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Benign prostatic hyperplasia, otherwise known as prostate gland enlargement or simply BPH, is a relatively common condition that affects approximately one-third of men above the age of 50. BPH refers to an enlarged prostate, which can affect an individual\u2019s ability to urinate. Some sufferers experience this to be very troublesome, while others have only mild symptoms and do not require treatment. The cause of benign prostatic hyperplasia is largely unknown, but experts believe it could be linked to hormonal changes as a result of aging. In other words, as the balance of hormones in the body changes with age, the prostate gland may begin to grow.<\/p>\n
Signs and symptoms of BPH vary from one person to the next, but generally speaking, all sufferers experience a worsening of symptoms over time. The most common signs and symptoms include trouble starting to urinate, frequent urination in the middle of the night, dribbling after urination, a weak urine stream, the urgent need to urinate, being unable to empty the bladder, and a urine stream that stops and starts. As for less common signs and symptoms, these include blood in the urine, urinary tract infection, and the inability to urinate together.<\/p>\n
There are a number of conditions that cause urinary symptoms similar to those of benign prostatic hyperplasia. These include scarring in the bladder neck, overactive bladder, interstitial cystitis, bladder or kidney stones, prostate or bladder cancer, problems with nerves that control the bladder, urinary tract infection, prostatitis, and urethral stricture. Prostatitis refers to inflammation of the prostate, while urethral stricture refers to a narrowing of the urethra. Each of these conditions is typically accompanied by lower urinary tract symptoms, or LUTS for short, which can be further classified into obstructive and irritative symptoms.<\/p>\n
In order to diagnose benign prostatic hyperplasia, doctors may administer a digital rectal exam, a urine test, a blood test, a prostate-specific antigen blood test, a urinary flow test, a postcode residual volume test, a 24-hour voiding diary, a transrectal ultrasound, a prostate biopsy, a cystoscopy, and both urodynamic and pressure-flow studies. The choice of testing will depend on the complexity of the condition. The course of treatment will depend on the age and overall health of the sufferer, the size of their prostate, and the amount of discomfort that is present. Treatment options include medication, minimally invasive or surgical therapy, transurethral resection or incision of the prostate, transurethral microwave thermotherapy or needle ablation, embolization or laser therapy, open or robot-assisted prostatectomy, and prostatic urethral lift.<\/p>\n
When left untreated, benign prostatic hyperplasia may lead to complications such as acute urinary retention and urinary tract infections. Acute urinary retention refers to the sudden inability to pass urine and is associated with pain in the lower tummy, as well as swelling of the bladder. Urinary tract infections, on the other hand, can affect the bladder, urethra, or kidneys. UTIs are usually characterized by the sudden need to urinate, urinating more than usual, blood in the urine, a burning sensation when urinating, smelly or cloudy urine, pain in the lower tummy, and a general feeling of being tired or unwell.<\/p>\n
https:\/\/www.nhs.uk\/conditions\/prostate-enlargement\/<\/a> [\/et_pb_text][\/et_pb_column][\/et_pb_row][\/et_pb_section]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Benign prostatic hyperplasia, otherwise known as prostate gland enlargement or simply BPH, is a relatively common condition that affects approximately one-third of men above the age of 50. BPH refers to an enlarged prostate, which can affect an individual\u2019s ability to urinate. Some sufferers experience this to be very troublesome, while others have only mild […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":558,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_et_pb_use_builder":"on","_et_pb_old_content":"\r\n Shingle is a common viral infection of the nerves[i]<\/a>. Although it emerges as painful blisters on the skin, it is not a skin disorder, but a neurological disorder that affects the skin.<\/p>\r\n We can\u2019t speak about shingles without mentioning chickenpox since you can\u2019t get shingles unless you have had chickenpox at some stage, even if it was decades before. Shingles are the secondary infection that arises from the varicella-zoster virus or VZV, the same virus that causes the primary infection called chickenpox.<\/p>\r\n Before the introduction of the chickenpox vaccine in 1995, the vast majority of children caught chickenpox before the age of 6 and acquired life-long immunity to it. In healthy children, the infection normally lasts for 2 to 3 weeks and causes a mild fever and a rash of red spots accompanied by small itchy blisters that spread to the face, head, and trunk.<\/p>\r\n Chickenpox is highly contagious from about 2 days before the rash and blisters appear, being spread by saliva, mucus, and airborne particles from coughing and sneezing. Once the blisters emerge, it can also be spread by direct contact with the blisters and by indirect contact with the clothing of an infected person. The blisters take about 5 days to dry up and crust over, by which time they are no longer infectious.<\/p>\r\n After the disappearance of the rash, it\u2019s not the end of the story. The virus doesn\u2019t ever leave the body but instead becomes dormant. It takes up residence in the dorsal root ganglia and hangs out there in an inactivated state until something wakes it up.<\/p>\r\n The dorsal root ganglia are clusters of neurons. These neurons are the first ones of the sensory pathway and connect to the channel carrying sensation from the body to the brain via the central nervous system.<\/p>\r\n This feature of being able to establish a latent infection is one common to the herpes virus family, to which the varicella-zoster virus belongs. If and when the virus becomes reactivated, it is known as herpes zoster and expresses as the thoroughly unpleasant condition known as shingles.<\/p>\r\n Like chickenpox, shingles can also cause fever, malaise, rash, and blisters but rather than just being itchy, it can be excruciating.\u00a0 In fact, the first sign of shingles is usually unexplained pain or weird tingling and itching on one side of the body. The pain from nerve inflammation most often precedes the development of a blistering rash. The blisters themselves can also be painful due to the replication of the virus in the skin leading to more inflammation.<\/p>\r\n Because shingles is a neurological disorder, both the pain and the rash are almost always unilateral [ii]<\/a> (affecting only one side of the body). They are described as being dermatomal. A\u00a0dermatome\u00a0is an area of skin supplied by a single spinal nerve, so the infected nerve will dictate what path the pain follows along that particular nerve root to the skin.\u00a0<\/p>\r\n The most common sites for shingles to appear are the torso and chest but it can appear just about anywhere, including on the face, near the eyes and ears, and on the arms and legs.<\/p>\r\n Yes, no, sort of. You can\u2019t get shingles from someone with shingles but you can get chickenpox from them. \u201cPeople who have never had chickenpox before can be infected with the varicella-zoster virus by coming into contact with the fluid from inside shingles blisters. In this case, the infection causes chickenpox and not shingles.\u201d [iii]<\/a><\/p>\r\n [i]<\/a> http:\/\/www.columbianeurology.org\/neurology\/staywell\/document.php?id=33524<\/p>\r\n [ii]<\/a> https:\/\/www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov\/pmc\/articles\/PMC2664599\/<\/p>\r\n
https:\/\/www.uspharmacist.com\/article\/guidelines-for-the-treatment-of-benign-prostatic-hyperplasia<\/a>
https:\/\/www.mayoclinic.org\/diseases-conditions\/benign-prostatic-hyperplasia\/symptoms-causes\/syc-20370087<\/a><\/p>\nLet\u2019s talk about Chicken Pox<\/h2>\r\n
Varicella forever<\/h2>\r\n
Is Shingles Contagious?<\/h2>\r\n