Prostate Health Care Guide

First of all, let me tell you a heart-wrenching conclusion: There is no "magic formula" for prostate care spread online. 90% of prostate discomfort can be alleviated by adjusting daily habits. There is no need to eat health care products indiscriminately. The truly effective core logic only has 8 words: Reduce irritation and undergo regular screening。

A young man who just came to my clinic last week is a 27-year-old man who works as a game operator. He sat for 14 hours a day for a week in order to develop the version. He drank three to four liters of coffee and drank cold beer with his colleagues in the middle of the night. When he came in, he covered his lower waist and said that it hurt so much to urinate and that it even split. After checking Baidu, he thought it was prostate hyperplasia and he needed surgery. His face turned pale with fear. After the color ultrasound, nothing happened. It was just congestion and edema of the prostate. I didn’t even prescribe any medicine, so I asked him to get up every 45 minutes to get a glass of water and walk for 2 minutes. Don’t drink ice, and don’t eat spicy food for the past week. After a follow-up visit a week later, he said that all the problems were gone.

When it comes to food taboos, there are actually two different voices in the industry. Many experienced urologists will ask patients to absolutely avoid spicy food and alcohol. The reason is that capsaicin and alcohol will dilate the blood vessels in the prostate and increase the risk of congestion.； However, many clinical observations have found that for many patients who have been eating spicy food and drinking alcohol since childhood, as long as their intake is stable and there is no sudden overeating, it will not cause discomfort. On the contrary, a sudden complete taboo will lead to emotional anxiety and aggravate the symptoms. My personal suggestion is that if you feel your perineum is swollen and uncomfortable when urinating after eating something, don’t touch it next time. If nothing happens after you eat something, don’t completely offend your mouth.

Many people ask me whether I should deliberately do prostate massage? There are also two arguments: "holding back semen to nourish the prostate" and "frequent ejaculation that damages the prostate" have been arguing for many years, but no one can convince the other. In fact, the conclusion of evidence-based medicine is now very clear: regular ejaculation (whether it is sexual intercourse or masturbation, the frequency of 1-2 times a week) helps to clear the prostate ducts, avoid secretion accumulation, and can actually reduce the probability of inflammation. ； But if you have acute bacterial prostatitis, you must stop temporarily, otherwise the infection will spread. As for the "prostate maintenance massage" advocated by beauty salons and health care centers, I advise you not to go there. Many practitioners do not understand anatomy at all, and they are not gentle or heavy. I have seen several people who massaged the prostate and urethra.

To be honest, many people's prostate problems are related to some inconspicuous little habits. For example, drivers who drive long distances hold in their urine in order to avoid going to the toilet. The most ruthless driver I have ever seen drove from Guangzhou to Shenzhen for more than two hours and held it in for more than two hours. In the end, he couldn't urinate. He called 120 and had a urinary catheter inserted in the emergency department. There are also young men who like to wear tight jeans. After sitting for an afternoon in the summer, the temperature of the crotch reaches almost 38 degrees. The prostate is inherently afraid of heat, so it would be strange if it does not cause problems over time. Some people like to slump on a soft sofa and scroll through their mobile phones for two to three hours. The entire pelvic pressure is on the prostate, which is more than three times higher than when sitting on a hard bench. This is why many people suffer from swollen perineum after lying down for a day on weekends.

Don’t think that prostate problems are only suffered by middle-aged and elderly people. Nowadays, a lot of people in their 20s have prostatitis, but there is no need to be overly anxious. Men under 50 years old, as long as they don’t have obvious symptoms of frequent urination, urgency, pain, or perineal swelling, they don’t need to go for special prostate examinations every year. If they really feel uncomfortable, they can go to a regular hospital for a color ultrasound and a routine urine check. Men over 50 years old should remember to check PSA (prostate specific antigen) every year. This is the core indicator for screening for prostate cancer. However, don’t panic when the number is high. Many people drank alcohol the day before, stayed up late, or even just finished ejaculation. The number will temporarily rise. Just check the trend again every two weeks. Don’t be fooled by unscrupulous institutions into doing ablation or intervention. Not only does it cost money, but it may also damage the urethra.

Backstage, people ask me every day whether so-and-so kidney-tonifying tablets and so-and-so prostate patches are useful. Let me objectively say here that the Western medicine system does not recommend that you buy such Internet celebrity health products. Many of them have unknown ingredients and even add illegal male hormones. Short-term consumption seems to be effective, but long-term consumption will disrupt endocrine and increase the risk of cancer. But if you go to a regular traditional Chinese medicine hospital for syndrome differentiation, it is indeed prostate discomfort caused by kidney deficiency and damp-heat. The conditioning prescriptions prescribed by regular doctors can be used. Don’t believe in the wild doctors in the circle of friends who “can cure prostate hyperplasia”.

In fact, the prostate is a delicate organ. If you stay up all night for a week, drink heavily, and sit still all day, it will make you angry every minute.； It is said that it is built and built. As long as you pay a little attention and don't mess with it, it will basically not cause trouble for you. If you really feel uncomfortable, go to a regular hospital as soon as possible. Don't blindly search for the symptoms. I have seen too many patients who frightened themselves. Nothing was wrong at first, but the frightened anxiety disorder only made the discomfort worse. After all, a good attitude is also an important part of prostate health.