Prostate Disorders

Nearly one-third of all men over 50 years suffer from prostate troubles of one form or another. The percentagerises with age and reaches 75 after the age of 80 years. Prostate and bladder disorders can lead to numerousother ailments such as arthritis, kidney disorders and uremia. The prostate gland is a male gland, comparablein shape and size to a large chestnut. It is reddish brown in appearance. It measures approximately 3.8 cm. inwidth and about 2.5 cm. in length and weighs approximately 25 grams. It is situated at the base of the urinarybladder and around the commencement of the urethra, the membranous tube for the passage of the urine. It isthus vital in relation to the emptying of the bladder and bears a close relationship to the rectum. The glandplays an important role in normal sexual life and its function is to secrete a fluid which is added to semenduring sexual intercourse.

Various Disorders

There are various types of prostate disorders. Of these the most important are prostatitis or inflammation in theprostate gland and hypertrophy or enlargement of the prostate gland. Prostatitis may be acute or chronic. It is apainful and distressing disorder, but can be cured with proper treatment without any adverse effects.Enlargement of the prostate gland or hypertrophy is the most common complaint affecting the gland. Thisoccurs mostly in men of middle or advanced age. The enlargement develops so gradually over a long periodthat it often assumes serious proportions before it is detected.

Symptoms

There are two warning signals to indicate the possibility of prostate disorders. The first is the interface with thepassage of urine and the second is the need to void the urine frequently during the night’s sleep. Othersymptoms are a dull aching pain in the lower back and pain in the hips, legs and feet. Prostate enlargementaffects the glandular system as a whole. The patient experiences all the symptoms of disturbed health such aslack of energy and physical , mental and nervous disturbances.

Causes

The position of the prostate gland makes it liable to congestion and other disorders. In an erect position,pressure falls on the pelvic region just where the prostate gland is situated. With ageing, the body gets heavierand loses its flexibility which makes the pressure on the pelvis even greater and increases the vulnerability ofthe prostate gland. Prolonged periods of sitting down, as in certain occupations, also increases the pressure onthe pelvic region resulting in congestion of the tissues in and around the prostate gland. With the passage oftime, changes such as inflammation or enlargement occur in the gland. Acute prostatis may also result fromexposure to cold and chill and from an infectious disease. Chronic prostatis is an after-effect of the acutecondition. It may also result from continual irritation of the gland due to excessive sexual excitement. Anotherimportant cause of prostate disorders is constipation. In constipation , the faeces becomes hardened and therectum or lower bowel overloaded. This causes undue pressure on the prostate gland. It also entails a greatdeal of straining at stools and this adversely affects the prostate gland due to its proximity to the rectum.

Treatment

To begin with, the patient should forgo all solid foods and subsist on water only for two or three days. Theintake of water should be as plentiful as possible. Nothing should be added to the water except a little lemonjuice, if desired. The water may be taken cold or hot and it should be taken every hour or so when awake. Thiswill greatly increase the flow of urine. An enema may be taken once a day during fasting to clear the lowerbowel of accumulations. After a thorough cleansing of the bowels, hot and cold applications may be used directly on the prostate glandand its surrounding parts. The heat relieves the tissues and a brief cold immersion tones them up. The patientshould take alternate hot and cold hip baths. These are of great value in relieving pain and reducingcongestion. The hot bath should be taken first for 10 minutes, followed by a cold bath for one minute daily. Afterthe short fast, the patient should adopt an all-fruit diet for three days. The fruits should include apples, pears,oranges, grape-fruit, grapes, sweet limes, mangoes, melons and all other juicy fruits. This will help to cleartoxins from the body and will also enable excess fat to be reduced to some extent. The exclusive fruit dietshould be followed by a diet, consisting of two meals of fruits and one of cooked vegetables for further sevendays. The vegetable meal should be taken in the evening and should consist of all kinds of cooked vegetables,preferably steam cooked. Thereafter, the patient may adopt a well-balanced diet of three basic food groups,namely (i) seeds, nuts and grains, (ii) vegetables and (iii) fruits. The short lemon juice fast followed by an allfruitdiet and a further period on fruits and vegetables may be repeated after two or three months if necessarydepending on the progress being made. Pumpkin seeds have been found to be an effective home remedy forprostate problems and many patients have been helped by their use. These seeds are rich in unsaturated fattyacids which are essential to the health of the prostate. Heavy starches,sweet stimulants and highly seasonedfoods are entirely forbidden, as they cause direct irritation on the prostate gland and bladder. The diet shouldalso exclude spices, condiments, salt in excess, sauces, red meats, cheese, asparagus, watercress, greasy orfried foods, alcohol, tobacco and too much tea or coffee. The patient should avoid hurried meals and mustchew his food thoroughly and slowly. Water should be taken between meals and not at mealtime. The patientshould avoid sexual irregularities in eating and drinking, long periods of sitting and vigorous exercise. Heshould guard against constipation by taking plenty of fruits, bran and nuts. All efforts should be made to tone upthe general condition of the body. With a general improvement in health, the condition will be greatly relieved.Surgery should be resorted to only if the condition does not improve even after the dietary treatment and othermeasures outlined here.