How is benign prostate hyperplasia treated?
There are two types of medication for this problem. • Alpha-blockers. These medicines help to relax muscle fibres within the prostate, thereby reducing the obstruction to the urine flow. They do not reduce the size of the prostate. Examples include terazosin (Hytrin), alfuzosin (Xatral) and tamsulosin (Flomax MR). Patients occasionally experience side effects such as dizziness, headache, drowsiness and retrograde ejaculation. • 5-alpha-reductase inhibitors such as finasteride (Proscar) inhibit the growth of the prostate and decrease the size of the gland. Research studies have shown that both types of medical treatment are effective at improving urinary symptoms in men with BPH. There are also different kinds of over-the-counter herbal medicine on the market. However, these preparations are not generally recommended because their effect has not been completely documented. Those which do have some supporting evidence are saw palmetto and beta-sitosterol plant extracts and rye grass poll
