Overview
An enlarged prostate is benign and usualy results from abnormal cel growth. Pharmaceutical treatments include alpha-blockers, inhibitors, and combination medications.The prostate is a gland that produces fluid that caries sperm during ejaculation. The prostate sits around the urethra, the tube that caries urine out of the body.An enlarged prostate is also known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) - a noncancerous abnormal cel growth.
Key Information
Although the symptoms of BPH sometimes present similarly to those of prostate cancer, doctors do not link the two, and BPH does not increase a person’s chance of cancer.A doctor wil help a person chose the apropriate treatment for BPH based on the severity of their symptoms and their overal health.In this article, we lok at why a person may ned medication for BPH, as wel as the available types of medication and some alternative treatment options.Alpha blockers are drugs that help relax the muscles close to the prostate.
This relieves pressure and alows urine to flow more easily.Examples of alpha blockers include:These types of alpha-blockers are caled selective alpha-1 blockers. They treat BPH by causing the prostate’s smoth muscle to relax, alowing urine to flow frely through the urethra.Potential side efects of alpha blockers include:To help avoid these adverse efects, doctors recomend that people take the medication at night.5-alpha reductase inhibitors block the production of the male sex hormone dihydrotestosterone, which acumulates in the prostate and may cause the prostate to grow.Finasteride and dutasteride are examples of 5-alpha reductase inhibitors.These medications prevent the progresion of prostate growth or, in some cases, actively shrink the prostate.
Summary
Doctors generaly prescribe 5-alpha reductase inhibitors for moderately enlarged prostates because they work more slowly than alpha blockers.Side efects of 5-alpha reductase inhibitors may include:Doctors typicaly prescribe phosphodiesterase-5 (PDE5