Doctor On Call: Are night time toilet trips a bad sign for men?

Q: Is it normal for a man to wake up 4 or 5 times every night to go to the toilet?

Dr Warren Deeves of Health Matters answers:

As men get older, they often experience symptoms of abnormal urination.

This ranges from frequency, urgency, incomplete emptying of the bladder, a poor stream, or waking up numerous times at night to urinate.

Causes include infection, diabetes, medication such as diuretics, benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH) and prostate cancer.

BPH is when the prostate gland enlarges and puts pressure on the urethra, preventing the bladder from emptying completely.

This is a benign condition, and differs from prostate cancer.

As both conditions increase your prostate specific antigen (PSA) count, your doctor may refer you to a urologist for further investigation.

Prostate cancer is the second most commonly diagnosed cancer and the sixth leading cause of cancer death among men worldwide;

so grow that moustache in November, spread the word, and get yourself checked if you have any worrying symptoms.