Benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) is also called an enlarged prostate. An enlarged prostate can cause symptoms such as blocking the flow of urine out of the bladder and can cause bladder, urinary tract or kidney problems.

Symptoms
Frequent or urgent need urination.

passing urine more often at night.

• difficulty in urination
• Weak urine stream, or a stream that stops and starts.
• Dribbling at the end of urination.
• Not being able to fully empty the bladder.
• Urinary tract infection.
• Not being able to pee.
• Blood in the urine.
  Inflamed prostate.
• Narrowing of the urethra, the tube that carries urine out of the body.
• Scarring in the bladder neck due to past surgery.
• Bladder or kidney stones.
• Problems with nerves that control the bladder.
• Cancer of the prostate or bladder.

Risk factors
Aging

• blood relative with prostate
• Diabetes
  heart disease
• Obesity

Complications

• Not being able to pee. This also is called urinary retention. You might need to have a tube called a catheter placed into your bladder to drain the urine. Some people with an enlarged prostate need surgery to get relief.
• Urinary tract infections (UTIs). Not being able to fully empty the bladder can raise the risk of infection in the urinary tract. If you often get UTIs, you might need surgery to remove part of the prostate.
• Bladder stones. These are most often caused by being unable to fully empty the bladder. Bladder stones can cause illness, bladder irritation, blood in the urine and blocked urine flow.
• Bladder damage. A bladder that doesn’t empty fully can stretch and weaken over time. As a result, the muscular wall of the bladder no longer squeezes properly to force urine out. And this makes it harder to fully empty the bladder.
• Kidney damage. Pressure in the bladder from not being able to pee can damage the kidneys or let bladder infections reach the kidneys.

Treatment for BPH lowers the risk of these complications. But urinary retention and kidney damage can be serious health threats.

Having an enlarged prostate is not thought to raise the risk of getting prostate cancer.