Is prostate strictly for men?
Yes, ONLY men have prostate and ONLY
men over 40years but the healthcare
enlightenment is for everyone.
There is no woman who does not know a
man 40 years and above – father, uncle,
brother, son, friend, neighbor,
colleague….
Essentially what I will be doing today is
health promotion. Responsible health
promotion must provide three things:
1. Information
2. Reassurance
3. A plan of action.
Let me start with a background on
prostate health.
Everyone has a pair of kidneys. The job of
the kidney is to remove waste. It is the
LAWMA (waste management company) of
your body. Everyday your blood passes
through the kidney several times to be
filtered. As the blood is filtered, urine is
formed and stored in a temporary storage
tank called the urinary bladder.
If there were to be no urinary bladder, as
a man walks on the road, urine will be
dropping.

Now think of the plumbing work in your
house. Think of the urinary bladder as the
overhead storage tank. From the storage
tank, a good plumber will run pipes to
other parts of the house, including the
kitchen.

God in His wisdom ran pipes from our
urinary bladder to the tip of the penis.
The pipe is called the urethra.
Just below the bladder and surrounding
the urethra is a little organ called the
prostate gland.
The prostate gland is the size of a walnut
and weighs about 20grams. Its job is to
make the seminal fluid which is stored in
the seminal vesicle.

During sexual intercourse, seminal fluid
comes down the urethra and mixes with
the sperms produced in the testicles to
form the semen.
So semen technically is not sperm. It is
sperm + seminal fluid.
The seminal fluid lubricates the sperm.
After age 40, for reasons that may be
hormonal, the prostate gland begins to
enlarge.
From 20 grams it may grow to almost 100
grams.
As it enlarges, it squeezes the urethra
and the man begins to notice changes in
the way he urinates.

If you have a son under 10, if he has a
little mischief like we all did at that age,
when he comes out to urinate, he can
target the ceiling and the jet will hit
target.
Call his father to do same, wahala dey.
His urine stream is weak, cannot travel a
long distance and sometimes may come
straight down on his legs. So he may need
to stand in awkward position to urinate.
Not many men will be worried their urine
stream cannot hit the ceiling. Toilets are
on the floor and not on the ceiling.
But other symptoms begin to show.

TERMINAL DRIPPLING:
The man begins to notice that after
urinating and repacking, urine still drops
on his pants. This is the reason why after
an older man urinates, he has to ring bell.
A younger man simply delivers to the last
drop and walks away.
Just see an older man coming from the
bathroom. Sometimes he may clutch the
newspaper closely to hide the urine
stains, particularly on plain colored
trousers.

HESISTANCY:

At this point you wait longer for the urine
flow to start. There are 2 valves that
must open for you to urinate – the
internal and external sphincters. Both
open but because of obstructions in the
urethra, you wait long for the flow to
start.


INCOMPLETE EMPTYING:

You have this feeling immediately after
urinating that there is still something left.
As all these things happen, the bladder
begins to work harder to compensate for
the obstruction in the urethra. The
frequency of urination goes up. Urgency
sets in. sometimes you have to practically
run into the toilet. Nocturia also becomes
common. You wake up more than 2 times
at night to urinate. Your wife begins to
complain.

Men being men may not talk to anyone
even at this point.
Then the more serious complications
start.
Stored urine gets infected and there may
be burning sensation when urinating.
Stored urine forms crystals. Crystals come
together to form stone either in the
bladder or in the kidney. Stones may
block the urethra.

Chronic urinary retention sets in. The
bladder stores more and more urine. The
size of the bladder is 40- 60 cl. A bottle of
coke is 50cl. As the bladder stores more
urine it can enlarge up to 300cl. An
overfilled bladder may leak and this leads
to wetting / urinary incontinence. Also
the volume may put pressure on the
kidney and may lead to kidney damage.
What may likely bring the man to hospital
is acute urinary retention. He wakes up
one day and he is not able to pass urine.
Everything I have described above is
associated with prostate enlargement,
technically called benign prostate
hyperplasia.

There are other diseases of the prostate
like
1. Prostatitis – inflammation of the
prostate
2. Prostate cancer – cancer of the
prostate.

This discussion is on prostate
enlargement.
I have bad news and good news.

The bad news is that everyman will have
prostate enlargement if he lives long
enough.
The good news is that there are life style
changes that can help the man after 40 to
maintain optimum prostate health.

Nutrition:

Look at what you eat. 33% of all cancers,
according to the US National Cancer
Institute is related to what we eat.
Red meat everyday triples your chances
of prostate disease. Milk everyday
doubles your risk. Not taking fruits /
vegetables daily quadruples your risk.
Tomatoes are very good for men. If that
is the only thing your wife can present in
the evening, eat it with joy. It has loads
of lycopene. Lycopene is the most potent
natural antioxidant.

Foods that are rich in zinc are also good
for men. We recommend pumpkin seeds
(ugbogulu).

Zinc is about the most essential element
for male sexuality and fertility.
Men need more zinc than women. Every
time a man ejaculates he loses 15mg of
zinc. Zinc is also important for alcohol
metabolism. Your liver needs zinc to
metabolize alcohol.

ALCOHOL CONSUMPTION:

As men begin to have urinary symptoms
associated with prostate enlargement, it
is important they look at alcohol
consumption. More fluid in means more
fluid out
Drink less. Drink slowly.

EXERCISE:

Exercise helps build the muscle tone.
Every man should exercise. Men over 40
should avoid high impact exercise like
jogging. It puts pressure on the knees.
Cycling is bad news for the prostate. We
recommend brisk walking.


SITTING:
When we sit, two-third of our weight
rests on the pelvic bones. Men who sit
longer are more prone to prostate
symptoms. Do not sit for long hours.
Walk around as often as you can. Sit on
comfortable chairs. We recommend a
divided saddle chair if you must sit long
hours.


DRESSING:

Men should avoid tight underwear. It
impacts circulation around the groin and
heats it up a bit. While the physiological
temperature is 37 degrees, the groin has
an optimal temperature of about 33
degrees.
Pant is a no-no for men. Wear boxers.
Wear breathable clothing.
SMOKING
Avoid smoking. It affects blood vessels
and impact circulation around the groin.


SEX:

Regular sex is good for the prostate.
Celibates are more prone to prostate
illness. While celibacy is a moral decision,
it is not a biological adaptation. Your
prostate gland is designed to empty its
contents regularly.
For supplements recommendation:
Inbox your message to us on
hire.theworld@yahoo.com or call:
+234 809 815 1801.

God bless you. Even though I am young. I find this very useful.
CC:Lalasticlala

Nice one

The last paragraph though

Thinking am on the right track.