Johns Hopkins Health Alert
Should You Consider Watchful Waiting?
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is the most common benign (noncancerous) growth process in men. About one in four men experiences BPH-related symptoms by age 55; by age 75 half of men have BPH symptoms. If you are diagnosed with BPH, you and your doctor will decide together if watchful waiting is an option for you.
Doctors can’t predict how quickly an enlarged prostate will require treatment. Symptoms and objective measurements of obstruction in the urethra associated with BPH can remain stable for many years and may even improve over time in as many as a third of men. In one study from the Mayo Clinic, urinary symptoms did not worsen over a 3 1/2-year period in 73 percent of men with mild BPH.
Because the progression of and complications from BPH are unpredictable, watchful waiting -- meaning that you are closely monitored but no immediate treatment is attempted -- is best for men with minimal BPH symptoms that are not especially bothersome. With this treatment option for BPH, you only need to see your doctor about once a year to review the progress of symptoms and undergo a physical examination a few simple laboratory tests.
During watchful waiting for BPH, you should adopt certain lifestyle measures to help relieve symptoms of BPH and prevent them from worsening. For example, you should not take over-the-counter antihistamines and decongestants and should avoid delaying urination. If you have BPH you also need to be careful about your fluid intake by avoiding beverages that contain caffeine, limiting alcohol intake and the amount of fluid consumed at any one time and avoiding beverages after 7 p.m.
Other helpful measures for these men with BPH include limiting spicy or salty foods, keeping warm, engaging in regular physical activity and doing Kegel exercises (which involve squeezing and relaxing the pelvic floor muscles that support the bladder and surround the urethra).
Posted in Enlarged Prostate on January 6, 2009
Reviewed June 2011
Medical Disclaimer: This information is not intended to substitute for the advice of a physician. Click here for additional information: Johns Hopkins Health Alerts Disclaimer
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