7 Prostate Symptoms That All Men Have To Watch For

Almost all men run into prostate problems of some description as they get older, with signs of trouble appearing for a few men at about 50 years of age or possibly a little earlier. By 60 years of age about half of all men will have prostate gland symptoms and this figure will rise to nearly ninety percent by 80 years of age.

In most cases prostate symptoms will be fairly mild and, as many of us begin to develop a range of medical problems at this point in life, it is not uncommon for men to merely ignore any symptoms as nothing more than a normal part of the ageing process. As a lot of prostate problems are not serious, and the symptoms can frequently be very mild, this may not be too much of a problem and you can live quite happily with many prostate problems without them doing you any particular harm.

But, not all prostate problems are harmless and if your prostate problem happens to be prostate cancer and you do not do something about it then it will start to spread and could well eventually kill you. In fact, ignoring prostate symptoms is the chief reason why prostate cancer represents the second highest cause of cancer death for men the United States.

There are a number of symptoms that could point to the existence of a prostate problem and one difficulty we have in recognizing the root cause of these symptoms is that they are generally symptoms which could appear for many different reasons. However, if your symptoms are not being caused by a prostate problem then they will normally to be short lived and clear up in a few days without the need for intervention. However, where symptoms stay with you then there is a fair chance that they are being caused by a problem with the prostate gland.

Common symptoms are:

• Difficulty beginning urination and having to strain in order to initiate urination.
• A weak flow of urine.
• A flow of urine that has a tendency to start and stop.
• A feeling that you need to urinate even just after you have done so.
• A need to urinate urgently and problems in 'waiting'.
• A requirement to urinate more frequently and a need to get up to urinate during the night.
• A tendency to continue dribbling urine for a while after you have finished urinating.

These symptoms indicate that prostate problems might be developing and although, in the majority of cases, such problems will not be serious this is not necessarily the case.

For this reason, as soon as these symptoms appear, you need to see your doctor who can tell you exactly what the problem is and how to go about treating it. Most importantly, should the problem turn out to be prostate cancer, he will be able recommend a course of treatment while it is in its early stages and can be reasonably easily treated and, hopefully, removed altogether. The prostate gland may be a small organ but it kills many thousands of men every year so take the time to think about your prostate health.