Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia or BPH is a quality of life condition more than a medical one, as it has low risks of causing much bodily harm. However, if not taken seriously, it can become dangerous for your urinary tract or kidneys. So, often when patients start showing symptoms, they want to get alternative therapies for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia. This is mainly because surgery is not necessary in most cases. And when you have the chance to actually get a natural treatment for your condition rather than working with medications with side effects, people go for it. So, let’s look at some natural remedies for enlarged prostate from herbal therapies and acupuncture.
Before you get into the meat and start learning about the therapies themselves, you must know that you should always consult with your doctor first. Proper diagnosis is crucial in helping you treat your BPH and its symptoms. If your symptoms are mild and your diagnosis is not serious, you would actually benefit more from these therapies than if you just went about it by yourself.
So, don’t take these therapies as an alternative to medical attention and treatment. Often doctors will tell you to try different therapies if you don’t need surgery. So, with that out of the way, let’s look at herbal therapies for Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (BPH) and much more.
Acupuncture: Acupuncture is a type of traditional Chinese medicine that works by pricking needles into the various pressure points in your body. These pressure points stimulate various organs, hormones, and other body parts to treat your symptoms. Acupuncture is one of the most popular forms of complementary therapies for prostate disease, as it has a history of over 2,000 years. For BPH, acupuncture can help reduce the size of the prostate, make it easier to urinate and maintain the flow, and reduce urination frequency. Let’s review how acupuncture works for BPH, the process, and its effects.
Acupuncture is a type of alternative treatment altogether. It is not just a massage; if you are seeking relief from a condition like BPH, you would have to go through the entire diagnosis process with acupuncture experts. To begin your treatment, they would first assess your symptoms, both past and present, to accurately create a treatment plan for you. Then they would focus on your lifestyle and your habits. According to traditional Chinese medicine, your habits and lifestyle can play a crucial role in determining your course of treatment. After the diagnosis process is complete, the doctors have a fair idea about the disharmonies in your body. The acupuncture process is then conducted to treat those disruptive disharmonies and help you achieve enhanced genitourinary system health.
The Process: The process is quite simple, experts put you down on a table and prick you using high-grade, flat, but sharp needles that create minor cuts at the key myofascial points in your body. These cuts are methodically done to relieve the built-up tension in different parts of your body. As a result, blood circulation and nervous response improve in the required areas, which helps reduce the disruptive disharmonies in your body.
For BPH specifically, the procedure helps improve the delivery of nutrients and blood flow to your pelvic floor. This results in reduced congestion in your veins and urinary tract as well as improved nervous influence of your urinary system, which helps make urination easier. Once the symptoms subside, subsequent appointments help in reducing the size of the prostate. The specific acupuncture points that are targeted for the treatment of BPH are:
Now that you know the process of how acupuncture is performed, let’s learn about how it helps the patient.
Acupuncture treatment, as mentioned previously, helps improve the blood flow and nervous response to your pelvic floor region. This helps in unblocking the veins that are congested, which helps with easy and regular urination. Patients report that even after just one appointment, they could urinate better and less frequently than before. Subsequent appointments have helped treat the symptoms of BPH altogether, with improvements in reducing the size of the bladder.
Although sticking needles in your body may seem dangerous, acupuncture is very safe and relaxing. It is performed by experts in controlled environments. With a history of over 2000 years in healing people, acupuncture is one of the best alternative therapy treatment options for BPH.
Herbal Therapy: Herbal therapies are natural medicines that can help you treat various health conditions. These therapies utilise natural herbs and ingredients to create therapies that don’t have negative side effects and offer holistic treatment of symptoms and conditions. Herbal therapies come in different forms and offer varying results for conditions like BPH.
Before you go for herbal therapy treatment options for BPH, please be advised to cross-check and verify the authenticity of such treatments. While there are genuine care providers that can actually help you treat your BPH symptoms with herbal therapy, there is no discernable way to determine the quality of these therapies since they are not regulated strictly by government authorities. With that being said, here are five herbal therapies that are commonly used to treat BPH.
Beta-Sitosterol: When it comes to the treatment of an enlarged prostate, beta-sitosterol is one of the best herbal treatment options. It is a medicine made from plants with cholesterol-like substances called sitosterols or phytosterols. These substances help reduce the cholesterol levels in the body and are especially helpful in reducing the symptoms of BPH. Studies have shown that patients taking beta-sitosterol have improved urination with less frequency and an easier ability to empty the bladder.
Beta-sitosterol does not reduce the size of the prostate; it can only help treat the symptoms of BPH, so keep that in mind before you go for this therapy. Lastly, there are no major side effects of this therapy. The existing ones are incredibly rare, with only 1% of users facing side effects like stomach pain, nausea, and constipation.
Stinging Nettle: Stinging Nettle is a plant found generally in Europe. Its leaves are known to be quite notorious. The small hairs on the leaves can give you a sharp jolt of pain when touched with your bare body parts. However, this plant is quite useful when it comes to the treatment of BPH, namely its roots are used as medicine to treat the frequency of urination required by BPH patients.
While it is effective in aiding this particular symptom, stinging nettle is not a full-proof solution for BPH. It is often used with other medications for a complete natural treatment option. It also does not reduce the size of the prostate. In terms of side effects they are quite rare but patients can have an upset stomach or skin rash from consuming this medicine.
Saw Palmetto: Saw Palmetto is the fruit of a particular type of palm tree. These fruits have long been used for the treatment of urinary problems and small studies have shown that they are actually effective in treating the symptoms of BPH. It is a popular herbal therapy for BPH symptoms and can be highly effective when used in conjunction with other therapies like stinging nettle.
Though this medication doesn’t reduce the size of your enlarged prostate, it can actually help treat the symptoms like frequent urination and inability to empty the bladder. There are no major side effects and the ones existing like headache and upset stomach are also very rare. Given the long history of its use, saw palmetto is one of the best herbal therapies you can opt for BPH.
Pygeum: Coming from the palm tree to the plum tree, pygeum is the bark of a type of plum tree. It is also a very popular herbal treatment option for urinary symptoms in Europe and has been used for many years. Pygeum is effective at treating and controlling BPH symptoms too like inability to empty the bladder and unstable urine flow. Pygeum can be used by itself or in conjunction with other herbal therapies to get the most benefits. The side effects of pygeum are also quite rare with symptoms like headache and an upset stomach. Generally, pygeum is a safe medicine to use, although there is little research on the long term effects of pygeum on your health.
Vegetable Diet: While this is technically not a herbal therapy, researchers have found that certain types of fruits and vegetables in your diet can improve the symptoms of urinary problems like BPH. It includes fruits, leafy vegetables, and dark vegetables. The nutrients in these vegetables are very effective at improving the symptoms of BPH and keeping your condition in check.
As you can imagine, there are no side effects to consuming these vegetables and they offer extra health benefits besides controlling your BPH symptoms too. However, doctors will ask you to make certain lifestyle changes when you add these vegetables to your diet to extend the benefits of these nutrients in your body.
Alternative and complementary therapy can be very useful in patients suffering from mild to moderate symptoms of BPH. If you are interested in herbal or natural treatment, doctors will substitute some of your medications with herbal alternatives. While these therapies and treatments can keep your condition in control, they won’t offer a complete treatment.
So, once you are ready to get rid of your BPH once and for all, visit MASSH. We specialise in skillful minimally invasive surgery that removes the blockages in your urinary tract and reduce the size of your prostate. Our treatments are highly effective and have a quick recovery. For more information about surgical treatment options for BPH, visit the hospital or check out our website.
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Written by MASSH
Jun 18, 2023
