ENLARGED PROSTATE? TEST YOURSELF

prostatitis verses enlarged prostate!

• Over 50% of men in their 60’s and as many as 90% in their 70s or older have symptoms of an enlarged prostate gland (BPH)
• Out of the 203,000 men diagnosed with prostate cancer, around 30,000 will die of it (each year)
• prostatitis affects around 35% of men in the 50’s and older

OK lets put this into plain English!

The prostate gland

30,000 men die every year as a result of prostate cancer. Don’t leave difficult symptoms of voiding go unchecked.

The prostate gland about the size of a walnut, which surrounds part of  the urethra. (the urethra – that long tube that takes urine from the bladder out of the body via the penis, girls you have a shorter one and that’s part of the reason women get bladder infections more than men.). The urethra is also responsible for transporting semen during ejaculation.

There are lots of changes in growth of the prostate gland during puberty. Many men around the age of 40 may notice a ‘regrowth’ of the prostate gland. Most will not notice the change in  growth until they start getting problems with voiding. This is the first tell-tale sign that it has grown more than it should have, is problems voiding (peeing). If you are around 40 years old and have noticed a change in voiding urine, please see your physician.

There are 3 typical prostate diseases (none of which should be ignored or delayed seeking medical attention. You may find you have one of the diseases or a combination of them).

• Enlarged prostate (BPH)
• Prostate cancer
• Prostatitis

Enlarged prostate (BPH)

BPH stands for benign prostatic hypoplasia  or enlarged prostate  to you and I.  This is when the prostate gland grows to an over large state. This is the most common of prostate complaints.  The word ‘benign’ will indicate that it is non cancerous, but that doesn’t mean it is to be ignored!

Around 50% of men  between the ages of 50 and 60 will develop symptoms of an enlarged prostate. (and less than half will seek immediate attention! Come on guys, this is serious! you can’t let this fester!!

Take the simple 8 question test to find out if you have an enlarged prostate.

Typical symptoms (but some men won’t have symptoms) will be frequent urination, nocturia (getting up 2 or 3 times in the night to pee) the bladder doesn’t empty completely, slow start to urinate or a weak urine force when you do start.

Remember the prostate surrounds part of the urethra so as the prostate gland gets bigger it strangles the urethra causing the urethra to malfunction.

Left untreated…..think about it….urine gets left in the bladder, leading to possible urine infections, build up of toxins and debris leading to stones in the bladder. All this leads to damage of vital organs. (all could be prevented or at least treated if the signs of problem voiding are addressed early!

prostatitis

Prostatitis is an inflammation and /or infection of the prostate gland.

Did you know 50% of men under the age of 50 will be affected with prostatitis?
There are four major types of prostatitis:   And lets start with the one which affects the younger ager group of men.

Interestingly, one of my friends asked her partner and his mates if they had heard of prostatitis, NONE OF THEM HAD. They are all in their prime! a group of 20-year-old plus men who will one day be trying for a family. Lads here is something to bear in mind!

Asymptomatic inflammatory prostatitis is one of the ‘hidden’ culprits of  infertility. When a young man trying for a family thinks he is infertile, the doctor will examine him and test for prostatitis. It often goes undiagnosed as the patient does not complain of pain or discomfort but has an infection and the infection-fighting cells are found in the prostate and semen, making the situation difficult for the man to inseminate healthy sperm.

Acute bacterial prostatitis This one is a nasty pasty! The bad ass one of them! you know the type… you had the symptoms but ignored them thinking ‘its an age thing’ or ‘I’ll go see the doc when I have less important things to do’…

Wake up guys this type is not as common but is nevertheless  a potential killer!

Lucky of you this bad boy is the easiest to diagnose and can be treated effectively IF CAUGHT SOON ENOUGH!

So all you men out there, look out for the following symptoms and get to your doc without delay: Chills and fever (rigors)  pain in the lower back and genital area; urinary frequency and urgency, nocturia; burning or painful urination can even have a show of blood; body aches (flu like symptoms;)

When examined medical evidence will show a rise in white  blood cells and bacteria in the urine.

Men who have regular urinary tract infections may want to get their prostate checked out!

There is a treatment for it, but it needs to be treated immediately.

Chronic prostatitis/chronic pelvic pain syndrome is the most common but of course is complicated by the fact the medics are baffled  by it. Out of all the conditions it is the least understood form. They type of prostatitis affects any age; young, middle-aged, old it doesn’t care, if there is a prostate glad there it will attack!

What’s really annoying about this is that it comes and goes. Teases you. One minute you have inflammation and by the time you see the doctor it has disappeared! And to add to the mystery, there is no infection to be found when the prostate is not inflamed. My advise to you on this one, is don’t give up, tell your doctor your symptoms when it happens. Make a diary!

ENLARGED PROSTATE: TEST YOURSELF

Chronic bacterial prostatitis, This occurs when bacteria find a nice comfy spot to breed on the prostate gland. A result of this may be a urinary tract infections that comes and goes. One of the tell take signs is it is always the same bacteria. So gentlemen, get your doctor to send the samples off to the lab every time you have a urinary tract infection, don’t just settle for a course of antibiotics!

If it is causing prostatitis then you are in for a long-term treatment of antimicrobial.  But the bad news is antimicrobial do not always cure this condition.

 If you want to know more information contact www.candgmedicare.com

 

 

Urox for the man who should be active

UROX IS THE ANSWER. FIND OUT WHY. Urox is safe, comfortable and gives you a better quality of life.

Enuresis and Micturition Problems
Coming of age, most men need to visit the men’s room more frequently. It is a fact of life that usually doesn’t attract any particular medical attention, even if the consequences can be serious enough in terms of social and practical inconvenience.
The extent of the problem is massive:

20% of men aged 40-50 experience voiding problems
33% of men aged 50-60 experience problems
More than 50% of men aged 60 or more find their micturition problematic

Prostate and the Ageing Bladder
Most micturition problems are caused by a benign enlargement of the prostate gland, but problems can have other causes as well, like cancer in the prostate gland or in the bladder, constipation, or cystitis.
Urination difficulties are usually caused by a combination of aging of the bladder and enlargement of the prostate gland.

The bladder is a muscle. As one gets older, the muscle controlling the bladder gets weaker and the compliance of the bladder is reduced. The consequence is on one hand that the capacity of the bladder is reduced, while on the other hand the muscle has problems contracting sufficiently to empty the bladder entirely. As a result of this, the volume at disposal is significantly reduced – forcing the patient to go more often to the bathroom.
The prostate gland keeps growing all life. Situated around the urethra under the bladder, it will press on the urethra as it grows and make it increasingly difficult to urinate.
Nerves get less sensitive with age. Therefore the elderly gets the signal of the full bladder later, and the time from registration of the urge until one must, is shortened. Sometimes down to 1-2 minutes. You will then define it as “urge-incontinence”

Micturition problems are caused by a combination of these effects.

Living with Enuresis – The four Strategies

    Watchful Waiting

Common enlargement of the prostate gland is harmless as such. It should be accepted as a sign of age. But the waiting has to be “watchful” in order not to overlook a prostate cancer or other disease.
In rare cases, where the squeeze on the urethra prevents you from emptying the bladder entirely, or causes increased pressure in the kidneys even a benign enlargement of the prostate may require treatment.
A watchful waiting could be combined with the use of incontinence products like UROX.

    Surgical Treatment

Surgical treatment usually means pealing the prostate gland from within by means of a cystoscope. In this operation, the cystoscope is often directed through the urethra up to the prostate gland, where the gland is sliced of, or burned away with a laser. The surgical treatment is very effective but since there is a significant risk of side effects it is only used in cases of severe micturition problems.
Adverse effects can be impotence (<10%), stricture* in the urethra (<10%), and 1-5% becomes chronically incontinent.

    Medical Treatment

Medicine will either relax the muscle cells in the prostate gland, to reduce the tension it is exerting on the urethra, or control the growth of the prostate gland.
In both cases the medicine has a number of known unpleasant side effects, like dizziness and nausea – which may be out of proportion to the problem the medicine was intended to cure.

    Alternative Treatment

Except for an extract of the plant “saw palmetto”, which has been shown to have a moderate but measurable effect on enuresis, no alternative medication has been clinically or experimentally proven to work.
Never the less, many men tend to find some relief in alternative medicine, the most popular being an extract of pumpkin seeds. Since alternative treatments are felt to relieve, but not cure enuresis, it can be an excellent companion to a UROX system.

Urox an alternative to incontinence pads for the active man

Urox System. Throw away those pads and try UROX

Each week we will be looking what causes the different types of male incontinence and how to deal with it effectivly. Feel free to leave a message with a contact you in confidence. We will not publish any comments with the heading In Confidence.

The Urox system was designed by men for men. A simple yet effective way to allow the active man who has incontinence issues to regain his quality of life.

No more pads. Freedom of feeling normal again.

Enuresis and Micturition Problems
Coming of age, most men need to visit the men’s room more frequently. It is a fact of life that usually doesn’t attract any particular medical attention, even if the consequences can be serious enough in terms of social and practical inconvenience.
The extent of the problem is massive:

20% of men aged 40-50 experience voiding problems
33% of men aged 50-60 experience problems
More than 50% of men aged 60 or more find their micturition problematic

Prostate and the Ageing Bladder
Most micturition problems are caused by a benign enlargement of the prostate gland, but problems can have other causes as well, like cancer in the prostate gland or in the bladder, constipation, or cystitis.
Urination difficulties are usually caused by a combination of aging of the bladder and enlargement of the prostate gland.

The bladder is a muscle. As one gets older, the muscle controlling the bladder gets weaker and the compliance of the bladder is reduced. The consequence is on one hand that the capacity of the bladder is reduced, while on the other hand the muscle has problems contracting sufficiently to empty the bladder entirely. As a result of this, the volume at disposal is significantly reduced – forcing the patient to go more often to the bathroom.
The prostate gland keeps growing all life. Situated around the urethra under the bladder, it will press on the urethra as it grows and make it increasingly difficult to urinate.
Nerves get less sensitive with age. Therefore the elderly gets the signal of the full bladder later, and the time from registration of the urge until one must, is shortened. Sometimes down to 1-2 minutes. You will then define it as “urge-incontinence”

Micturition problems are caused by a combination of these effects.

Living with Enuresis – The four Strategies

Watchful Waiting

Common enlargement of the prostate gland is harmless as such. It should be accepted as a sign of age. But the waiting has to be “watchful” in order not to overlook a prostate cancer or other disease.
In rare cases, where the squeeze on the urethra prevents you from emptying the bladder entirely, or causes increased pressure in the kidneys even a benign enlargement of the prostate may require treatment.
A watchful waiting could be combined with the use of incontinence products like UROX.

Surgical Treatment

Surgical treatment usually means pealing the prostate gland from within by means of a cystoscope. In this operation, the cystoscope is often directed through the urethra up to the prostate gland, where the gland is sliced of, or burned away with a laser. The surgical treatment is very effective but since there is a significant risk of side effects it is only used in cases of severe micturition problems.
Adverse effects can be impotence (<10%), stricture* in the urethra (<10%), and 1-5% becomes chronically incontinent.

Medical Treatment

Medicine will either relax the muscle cells in the prostate gland, to reduce the tension it is exerting on the urethra, or control the growth of the prostate gland.
In both cases the medicine has a number of known unpleasant side effects, like dizziness and nausea – which may be out of proportion to the problem the medicine was intended to cure.

Alternative Treatment

Except for an extract of the plant “saw palmetto”, which has been shown to have a moderate but measurable effect on enuresis, no alternative medication has been clinically or experimentally proven to work.
Never the less, many men tend to find some relief in alternative medicine, the most popular being an extract of pumpkin seeds. Since alternative treatments are felt to relieve, but not cure enuresis, it can be an excellent companion to a UROX system.

You will find very good information about incontinence on the bladder and bowel foundation website

Urox is available from http://www.incoshop.co.uk

Those looking to re-sell the Urox system in the UK please contact C&G Medicare Ltd info@candgmedicare.com Please note C&G Medicare Ltd will on deal with trade customers if you have a VAT number and are already selling incontinence products

 

How IncoStress works (via IncoStress)

IncoStress IncoStress is a class IIa medical device to control female incontinence. It controls the involuntary loss of urine and at the same time supports the bladder neck and the urethra, replacing the natural anatomical position of these vital organs. IncoStress also gives a gentle support to the pelvic floor and allows the user to indentify and exercise the pelvic floor muscles. The user now has a focus on being able to carry out kegel exerci … Read More

via IncoStress

Does sexual intercourse have an impact on urinary tract infections?

Does sexual intercourse have an impact of urinary tract infections?

The answer is yes it does !

 In women the urethra (the tube which allows the urine to pass from the bladder out of the body) is approximately 4cm long.

Once the engagement of intercourse has commenced it is extremely easy for bacteria to be introduced into the urethra and travel to the bladder.

Sexual intercourse can cause irritation to the urethra making it more susceptible and allows bacteria to travel up the urethra and into the bladder.

You may notice spots of blood when you wipe underneath, which has come from the urthra or bladder.

This can also contribute to painful intercourse.

What can you do about it?

Drink plenty of fluid (water, cranberry or bilberry juice)  to flush out the bladder frequently.

Use the bathroom straight after the sexual intercourse so you clean the area which can prevent  bladder infections.

Having constant bladder infections is enough to get the most patient woman down. Every time you pass urine its like passing razor blades, as soon as you engage in sexual intercourse already in the back of your mind you will be aware that the next day you will be on the loo crying.

The build up of bacteria inside the bladder affects the whole well being of you. So what do you do, go to the doctor again  get yet another prescription of antibiotics and hope for the best. The problem is when the antibiotics start to cause thrush another female problem we tend to “put up and shut up about”. When will it stop??

If you stop having sexual contact with your partner then that causes another set of problems to deal with. The vicious circle which constantly swirls around in your head.

Recommended reading and exercise to deal with not only bladder infections but also how to re train your pelvic floor back into shape allowing you to be a complete woman. Stronger muslces and correct pelvic floor movements = a stronger muscle control, better sex, easier bladder and bowel movements and a healthier body.

The recommendations below have been tried and passed by medical experts worldwide.

Hold It Sister book, written by Mary O’Dwyer – senior physiotherapist in Australia.

• Hold It Sister by Mary O’Dwyer
• Paperback: 128 pages
• Publisher: Redsok
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0980399971
• ISBN-13: 978-0-9803999-7-4
• Product Dimensions: 20.3 x 14.7 x 0.8 cm
• Available from:

 www.incostress.com        www.amazon.co.uk             All Waterstones Bookshops in the UK, Belgium and Ireland.  Viva Direct (The best lifestyle catalogue in the UK)   Contact www.holditsister.com for the full global distribution list.

Some physiotherapists within Ireland and the United Kingdom

Guaranteed to improve your pelvic tone and bladder function. Tried and tested with positive results

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pelvic Organ Prolapse: The Silent Epidemic  written by Sherrie Palm Prolapse researcher and expert.

Pelvic Organ Prolapse: The Silent Epidemic by Sherri Palm

Hardcover: 148 pages

Publisher: Eloquent Books (14 Mar 2009)

Language English

ISBN-10: 1606939653

ISBN-13: 978-1606939659

Product Dimensions: 23.1 x 15.7 x 1.5 cm

Available from: Amazon  and  http://www.sherriepalm.com

An excellent book full of information that can change your life for the better

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Pfilates exercises are a medically proven regime

Pfilates was created by American Urogynaecologist Dr Bruce Crawford. The Pfilates kit is now available in Europe sold through C&G Medicare Ltd. C&G Medicare Ltd are based in The United Kingdom and promote Pfilates throughout Europe demonstrating to medical professionals and women who do not want to take surgery or drugs to correct urge or stress incontinence.

Pfilates is a program of neuromuscular conditioning based on extensive EMG recordings taken from the pelvic floor.  Pfilates was created to provide a method of home pelvic floor fitness training accessible to a broad population. 

Pelvic floor disorders are absolutely epidemic.  Stress urinary incontinence, overactive bladder, female sexual dysfunction, pelvic organ prolapse, and fecal incontinence are so commonplace they are often regarded as the inevitable consequences of childbirth and aging.  When these conditions are treated they are to often regarded as purely mechanical disorders requiring a surgical solution.  Although trained as a surgeon I have come to regard these disorders as principally neuromuscular disorders deserving of a neuromuscular solution.

 It is clear that programs of pelvic floor neuromuscular rehabilitation successfully improve pelvic floor symptoms.  Such programs typically involve a set schedule of isometric pelvic floor muscle exercises (Kegel exercises) that must be continued long term.  It is also clearly established that very few women will continue to perform this type of isometric exercises for an extended period of time.  

In creating the Pfilates program we have ventured to provide a plyometric (movement oriented) method of pelvic floor exercise that could be incorporated in to any regular fitness routine.  Our neuromuscular research reveals that movements which engage the external hip rotators, adductors of the thigh, transverses abdominals, and gluteal muscles also facilitate, or induce, a pelvic floor contraction.  This information has proven especially useful for women unable to perform an isolated voluntary pelvic floor contraction. 

 The Pfilates program is a simple program consisting of ten movements presented in the same order in three different phases (beginning, intermediate, and advanced).  Each of the Pfilates movements includes a series of repetitions followed by a hold phase and a pulse phase at the point of peak engagement of the pelvic floor.  As such these movements encourage the development of the three essential elements of neuromuscular performance: strength, endurance, and coordination.  The Pfilates DVD includes a detailed “Learn These Movements” that should be reviewed carefully before beginning any of the ten minute routines. 

 Pfilates is intended to be preventative but also a therapeutic alternative for those already experiencing symptoms of pelvic floor dysfunction.  For patients that have already has surgery Pfilates can help protect the investment and reduce the chance for recurrent symptoms. 

Learn more visit www.pfilates.com or www.incostress.com

If you are in the United Kingdom call 0871 218 1233 speak in confidence to a medical expert who can answer any questions you may have.

controls urge and stress incontinence. Gets you back into the shape you need