Treating a little known prostate condition

Benign prostatic hypertrophy also known as BPH is a condition that may not be commonly talked about, at least not as loud as prostate cancer.
This is partly because it is not as life-threatening as cancer. BPH is characterised by an enlarged prostate, hence the name. It is also non–cancerous.

The prostate gland surrounds the urethra. The urethra is the tube that carries urine from the bladder out of the body. This means that as the prostate gets bigger, it may squeeze or partly block the urethra. This then causes problems with urination.
In a smaller population of men, BPH, may cause the bladder to be blocked which makes it impossible or extremely hard to urinate. This then might result in urine retention in the bladder which might then lead to bladder infections or stones or perhaps kidney damage.
The older a man grows, the higher the chances of suffering from BPH.

The disease is symptomised by trouble getting a urine stream started and completely stopped; a term called dribbling. There is the urge to urinate, with one often feeling like the bladder has not been completely emptied.
To manage this, the doctor often recommends drugs that inhibit the production of hormone testosterone. Dustasteride and finasteride are examples of such drugs. The inhibition of formation of testosterone eventually leads to the reduction of the prostate size which then improves urinary flow rate and symptoms as a result of obstruction.

The drugs above are given in combination with another class of drugs called alpha blockers. Examples of these are terazosin, prazosin, doxazosin and tamsulosin among others. These drugs act by relaxing the muscle in the urethra which makes urination easier. Finasteride is given in combination with doxazosin. Dustasteride above is given in combination with Tamsulosin.

It should be noted that both Dustasteride and finasteride are excreted in semen and therefore condom use is advised especially if the lady is pregnant or likely to become pregnant. Women of child-bearing age are also advised to avoid handling crushed or broken tablets of finasteride and leaking capsules of Dustasteride.
Patients receiving medicine for raised blood pressure should inform their prescriber because some dose adjustments may be required.

The writer is a pharmacist