What are the symptoms of BPH?

BPH stands for benign prostatic hyperplasia, which is the medical term describing noncancerous prostate enlargement. While a small percentage of men will experience some sensation of their prostate enlargement, such as discomfort while sitting on a bicycle, most men will only notice effects of retaining too much urine in their bladder or difficulty with urination. These enlarged prostate symptoms are classified as either storage or voiding symptoms of BPH, respectively.

What are the voiding and storage symptoms of BPH?

Voiding symptoms are what men experience when trying to get urine out of their bladder past an enlarged prostate gland. These symptoms of BPH are weak stream, dribbling, straining to urinate, intermittent urination, and the sensation of urine remaining in the bladder despite finishing urinating.

Storage symptoms occur as a result of changes to the bladder caused by BPH. These enlarged prostate symptoms include urinating often during the day, nighttime urination, urgency, and even leakage due to urgency. Storage symptoms can also be thought of as having an overactive bladder. In fact, an enlarged prostate gland is the most common cause of overactive bladder in older men.

Later and less common enlarged prostate symptoms

If enlarged prostate symptoms are untreated for years, other issues may arise.

BPH may cause the bladder to retain a significant amount of urine, which can increase the risk of infection, also known as a UTI. Stones within the bladder can also form. In severe cases, people can suffer from the inability to urinate, requiring a catheter to be put in, either intermittently or for a prolonged period of time.

Blood in the urine can also occur in patients with BPH. As the gland grows, some of the blood vessels of the prostate gland will also increase in size. If these vessels protrude into the urinary tract, bleeding may spontaneously occur.

Interventional radiology can provide relief

Our Austin BPH specialist offers advanced interventional radiology procedures to reduce or eliminate the symptoms of BPH. To learn more, contact us for a consultation.