Health Topic

Enlarged Prostate (BPH)

Enlarged prostate, or benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), is a common problem in men over 50. Learn about the symptoms and treatments.

Reviewed Reviewed by a registered pharmacistGeneral information

Also called: benign prostatic hyperplasia

Important: This page is general information, not medical advice. It does not recommend or prescribe any treatment. Always consult your doctor or pharmacist before starting, stopping or changing any medicine.

About Enlarged Prostate (BPH)

The prostate is a gland in the male reproductive system. It lies just below the bladder. It makes fluid that is part of semen.

An enlarged prostate is when your prostate gland becomes larger than normal. It's also called benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH for short. Benign means not cancer. And hyperplasia means too much cell growth. BPH isn't cancer and it doesn't increase your risk of getting prostate cancer.

Usually, the prostate gland continues to grow during adult life. That's why BPH is the most common prostate condition in people over age 50. As the prostate gets bigger, it may press against the bladder and pinch the urethra. This can slow or block the flow of urine out of your bladder.

Over time, the bladder muscle may become weak from trying to pass urine through a narrow urethra. When this happens, your bladder may not empty completely when you urinate. A narrowed urethra and weak bladder cause many of the urinary problems you may have with BPH.

Researchers aren't sure why the prostate keeps growing. Some researchers think changes in hormones with aging may cause the prostate to get bigger.

You're more likely to develop BPH if you:

  • Are age 40 or older. The chance of getting BPH increases as you get older.
  • Have family members who have had BPH.
  • Have certain health conditions such as: Obesity.
  • Heart disease and problems with blood circulation.
  • Type 2 diabetes.
  • Erectile dysfunction.

Symptoms of BPH include:

  • Having a frequent or urgent need to urinate
  • Waking up many times to urinate
  • Having problems with urine flow, such as: Trouble starting to urinate
  • A stream that's weak, slow, or stops and starts
  • Dribbling after urination
  • Urinary incontinence
  • Feeling that you can't completely empty your bladder

It's important to see your health care provider if you have any of these symptoms because they could be from a more serious health problem.

You should get medical help right away if you:

  • Can't urinate at all
  • Have fever and chills with urination that's painful, frequent, and urgent
  • Have blood in your urine
  • Have pain in your lower abdomen (belly) and urinary tract

For most people, BPH doesn't cause other problems. But BPH increases your chance of developing serious conditions, including:

  • Acute urinary retention. With this condition, you suddenly can't urinate at all. This a medical emergency. Acute urinary retention is common in older males and the chance of having it increases with age. It may be triggered by: Taking certain over-the-counter cold or allergy medicines
  • Drinking alcohol
  • Cold temperatures
  • Not moving enough over a long period of time

To find out if you have BPH, your provider will:

  • Ask about your medical history. Be sure to tell your provider about all the medicines you take, because certain medicines can make BPH symptoms worse.
  • Ask about your family health history.
  • Examine you. The exam may include a digital rectal exam (DRE) of your prostate. In a DRE, your provider inserts a gloved finger into your rectum to check if your prostate is large, tender, or irregular in any other way.
  • Order medical tests, if needed, such as: Urine tests.
  • A PSA blood test (prostate-specific antigen test).
  • Urodynamic testing to see how well you can hold and release urine.
  • Cystoscopy to look inside your urethra and bladder.
  • Ultrasound pictures of your prostate and urinary tract.
  • A prostate biopsy to diagnose or rule out prostate cancer.

Not everyone needs treatment for BPH. Treatment options depend on how much your symptoms bother you, your health, age, and the size of your prostate:

  • Lifestyle changes may improve mild symptoms. They include: Drinking less before bedtime or going out
  • Avoiding or cutting back on beverages with caffeine and alcohol
  • Bladder training and exercising the muscles that control urine flow
  • Preventing or treating constipation

Medicines can help mild to moderate symptoms by:

  • Stopping the prostate from growing
  • Shrinking the prostate
  • Relaxing muscles to improve urine flow

Sometimes combining 2 types of medicine helps more than taking just one type of medicine.

Medical procedures can help improve moderate to severe BPH symptoms when medicines don't help enough. There are several different types of procedures. They all use an instrument inserted into the urethra to either:

  • Widen the urethra
  • Destroy part of the prostate with heat

Surgery may be helpful when symptoms are severe, other treatments haven't helped, or you have another problem, such as bladder damage. Different types of surgery are used to:

  • Remove part or all of the prostate
  • Make cuts in the prostate to take pressure off the urethra

Most BPH surgery is done with tools inserted into the urethra.

Your provider can explain the possible benefits and side effects of your treatment options so you can decide what's best for you.

Researchers haven't found ways to prevent BPH. You can take care of your prostate health by:

  • Talking with your provider about your risk for developing an enlarged prostate
  • Getting regular checkups
  • Paying attention to your symptoms so you can get treatment early if you see signs of BPH

It sits within Male Reproductive System.

The lead U.S. institute for this subject is the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases.

When to speak to someone. Reading about a topic cannot tell you whether it applies to you. Speak to a doctor or pharmacist if symptoms are severe, sudden, getting worse, or simply not going away — and seek emergency care immediately for chest pain, breathing difficulty, sudden weakness or confusion, or a serious allergic reaction.

Research on Enlarged Prostate (BPH)

82 studies areregistered for this condition on ClinicalTrials.gov, the U.S. National Library of Medicine's public registry. A selection is below — the links go straight to the registry entry, not to a summary of ours.

What a registered study does and does not mean. Registration means a study exists and has been declared publicly. It says nothing about whether the treatment being tested works, is safe, or is available to you. Many studies find no benefit — that is what research is for. Never seek out an experimental treatment on the strength of a registry entry alone.

Research currently under way

Research already completed

Study data from ClinicalTrials.gov, a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine. Retrieved 2026-07-30. Registry entries are supplied by study sponsors and investigators; ClinicalTrials.gov does not verify their scientific validity. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH.

Where to read more

Rather than paraphrase, we point you to the primary sources. Every link below is to a government health agency, a national institute or a recognised medical body — grouped by what you are trying to find out.

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Diagnosis and Tests

Treatments and Therapies

  • Saw PalmettoNational Center for Complementary and Integrative Health

Clinical Trials

Medical subject headings

Clinicians and researchers index this subject under Prostatic Hyperplasia. These are the terms to use when searching medical literature.

This page is built from the MedlinePlus health topic record for Enlarged Prostate (BPH), a service of the U.S. National Library of Medicine (NLM), National Institutes of Health. Information is from MedlinePlus.gov. PocketsInfo is not affiliated with, and is not endorsed by, the NLM or the NIH. Retrieved 30 July 2026.