort and pain of shingles but without the identifying rash. The absence of a rash of course makes it that much more challenging to firstly even recognize and then diagnose shingles to be the culprit. If it is suspected, blood, cerebrospinal fluid, or saliva has to be tested to find out if antibodies are present before a shingles diagnosis can be confirmed.<\/p> To add insult to injury, in some patients the pain of ZSH can be more severe and last longer than the pain of classic zoster with a rash. In a study published in September 2018, \u201cItalian researchers reported that patients with zoster sine herpete (ZSH), pain in the absence of an antecedent rash, reported greater severity and longer duration of pain than patients with typical herpes zoster (HZ) eruption.\u201d[ii]<\/a> This was, however, a very small study involving 16 subjects with confirmed zoster sine herpete and 16 controls with herpes zoster.<\/p> It\u2019s not all bad news though because some researchers think that zoster sine herpete is actually quite common but goes undetected because of a lack of symptoms. Far from being a rare occurrence, ZHS may be the dominant form of shingles.<\/p> New research as a result of the shingles vaccine shows how much we still don\u2019t know about the zoster virus. Neurologist, Anne Louise Oaklander, MD, Ph.D., and director of the Nerve Unit at Massachusetts General Hospital. Recent, commented on the latest findings: \u201cOne of the things that emerged from these studies is the fact that most shingles infections are mild and many are subclinical\u2026The virus is more active than we thought and it\u2019s re-erupting in a partial way that very often is going to pass unrecognized.\u201d[iii]<\/a><\/p> The other good news is that whilst postherpetic neuralgia (PHN) can also occur in ZSH, according to Oaklander there is reduced risk. She says: \u201cThe likelihood of having PHN or any of the serious complications increases with the severity of the neurologic damage, and the rash is one marker of the severity of the neurologic damage.\u201d She explains that the absence of a rash suggests a smaller infection, which translates to less nerve damage and fewer complications.<\/p> [i]<\/a> http:\/\/www.ucdenver.edu\/academics\/colleges\/medicalschool\/departments\/neurology\/Faculty\/Documents\/MD_CV%202015\/Nagel_Publications\/47.%20%20The%20challenging%20patient%20with%20VZV%20disease.pdf<\/p>Introducing Zoster Sine Herpete<\/h2>
ZHS may be the rule, not the exception<\/h2>