The prostate is a small gland located beneath the urinary bladder and wrapped around the urethra. It is made of two lobes (or regions) completely surrounded by an outer tissue layer. The gland plays a role in both sex and urination – it produces the fluid that carries sperm during ejaculation, yet it also surrounds the urethra, the tube through which urine passes out of the body.
As a man matures, the prostate goes through two main periods of growth. The first occurs early in puberty, when the prostate doubles in size. At around age 25, the gland begins to grow again - hence prostate enlargement is a common part of aging, as it happens to almost all men as they get older. Benign Prostatic hypertrophy (BPH) or enlarged prostate gland is one of the most common health problems experienced by men. It is estimated that 50 - 60% of all men between the ages of 40 and 60 years and up to 90% of men over the age of 80 years have some degree of BPH.
Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is a prostate problem that is less serious from a survival standpoint, but far more important in terms of the number of men affected. Hyperplasia is an excessive growth of normal cells, unlike cancer, where cells are abnormal. Therefore, benign prostatic hyperplasia means a non-malignant, excessive growth of prostate cells.
Ayurved describes two conditions known as mootrakruchra and mootraaghaata, which coincide with the symptoms of prostatism. Mootrakruchra or strangury is characterised by severe pain in passing urine whereas in mootraaghaata, there is total suppression or intermittent flow of urine during urination.
Prostatism is often used to refer to the collection of symptoms caused by BPH. BPH symptoms can be divided into two categories—obstructive symptoms and irritative symptoms.
Obstructive symptoms include hesitancy, weak stream, intermittency, incomplete emptying, and terminal dribbling. Irritative symptoms include increased frequency, nocturia (increased urination during nights), urgency, urge incontinence, dysuria (painful urination), haematuria (blood in urine), enuresis (absence of urination), urinary tract infection, and urinary retention.