Reducing the amount of fluids and limiting alcohol and caffeine can be options to reduce symptoms of an enlarged prostate. Your doctor might also recommend that you practice holding your urine longer or work on strengthening your pelvic floor. Medications like alpha blockers to relax the prostate and 5-alpha reductase inhibitors to reduce prostate growth can also help treat an enlarged prostate. If medications and lifestyle changes don’t reduce your symptoms, there are several minimally invasive procedures to either expand your urethra or break up the prostate tissue. Surgery is also an option to remove the prostate tissue (per National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases).
Although men over 40 are at a higher risk for developing an enlarged prostate, you could also be at risk if members of your family also had the condition. Obesity, cardiovascular disease, and type 2 diabetes increase your risk of an enlarged prostate. You’re also more likely to have an enlarged prostate if you don’t exercise.
