Natural Solutions for an Enlarged Prostate

The prostate grows continually through a man's life - pressing on the bladder in later years and resulting more frequent and urgent urination.

What and where is the prostate

The prostate is a small, walnut-shaped gland located below the bladder and in front of the rectum. It surrounds the urethra—the tube responsible for carrying urine and semen out of the body—and plays a crucial role in male reproductive health by producing fluids that nourish and transport sperm. As men age, the prostate often enlarges—a condition known as benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). This enlargement can compress the urethra, leading to urinary difficulties such as frequent urination, especially at night, weak urine flow, and the sensation of incomplete bladder emptying.  Additionally, aging increases the risk of prostatitis, an inflammation of the prostate gland, which can cause pelvic pain and urinary discomfort.  Furthermore, prostate cancer becomes more prevalent with advancing age, making regular screenings essential for early detection and effective treatment. Screening now takes the form of a blood test, rather than the historical digital examination, which can unduly affect a subsequent blood test.

Treatment solutions for an enlarged prostate

If you've noticed that you are getting up frequently in the night to urinate, the flow is hard to get going, or has little pressure, then be sure to visit your doctor and get a blood test. The doctors are looking at your Prostate-Specific Antigen (PSA) reading, and if this is elevated it may be an indication that there is something wrong, so further tests will be done.

Conventional treatment

For most older men, these signs and symptoms are just an indication of benign prostatic hyperplasia - i.e. an enlarged prostate. Although your doctor may be able to offer medications, these can have limitations on their use alongside existing drugs you may be taking, and often come with unwanted side effects. There are also surgical procedures that can be offered, but most men consider these as only a last resort, as these come with risks of impotence and incontinence.

Herbal treatments

There are more natural solutions that men have been turning to for hundreds of years. Herbal treatments are taken orally, and often contain the active ingredient used in more conventional medications but, as these are in the form nature intended, they tend to have fewer side effects. For an enlarged prostate, Saw Palmetto, also known as Sabal Serrulata, has been shown to be effective. You can buy this directly from a herbal supplier, or find herbal mixtures in good health food shops.

Homeopathy for an enlarged prostate

Homeopathy is a less well understood, but equally valid enlarged prostate solution. It is an alternative medicine that has been used by some medical doctors since the mid 1700's. It's discovery was centred around the fact that a substance that can cause symptoms when taken in sufficient quantities in its crude form, can also cure those same symptoms when taken in much smaller, harmless doses. Through early versions of clinical trials and over 200 hundred years of clinical practice using the same medicines, a wealth of knowledge has been built up on the action of these medicines. A doctor, or homeopath, will look at the signs and symptoms of a patient, and match these to the picture of a homeopathic medicine. The medicines work very gently and quickly, and are not intended for long-term use. Unlike pharmaceuticals which block bodily processes, homeopathic medicines stimulate the body's own amazing ability to heal itself. Once healing is complete, or well on its way, the medicines can be discontinued.

Homeopathy recognises that everyone is an individual, and so even though you may have the same diagnosis as your friend, your symptoms may be different. Homeopathy choses the remedy, or remedies based on your specific symptoms.

• Sabal Serrulata - prostate enlargement or infection. Can have a weakened desire for sex, hard or shrivelled testes. Can help with ineffectual straining to urinate, a constant desire to urinate, and need to urinate at night. Can help when urine, or seminal fluid dribbles, especially after passing a stool or urine.

• Chimaphila umbellata - Can help where there is a feeling of sitting on a ball. Has fluid emissions during urination and when passing a stool. Can help when urination is constant, frequent, and/or painful. Can also help when urination is ineffectual, or retarded.

• Selenium metallicum - Can help when the prostate is enlarged and hardened. There may be erectile dysfunction. Urination can be dribbling, feeble, frequent, involuntary and/or unsatisfactory. There may be dribbling or involuntary urination after urination or passing a stool. Sometimes there is a feeling as if some urine remained in the urethra.

• Agnus Castus - This is useful where there is atrophy, flaccidity, impotence or coldness to the genitalia. And there can sometimes be a discharge from the bladder that is mucusy, white or yellow.

• Solidago virgaurea - For an enlarged or swollen prostate, where there is retention of urine.

• Digitalis purpurea - Especially useful when accompanied by heart problems. The need to urinate can be constant or frequent, but especially at night between midnight and 3am. Urine is often expelled in small quantities, and is water-coloured. It can dribble by drops, or passes involuntarily.

These are just some of the homeopathic medicines used to support BPH, but there are many more in a homeopath's toolkit.

Whether you recognise your symptoms, or simply want to try an alternative, get in touch and give homeopathy a go. A consultation involves an in depth conversation about not just your symptoms, but your medical history, how you respond to the environment, and who you are as a person. I will get to know you holistically, so that I can treat the whole of you, not just that small walnut-shaped gland that keeps growing throughout your life.

References

1. https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/23965-prostate

2. https://www.health.harvard.edu/mens-health/the-growing-problem-of-an-enlarged-prostate-gland

3. https://www.niddk.nih.gov/health-information/urologic-diseases/prostate-problems/prostatitis-inflammation-prostate

4. https://www.mayoclinic.org/diseases-conditions/prostate-cancer/symptoms-causes/syc-20353087

5. Csikós E, Horváth A, Ács K, Papp N, Balázs VL, Dolenc MS, Kenda M, Kočevar Glavač N, Nagy M, Protti M, Mercolini L, Horváth G, Farkas Á, On Behalf Of The Oemonom. Treatment of Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia by Natural Drugs. Molecules. 2021 Nov 25;26(23):7141. doi: 10.3390/molecules26237141. PMID: 34885733; PMCID: PMC8659259.

6. R. Murphy 2020. 4th edition. MetaRepertory. Lotus Health Institute, Virginia.