BPH, Prostatitis, Prostate Cancer, Enlarged Prostate, they're all terms that get bandied about by men over 50 and an unlucky bunch below 50 as well.

Before you can be offered help about an issue, namely you take 15 minutes just to go to the toilet, you should really understand what is the cause of your prostate problem.

The what, the how, and where of why your partner is threatening you with wearing nappies at the age of 53 is an important issue!

The what of your prostate problem is that its function is to produce most of the fluids in semen, as well as the fluid that transports the sperm. Within the prostate are tiny ducts that transport this fluid to the urethra.

The how of your prostate problem is so simple and yet so complex. It slowly enlarges as you age, and sometimes causes pressure on the outflow tube, resulting in a slower stream, and often an urgent need to go to go to the toilet more often, annoying!! Especially multiple times during the night. This condition is known as benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH). Occasionally men develop cancer of the prostate, which causes similar symptoms, but this nowhere as common as BPH, and the one does not necessarily lead on to the other.

The where of your problem prostate is directly below your bladder and surrounding your urethra, the tube that you urinate out of. Imagine a wine glass with your bladder as the main part and your urethra as the stem.

Possible symptoms of a prostate problem are:

- Burning sensation when urinating
- Nocturia (interrupted sleep due to the constant need to urinate at night)
- Weak urine flow
- The inability to empty the bladder completely
- Pain, hesitancy or urgency to urinate
- Blood in the urine
- Lower back pain
- Feeling uncomfortable when sitting
- Discomfort in the testicles groin or penis
- Pain when ejaculating or during sex
- Itchy feeling in penis
- Difficulties getting an erection or impotence
- A decrease in sexual desire

If you have any of those prostate problems (above), then you will end up using these (below);

Possible solutions to cure your prostate problem that will be discussed in other articles are:

- Taking a drug to shrink the prostate.
- Taking a drug to relax the muscles at the neck of the bladder.
- Having a surgeon cut away part of your prostate, accessing it via the uretha, or just diving straight in.
- Taking vitamin, mineral and herbal supplements to shrink the prostate or increase flow.
- Heat therapies - delivered through the urethra and using a local anesthetic.
- Start a moderate exercise programme.
- Change the sort of foods and liquids you eat and and drink.

There are hugely varying results you will get from these treatments, some with horrendous side-affects, others with none. Some painless, others will put you in bed for 2 weeks. The choice is up to you.