BPH - benign enlargement of the prostate, which leads to pain and difficulty with urination. Prostate or prostate, located below the bladder Urinary bladder - structure and function   and surrounds the urethra or urethra through which urine withdrawn from the bladder. If the prostate gland increases, it compresses the urethra and causes the muscles located around the urethra, to shrink, making it difficult to urinate.

Most often, BPH occurs in older men. Symptoms usually appear between the ages of 50-60 years and are found in the majority of men, differing only in degree of severity. For 85 years the risk of urinary problems associated with the development of BPH is 90%. It is important to understand that prostate adenoma - it's not cancer, and the disease does not indicate an increased risk of prostate cancer Prostate cancer - the sad consequences of carelessness .

Signs and symptoms

Symptoms include:

• Frequent urination
• Difficulty in beginning to urinate
• Intermittent urination
• Frequent urination at night (nocturia)
• Leakage of urine after the bladder
• It is impossible to empty the bladder
• Blood in the urine (BPH can lead to rupture of small blood vessels)
• Recurrent urinary tract infections

Causes

The main cause of BPH is unknown. Studies show that the male hormone testosterone or dihydrotestosterone - a chemical substance produced when testosterone is broken down in the male body - may cause overgrowth of the prostate gland. Another theory is that the growth of the prostate can be a result of changes in the ratio of testosterone Five myths about testosterone   and estrogen Estrogen - the key to bone health   (female hormone) which occur with age.

Also provoke a sharp aggravation of BPH can some medications for colds and allergies without a prescription.

Diagnostics

To check whether the prostate is enlarged, the doctor performs a digital rectal examination: Wear gloves and inserts a finger into the rectum, probing the back wall of the prostate. Furthermore, the analysis of the blood sample, and sometimes - urine. Other types of studies are:

• Uroflowmetry - the patient urinates into a special device that measures the strength and amount of the flow of urine.
• IVP - for imaging of the urinary tract is injected into a vein and the contrast is carried out X-ray examination.
• Transrectal ultrasound - to obtain an image of the prostate, rectum inserted ultrasonic probe

In addition, to evaluate the severity of symptoms, and because of their impact on the lifestyle of the patient, the physician may request the patient completing a questionnaire. This will help to control any changes in the patient's condition.

Despite the fact that there is no formal "diet in the case of urinary incontinence," what you eat and drink can worsen the symptoms of incontinence - especially if you have urgent incontinence, also called overactive bladder Urinary bladder - structure and function . Many doctors advise people with incontinence to avoid certain foods and beverages from your diet. But they also recognize that the same foods and beverages that bother one person might not bother another. It is important to adjust your diet for themselves incontinence. Change your diet, and the problem with urinary incontinence can be improved.

This can be done by trial and error, delete all the food and drink that are you seem to create problems and then reintroduce them one by one to see if you can tolerate them in small amounts.

Excessive fluid intake and urinary incontinence

If you do not drink enough water, dehydration can begin. But if you have incontinence and you drink plenty of fluids, it can also create some problems.

The use of the recommended dose in six to eight glasses of water a day can be a challenge. Eight glasses of 250 ml will be 2 liters of fluid. Experts recommend limiting yourself about 900 ml or 1300 ml.

Control over the amount of fluid intake may help in the elimination of symptoms as in urge incontinence, incontinence and the load.

Urinary incontinence during stress manifests itself when there is a leak small amounts of urine during the formation of the pressure on the bladder, such as coughing or sneezing. Urge incontinence, also known as overactive bladder, manifested in the feeling of urgency, and sometimes accidentally leak urine.

Alcoholic drinks

If you suffer from urge incontinence or mixed urinary incontinence (a combination of urge incontinence and stress incontinence), alcoholic beverages in your diet may not be out of place.

Alcohol directly affects the bladder, reducing control and acts a bit like a diuretic, which leads to dehydration.

Alcohol at the neurological level prevents bladder control. It interferes with the neurological signals from the brain to the bladder (which tell the body when to go to the toilet, when to hold urine, and so on). If you drink alcohol, your control of the system is reduced, and you are likely to be subjected to a risk of "accidents."

Although some people with urinary incontinence eliminate alcohol from your diet at all, some may well tolerate its use in small quantities. It is best to reduce the alcohol as much as possible. Or exclude it for a few weeks and then find out in what quantities you can safely tolerate it (gradually introducing it in the diet).

Quite often, patients who drink every day, despite the problems with incontinence. After talking with your doctor about how alcohol affects the condition of the bladder, most of them refuses to strong drink, and the state of the bladder is improving.

Caffeine

As soon as you create a personalized diet for the control of urinary incontinence, it should be noted that caffeine is a kind of "double blow" for those who suffer from incontinence. On the one hand caffeine stimulates the bladder, but it also acts as a diuretic.

Incontinence best to completely eliminate coffee and other sources of caffeine from their diet.

Caffeine is contained in soft drinks, many varieties of tea, chocolate, and even - in small amounts - in decaf.

But the removal of coffee (not to mention the chocolate) can be difficult. If you are a big fan of coffee, cut its consumption to one - two cups a day.

In addition, try to drink coffee in the morning, you do not have to get up often at night to urinate. Do not drink coffee after 7 pm.

Spicy food

If you have incontinence (overactive bladder), then perhaps you should avoid eating spicy hot dishes, such as Mexican or Chinese hot dishes, chili, pepper, horseradish and other very spicy foods.

Also, caffeine can be annoying, spicy foods can irritate the bladder.

Again, find out what spicy foods aggravate your symptoms. This again can be done by trial and error until you make up your individual diet to control incontinence.

Acidic foods

If you have urinary incontinence, it is best to eliminate from the diet citrus fruits and their products, including orange juice, cranberry juice and other citrus drinks. Citrus foods and drinks are very acidic and tend to irritate the bladder. It is believed that cranberry juice helps to cope with bladder infections, but it does not help when overactive bladder and urinary incontinence.

Fizzy drinks

Even if soft drinks do not contain caffeine, they may have no place in your personal diet for the control of urinary incontinence.

Carbon dioxide in drinks can irritate sensitive bladder. And as soon as irritation occurs, you may want to go to the toilet, that is, the typical symptom of urinary incontinence.

Discussion of the problem of urinary incontinence

Start talking about urinary incontinence during a visit to the usual visit to the doctor can be awkward and difficult. But it is important to start a conversation.

Experts offer a direct approach. Try saying something like: "I'm having some problems with the bladder."

At this point, the physician should start asking you a very specific questions about your condition. He or she should ask, for example, you get up at night to urinate, and the case you have any leakage and how often.

If the doctor does not ask such questions, ask for a referral to another specialist.

The connection between body weight and incontinence

Regardless of your personalized diet for better control of urinary incontinence, keep in mind that maintaining body weight at a healthy level may also help in the fight against this problem. Several studies have shown that if you are overweight, weight loss - at least 5% or 10% of the initial weight - can help reduce the symptoms of stress urinary incontinence and urge incontinence.

In one study, which involved 40 women with urinary incontinence, those who have lost an average of 15 kilograms, reduced instances of urinary incontinence by 60%. For comparison, among those women who did not lose weight, the figure was 15%.