Do not ignore lower urinary tract symptoms, docs tell men above 50

Coimbatore: T Balakrishnan, a businessman from R S Puram, had an urge to urinate often since his early 60s. He dismissed it as a sign of old age until one fine day he found he could pass only a few drops of urine, despite the urge.
Doctors catheterized him and told him his prostrate was so enlarged that his urethra was blocked and that he required a biopsy. Fortunately, the growth was found to be benign.
As part of the national prostate health month, which is observed in every September, urologists in the city have warned men not to ignore lower urinary tract symptoms. “Men above 50 years should never ignore symptoms such as increasing frequency of passing urine, slow outflow, or not feeling relieved after passing urine. Because it could be cancer. It is better to get it checked when these symptoms begin,” said Dr Kuppurajan Narayanasamy, urology consultant at the Kovai Medical Centre and Hospital.
Urologists said almost 50% of men above 55 years suffer from prostate enlargement. While 95% of the cases are benign, 5% of the cases turn out to be that of cancer. “Sometimes, people ignore the symptoms for months believing it is part of old age, until it becomes difficult to handle. By then, the cancer might have progressed to an advanced stage,” said Dr C L Dinakaran, urologist at the Arun Urology Hospital.
Even if the growth is benign, doctors advise against ignoring it if it begins causing urinary tract problems. “While 50% of men above 50 have benign prostatic hyperplasia, only 20% of them have symptoms,” said Dr Dinakaran.
According to Dr K Senthil, urologist at Urology and Andrology Clinic, even those with benign prostatic hyperplasia should go for check-up and treatment, as otherwise that could lead to other complications like bleeding during urinating, urinary tract infection, inability to pass urine (if the urethra is blocked) and other infections (if urine gets held in the tract for long periods).
An untreated prostate enlargement would also affect the lifestyle of old people. Dr Ganesh Prasad from Sri Ramakrishna Hospitals said, “Lot of men start hesitating to travel long distances because they believe they can’t hold their urine. They refuse to stay over at other people’s houses. They start feeling shy as they sometimes wet their underwear. Over time, it affects their lifestyle completely. It could even lead to depression.”