For men under 50, the main problem is likely to be a form of Prostatitis, where the prostate may be inflamed or irritated, resulting in frequency or a burning sensation when you urinate.

Sometimes this can be a sudden-onset bacterial infection causing a fever, chills or lower back pain. See your doctor as soon as possible so he can run a test and prescribe antibiotics.

In certain cases, this can become a chronic infection with the bacteria returning regularly. This is also known as Chronic Pelvic Pain Syndrome (CPPS). Occurring mostly in young to middle-aged men, it causes pain in the lower back, between the legs, or at the entrance to the urethra, resulting in painful ejaculation and the need to urinate frequently. Sometimes antibiotics can help, but the condition is very hard to treat. Some people believe that it may be triggered by a Candida infection elsewhere in the body and that antibiotics are actually doing more harm than good.

Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia, an enlargement of the prostate (also known as BPH), is the most common problem for men over 50. This is a growth of non-cancerous cells within the transition section of the prostate gland. The enlargement of the gland means that it squashes the urethra and affects its ability to expel urine.

You may feel that you have to keep getting up in the night to urinate, or you may have trouble going at all - even though you had to rush to get to the bathroom. There are a variety of symptoms: a weak flow of urine or only a small amount being produced each time you go, or the sensation that you still need to go - although you've only just been, or post-wee dribbling/leaking. In some cases, a little blood may be present in the urine. If you cannot go to the toilet at all, you should see a doctor immediately.

It is very important that you do not ignore these symptoms or self-diagnose. A doctor will need to perform a digital rectal exam by inserting a gloved finger into the rectum to feel the size and condition of the prostate.

This is the examination that men seem to fear more than any other, but it is vital to get a proper diagnosis for the appropriate treatment as, if it does turn out to be prostate cancer, it is almost completely curable if caught at the early stages.

A blood test will be ordered to check for prostate-specific antigens (PSA). If these are high, it may be a sign of prostate cancer, but the test is not perfect so many men with a high reading do not necessarily have prostate cancer.

If the doctor wants to get a picture of your prostate, an intravenous pyleogram may be performed. This involves injecting dye into a vein so that, when the dye passes out of your blood into your urine, it will show up on the x-ray of your urinary tract.

Alternatively, a rectal sonogram will utilise a probe inserted into the rectum to bounce sound waves off your prostate.

Another way of checking the problem from the inside is by looking through a cystoscope, a thin tube like a microscope inserted through the urethra and into the bladder.

If your symptoms are not too bad, the doctor will monitor your condition regularly before deciding on the course of treatment.

These may include medications to relax the muscles near the prostate to ease the symptoms and help shrink it, various non-surgical techniques, where small parts of the prostate can be removed via the urethra with, microwaves or lasers, or one of the many types of actual surgery to correct the problem.

Prostate cancer is relatively common but it is rarely fatal. Treatments are most effective when the disease is in its early stages and has not had a chance to spread elsewhere. If you become aware of any of the symptoms mentioned above, visit your doctor so that he can rule out cancer as the more advanced symptoms of tiredness, pain in the back, hips and thighs arrive when the cancer has spread and gone beyond the state at which it can be cured.

Avoiding high-fat food and having a diet rich in fruit and vegetables is key to preventing prostate cancer.

Whether you're looking to avoid prostate problems or restore urinary control post-procedure, increasing the circulation and blood supply to the area with Kegel and pelvic floor exercises helps to keep the gland itself, as well as the surrounding tissues, healthy.

Used in conjunction with neuromuscular stimulators, many of which come with an anal probe and are pre-set with programmes specifically aimed at improving/restoring the tone of the muscles that control urination, Kegel and pelvic floor exercises can prove extremely beneficial.

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Keira_Benso
n
By Keira Benson