While the prostate and incontinence ‘isn’t the sexiest of cocktail party topics,’ it’s important to know how one impacts the other. To clear up any confusion on the issue, we sat down with Ralph Peeker, Professor and Chief Physician at the Department of Urology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg.
Male urine leakage, the and incontinence aren’t perhaps the kind of topics for polite dinner party conversation. However, for men, it’s important to get informed about these issues and how they impact and affect other. To clear up any confusion, we sat down with Ralph Peeker, Professor and Chief Physician at the Department of Urology, Sahlgrenska University Hospital, Gothenburg.
Any dialogue concerning male urine leakage, or bladder leakage inevitably involves discussing the prostate gland. So how much do you know about yours? Situated right below the bladder surrounding the urethra, its main job is to produce a fluid that combines with sperm to make semen. In your twenties, your is around the size of a walnut, or about 18-20 grams.
The good thing to know is that growth is normal. ‘For some men their prostate grows a little bit. For others, a little bit more and, for some men, a whole lot more – it can grow up to half a kilogram,’ says Peeker. Often prostate growth goes unnoticed, but for some men an enlarged prostate, or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), can cause a range of symptoms. These include difficulty in starting to urinate, a feeling that the bladder is not empty after urinating, an interrupted or weak urine stream, a frequent urge to urinate and frequent night time urination. Known as lower urinary tract symptoms (LUTS) these are quite common, affecting around 25% of men over 40 years of age. With good treatments available, these symptoms don’t need to affect quality of life.
Professor and Chief Physician
