Condition
Benign prostatic hyperplasia
Non-cancerous prostate enlargement in older men causing urinary frequency, urgency, and a weak stream.
See a clinician
Some causes of benign prostatic hyperplasia need medical care, not self-treatment. Seek help for any of these:
- Inability to urinate (retention), blood in urine, or fever with urinary symptoms — urgent care.
What may help
Remedies studied for benign prostatic hyperplasia, ranked by strength of evidence.
- C Beta-sitosterol supplement
Improved urinary symptoms (IPSS −4.9) and urine flow versus placebo in pooled trials, but the studies were few, short, and did not assess long-term outcomes or prostate size.
- C Pygeum herb
Modestly improved urinary symptoms and flow versus placebo — men were ~twice as likely to report improvement — but trials were small, short, and used non-standardized preparations.
- D Saw palmetto herb
High-certainty Cochrane evidence shows little to no difference from placebo in urinary symptoms or quality of life, even at higher doses.
Non-cancerous prostate enlargement in older men causing urinary frequency, urgency, and a weak stream. This is a reference stub — evidence-graded remedies for it are not yet curated here.
Background: MedlinePlus (public domain).