Terminology

BPS symptoms contain irritative and obstructive components which occure in different measures. The size of the prostate, the degree of obstruction and the seriousness of the symptoms have little to do with each other and do not necessarily correlate. Patients suffering mildly from the disease can have both obstructive or irritative symptoms whereas patients experiencing the disease on a more serious level can be completely complaint free.

In general, BPH is known as an old man bladder emptying problem suffered by older men.
Because of frequent improper medical practice – not carried out by urologist consultants- patients with BPS (Bladder Pain Syndrome) are treated for BPH. Patients are treated without identifying the causes of their bladder emptying problems or, perhaps, just for having an enlarged prostate - all of this without establishing the exact diagnosis.

Cases of treating BPH with drugs (after being seen by an inappropriate consultant) have become very common.

The consequence of this: unsuccessful treatment, an increase in cost and a decrease in quality.
Despite being used widely (albeit incorrectly) in everyday life, benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) only refers to a histological diagnosis. This is because the patient does not encounter BPH symptoms, yet normally has lower urinary tract symptoms, which are called LUTS in the English speaking world.

The typical BPH patient goes to his doctor with LUTS and its accompanying symptoms, which can lead to a decrease in quality of life.

For this reason, diseases until now described as benign prostate hyperplasia (BPH) should correctly be called benign prostate syndrome (BPS). This allows us to emphasise the extremely variable pathophysiology relation between LUTS, the benign prostate enlargement (BPE) and the obstruction (BOO or BPO).

However, in everyday practice, this logic is not always followed. In most languages, and just like in our country, the term BPH is used.

The diagnosis has to clarify the relation between LUTS, BOO and BPO and benign prostate enlargement (BPE)