Nothing strikes fear into the heart of any woman like a missed period, unless she is trying to get pregnant. Am I pregnant? Pregnancy is the first thing that we think of when our period is delayed.

Prostate is a small sized gland that is essential in male’s reproductive process. This gland secretes necessary nutrients during the ejaculation to help sperms survive inside the vagina as they swim toward the egg. Prostate wraps around above the male urethra, an important part of the urinary system. Enlarged prostate can cause a number of health issues and complications and you should find professional helps immediately.

Causes

Enlarged prostate can happen due to a number of reasons:

1. Benign Prostate Hyperplasia

It is the most likely cause of enlarged prostate on men. As boys begin to enter puberty, the testosterone production starts and the prostate gland is activated. At the age of 20, the growth stops, however, at around 40, prostate experiences another growth spurt, which is indicated by an increase on the number of cells. Hyperplasia occurs in almost all men as they reach certain age. The cause of hyperplasia is still unknown, but it is suspected to be caused by hormonal changes.

2. Prostatitis

It is the prostate gland inflammation and the exact cause is also unknown. Prostatitis is suspected to be caused by bacterial infection on skin or the intestinal tract. Due to its close working relationship and proximity, prostate can be inflamed when an infection occurs in urethra. An inflamed and irritated prostate may swell, which leads to enlarged prostate.

3. Prostate Cancer

It is yet another cause of enlarged prostate. Cancer is essentially an uncontrollable growth of cells and can make the prostate to grow beyond its normal size. However, like many cancer types, it’s difficult to pinpoint the real cause of cancer. Risk factors for prostate cancer include poor diet and genetic reasons. Men above 55 years old are also more likely to have prostate cancer.

Symptoms

Whatever the cause, the key point in ensuring quick recovery is early treatment, it is therefore very important to detect the symptoms of this disease as soon as you can. The symptoms of enlarged prostate are all too familiar on many men as they age. The prostate surrounds a tube that allows the urine to go out and when the gland enlarges, it can squeeze the tube. This often causes urination problem at night. According to the American Urological Association, there are two categories of enlarged prostate symptoms: irritative and obstructive. Seven symptoms of enlarged prostate are commonly known by the medical community, they help doctors to determine the severity of the condition and the best treatment options. Those symptoms are:

• The inability to completely empty the bladder

• The tendency to urinate again shortly after urinating

• The urine can’t come out in a steady stream

• A very strong urge to urinate

• The urine comes out in a weak stream

• The need to strain when urinating

• Get up a few times during the night to urinate

Despite the apparent similarities of the above symptoms, they can be narrowed down to a couple of categories.

Irritative symptoms cause changes in the urination habit, for example, sufferers need to urinate frequently, have very strong urge to urinate and forced to urinate a few times during bedtime. Some patients may experience a burning sensation.

Obstructive symptoms hinder the urine flow, for example sufferer may have weak urine flow or need to strain when urinating.

Some of the above conditions can be very severe and significantly impact the quality of lives on many men. About 40% sufferers reported that their conditions get better although the prostate stays enlarged. As a matter of fact, only 15% percent men who have enlarged prostate experience the above symptoms.

Treatments

People who have enlarged prostate must undergo a number of medical treatments. There are many options that patients can use to treat their condition.

Drug Therapy

The FDA approved six medications to relieve symptoms of enlarged prostate:

• Dutasteride (Avodart)

• Alfuzosin (Uroxatral)

• Terazosin (Hytrin)

• Doxazosin (Cardura)

• Tamsulosin (Flomax)

• Finasteride (Proscar)

Based on the severity of the condition, the doctor may prescribe more than one drug for a patient.

Minimally Invasive Therapy

Unfortunately, some people don’t respond well to the drug therapy and the doctor may decide to perform a minimally invasive procedure, such as:

Transurethal needle ablation (TUNA): It works by delivering low level of energy through a couple of needles to eliminate the enlarged prostate tissue. The risk of damaging the urethra with heat damage is relatively minimal.

Transurethal microwave thermotherapy (TUMT): It sends high-frequency electromagnetic energy through a catheter to gradually eliminate the excess prostate tissue.

Water induced thermotherapy: The doctor uses a catheter that contains special balloon, heated water is used to destroy the excess prostate tissue.

High-intensity focused ultrasound: The method is not yet approved by the FDA, it uses ultrasound waves to eliminate prostate tissue.

Surgical Treatments

When the minimally invasive treatments are considered to be insufficient due to the severity of the condition, doctors will consider the direct removal of the excess prostate tissue to be the last and the best option available. Those methods are:

• TURP (Transurethal resection of the prostate): The doctor removes the excess prostate tissue through the urethra piece by piece, as the result no external incision is required.

• Open surgery: When TURP is not possible due to a number of reasons, such as a very large prostate and another restrictive disease, open surgery is preformed.

• Laser surgery: A relatively safer and newer method, with less risk of complications. However, it may not work well on people with severe situations. Laser surgery is less painful.

Alternative Treatments

If you’re lucky to start the treatment when the condition is still at an early stage, you need to opt for making necessary changes in lifestyle to avoid using prescription drugs or undergoing a surgery.

Diet Changes

You should avoid foods that contain tyramines, as they increase the risk of enlarged prostate. See a doctor or nutritionist to know whether your food pattern increases the risk of enlarged prostate.

Removing External Triggers

Some anecdotal evidences show that citral found in household cleaning products can increase the risk of enlarged prostate. Check your cleaning products in your house and see whether they contain risky substances and toxins.

Blood from the mother enters the fetus through the vein in the umbilical cord. It goes to the liver and splits into three branches. The blood then reaches the inferior vena cava, a major vein connected to the heart.

Herpes affects two different parts of the body one being the mouth known as oral herpes and the other the genitals � called genital herpes. As well as being an unpleasant disease to have there is also the fact that it can have very serious consequences. It can never be cured, and although the signs will not always be there, the virus is always in your body and can reappear at any time. There will always be the fear that the sores could reappear when you have an important event and you will never be completely at ease if you have contracted it.

What Is Genital Herpes?

With oral herpes the sores appear as what we know as cold sores. Not all cold sores are oral herpes, but if some suddenly appear and you have a reason to think that this is an option it will be best to have them checked out. They normally have an incubation period of 3 to 7 days so you will be able to make an educated guess that you have contracted it.

In the United States genital herpes is the most common form of sexually transmitted disease. There are drugs such as Zovirax that can ease the pain of this and also treat some of the physical symptoms such as reduce the appearance of the red blister like sores that appear. The main times that you will suffer a bout of genital herpes is when you are already ill as your immune system will be low and you will find it becomes more regular when you get older. Studies have found that there is a correlation between genital herpes and cervical cancer, so it really is not an infection that should be taken lightly. Not every outbreak will need a visit to the doctor, but if it seems worse than normal or the sores appear to look different to previous occasion it will be best to have them checked out. Although it is an embarrassing condition in some people�s eyes it is not one that can be ignored or neglected.

If you do contract it the first thing that you should do is check out any possible treatments that you can undergo. Your doctor will be able to give you a lot of information regarding medical procedures or medication, but there are also some natural treatments that can be used when the outbreak is mild or when you are also taking other tablets that may not be compatible with herpes prescription drugs.

Genital Herpes Treatments

Although there is pain involved, on many occasions this is nothing that cannot be dealt with by taking normal over the counter pain killers. Doctors will prescribe stronger painkillers if they are needed, but if you can cope with lower dosage drugs this will leave your immune system stronger and make it less likely that another attack will happen in the near future. There are a number of actions that you can take to make the area more comfortable during an outbreak. As the area will be tender it will be hard to do things like dry yourself there after washing. Either just pat yourself gently until you feel dry and then use a hair dryer to finish off. Soaking in warm water is supposed to bring some relief but by and large the area should be kept dry. It is important to wear clothes that will not make you sweat so cotton pants and loose fitting clothes will be necessary.  

Genital Herpes Natural Remedies

There have been tests carried out to see if there are any natural remedies that can help and some results have been quite promising. It has been a case that some items work for some people and yet do nothing to help others. It will be best to try a few different ones and see what works for you.

Echinacea has been tested on a small number of people and there was no lessening of outbreaks between the times when they took the product and when they took a placebo. What does not seem to have been recorded is if the symptoms were eased in any way. Propolis has also been tried. This is a waxy substance that bees produce and again it was not intended as a cure but meant to help the sores heal more quickly. There was a significant difference in the time that the sores healed if propolis was used then when the patient was treated with other products.

Prunella vulgaris is also said to be able to ease symptoms. This is a herb and tests have shown that it does have the ability to ease some sores, and can be taken either internally in the form of a drink or externally and it acts as an antibiotic.

Ice has been considered a good way to take away some of the swelling and irritation. There are going to be times in the winter when this is not possible and then the alternative could be a cool or just warm bath with baking soda added. Taking supplements will be important in trying to calm down the inflammation and zinc is considered to be one of the better ones to use. Vitamin C has long been proven to raise the immune system and help you feel better and while this virus is worse than a cold there will still be some degree of benefit.

Tea tree oil is a natural antiseptic and so it will be safe to use this and know that there will not be any further damage. This should just be dabbed on and allowed to soak in. It can be reapplied as and when needed.

Diet can be an important factor over the days that you have an outbreak. Foods that contain arginine can cause additional discomfort and this is found in nuts, meat and dairy products. This will make your meals quite hard to put together but if there is an improvement in your condition it will be worth it.

Actions That Should Help

Drinking plenty of water is important as it will remove a lot of the toxins in the body and having a clean internal system will make it harder for the virus to come to the fore. Covering the sores with cornstarch should also keep them dry and work on preventing the itching. Along the same lines, there is also a home remedy that has shown good results. This involves mixing together some oil, bees wax and lavender oil. Once this is cool it can be put on the infected area. For a much quicker application and also a cheaper option is to use a cold teabag. This has tannin in it and this in one of the substances that is believed to have healing properties. This shows the best effects if you do it at the beginning of the outbreak and are able to reapply every hour or so.

Aloe Vera contains lysine and this provides nutrition for the skin. If gel is left in the fridge to cool it can then be applied. As this will be a bit messy and leave you feeling sticky this treatment is really only possible either when going to bed or at least knowing that you will not have to go out in a hurry.

While there will obviously be the concern that this is something you are going to have for the rest of your life, there should be some comfort taken from the fact that there are plenty of things to help relieve some of the suffering.