What is a benign prostatic hypertrophy (BPH)?
Benign prostatic hyperplasia––also called BPH––is a condition in men in which the prostate gland is enlarged and not cancerous. Benign prostatic hyperplasia is also called benign prostatic hypertrophy or benign prostatic obstruction.
The prostate goes through two main growth periods as a man ages. The first occurs early in puberty, when the prostate doubles in size. The second phase of growth begins around age 25 and continues during most of a man’s life. Benign prostatic hyperplasia often occurs with the second growth phase.
As the prostate enlarges, the gland presses against and pinches the urethra. The bladder wall becomes thicker. Eventually, the bladder may weaken and lose the ability to empty completely, leaving some urine in the bladder. The narrowing of the urethra and urinary retention––the inability to empty the bladder completely––cause many of the problems associated with benign prostatic hyperplasia.
What are the symptoms of an enlarged prostate?
Less than half of all men with an enlarged prostate show symptom. Those 
who do have symptoms of BPH, usually have one or more of the following symptoms:
- Inability to urinate (urinary retention)
- Urinary dribbling following the end of urination
- Feeling of incomplete urination
- Incontinence
- Nocturia, or the need to urinate more than 2 times at night
- Pain with urination or bloody urine (these may indicate infection)
- Slowed or delayed start of the urinary stream (hesitancy)
- Strong and sudden urge to urinate (urgency)
- Weak urine stream
How will acupuncture treats an enlarged prostate?
I use a combination of acupuncture, herbal medicine and dietary therapy to decrease urinary urgency and night urination, stop discomfort and decrease hesitancy. This is done by using the pattern diagnosis mentioned above to treat the symptoms. There is no one-size-fits-all treatment. It’s about treating You the Individual, and the whole you, too.
When getting old, you have less Yang Qi in your body, especially the Kidney Yang, which can warm the body and dissipate the dampness. So, my aim is to generate the kidney yang with the help of acupuncture and herb.