You're not in your teens any more. Just one look in the mirror will tell you that. Worse than the worry lines on your face or the graying hair at your temples are the effects of age that you notice even in the dark.
Which changes are normal and which require medical treatment?
Expanding Waistline
Increased abdominal fat puts you at increased risk for cardiovascular problems and more. As a man's waist circumference increases from less than 35 inches to more than 40 inches, the risk of cardiovascular disease more than doubles.
You eat semi-healthfully and walk the dog – so why is your waistband steadily increasing? Sadly, sagging is a fact of life. Skin loses its elasticity with age, and body fat tends to collect in your gut. Keep exercising, and maybe incorporate sit-ups into your daily routine to slow down the process and keep it from going out of control.
Decreased Endurance
When you're racing to catch a transfer flight, playing baseball with your grandkids, or being intimate with your partner, you don't want to become fatigued. The key to building stamina is to be active for at least 30 minutes on most, if not all, days of the week.
Studies show that endurance exercises help prevent or delay many diseases or disabilities that seem to come with age. And, physical activity can help keep your muscles strong. That can mean the difference between being able to get up from a chair by yourself or having to wait for someone to help you. People who don't regularly use their muscles lose from 20 to 40 percent of their strength as they age.
Make physical activity a part of your everyday life. If you do things you enjoy, you'll be more likely to continue. And don't stop doing physical tasks around the house and in the yard (such as leaf raking or trimming hedges without a power tool). If you're not currently active and are age 40 or older, talk with your healthcare provider first.
Night Trips to the Toilet
If you're older (age 50 and older), an enlarged prostate is likely the cause for your nighttime forays to the bathroom.
Your prostate is one part of your body that keeps growing. The prostate normally starts out about the site of a pea. It grows rapidly throughout puberty, and is about the size of a walnut at age 20. By the time a man is middle aged (40 to 45), the prostate may already have grown to the size of an apricot. By the age of 60, it may be as big as a lemon. As the prostate grows, it begins to restrict the urine flow.
The medical term for an enlarged prostate is benign prostatic hyperplasia (BPH). By itself, BPH is not a serious condition, unless the symptoms are so bothersome that you can't enjoy life. BPH usually does not affect sexual function.
BPH symptoms include frequent trips to the toilet, a burning feeling when you urinate, trouble starting a urine stream or a weak stream, or the feeling that you still have to go, even when you have just finished urinating.
BPH sometimes leads to serious problems, though this doesn't usually happen. One problem is urinary tract infections. If you can't urinate at all, you should get medical help right away. Sometimes this happens suddenly to men after they take an over-the-counter cold or allergy medicine. In rare cases, BPH and its constant urination problems can lead to kidney damage.
BPH cannot be cured, but its symptoms can be relieved by surgery or by drugs in many cases. There are possible links between BPH and high fat diets, family history of BPH, and hormones. You might be able to reduce your risk of BPH with a healthful lifestyle – including a good diet, plenty of water, and regular exercise.
Painful Urination
If you are experiencing pain when you urinate, make an appointment with your healthcare provider. Several medical conditions can cause pain during urination, including urinary tract infection and BPH.
For younger men, the most common prostate problem is prostatitis. Prostatitis, or prostate inflammation, can cause difficult or painful urination that often is accompanied by a burning sensation, by a strong and frequent urge to urinate that often results in only small amounts of urine, and by pain in the lower back or abdomen.
Many bouts of prostatitis are caused by bacterial infection. In these cases, antibiotics are usually the first line of treatment. Your healthcare provider will probably urge you to drink lots of water too.
But bacteria aren't the only cause of prostatitis. The Mayo Clinic cites several possible causes of chronic nonbacterial prostate problems:
- Sexual activity. Sexually active younger men with inflammation of the urethra (urethritis) or a sexually transmitted disease such as gonorrhea or chlamydia are more likely to develop chronic nonbacterial prostatitis.
- Other infectious agents. Some experts believe nonbacterial prostatitis may be caused by an infectious agent that doesn't show up in standard laboratory tests.
- Stop-and-start urination. Instead of relaxing and letting urine flow freely, some men start and stop while urinating. This can cause urine in the urethra to back up into and irritate the prostate.
- Heavy lifting. Lifting heavy objects when your bladder is full might cause urine to back up into your prostate.
- Certain occupations. Occupations that subject your prostate to strong vibrations, such as driving a truck or operating heavy machinery, might play a role.
- Physical activity. Although regular exercise, especially jogging or biking, is great for the rest of your body, it might irritate your prostate gland.
Antibiotics will not help nonbacterial prostatitis. Men have found various lifestyle changes helpful in managing their condition, including drinking lots of water, completely emptying the bladder at regular intervals, and avoiding alcohol and caffeine.
Sexual Difficulties
Impotence isn't just an old man's problem. True, older men experience impotence more commonly than do young men. But normal aging isn't the cause. Chronic illnesses – such as atherosclerosis, high blood pressure, or diabetes – are the major cause of impotence.
The term impotence describes the inability to get or keep an erection firm enough for sexual intercourse in at least one out of four attempts, but also refers to more than just physical causes of erection difficulties. It refers to other problems that interfere with sexual intercourse and reproduction, such as lack of sexual desire and painful ejaculation.
When there's a physical reason for the inability to get or keep an erection firm enough, the term erectile dysfunction (ED) is used. ED is treatable at any age, but prevention is even better.
- If you smoke, stop.
- Exercise at least 30 minutes a day.
- Keep your weight within recommended ranges.
- Limit yourself to two drinks a day, if you drink.
Hair Growth (or Lack Thereof)
You might have liked the physical changes that happened to you during puberty. You can thank androgens – the male hormones that make hair grow on your chest and elsewhere. Androgens are also responsible for your sexual development and functioning. And they don't shut down after puberty.
In your older adult years, androgens cause male-pattern baldness, a thicker beard, and the sprouting of long ear and nose hairs.
If your scalp hair is thinning and your beard is getting thicker, don't start bragging. Those things are more likely dependent on heredity. Be concerned, though, if you have noticeable thinning of body hair. You should make an appointment with your doctor – especially if it's accompanied by loss of sexual desire or function, fatigue, breast tenderness, increased irritability, weight changes, or depression. It could be a sign of a hormone problem.
If you've been weak, tired, or anxious in addition to losing hair, you could have iron or zinc deficiency, thyroid disease, or be experiencing excessive stress. If your hair is falling out in patches, you could have a dermatological problem. |
