The efficacy and function of prostate health capsules

At present, the prostate health capsules that have been officially approved in China (divided into two categories: medicinal and blue hat health care), the core function is to relieve discomfort caused by benign prostatic hyperplasia and chronic prostatitis such as frequent urination, nocturia, incomplete urination, perineal swelling and other discomforts. Some of the ingredients are bico Xue's product can help reduce the risk of prostate disease progression, but it is not a "magic drug". It cannot replace conventional treatment drugs such as antibiotics and α-blockers, nor can it radically cure prostate disease, nor does it have the exaggerated effects of "reversing hyperplasia and preventing prostate cancer" promoted by merchants.

When I was following up in the urology department before, I met many patients who came for consultation with various prostate capsules, including Internet celebrity models purchased overseas, and "secret recipe models" recommended by relatives and friends. The most common question was "Why do I still have frequent urination after taking it for half a month?" ”In fact, many people don’t even know what type of capsule they buy, so it’s normal for the effect to be compromised.

Let’s first talk about the state-of-the-art prostate capsules that have been used clinically for decades. The most common one is Pule’an capsules. The main ingredient is rapeseed pollen. Although the ingredients may sound very common, after so many years of clinical use, it has indeed significantly improved the lower urinary tract symptoms caused by mild to moderate benign prostatic hyperplasia. There was a 52-year-old old patient who had been driving a taxi for more than ten years. When he came to see the doctor, he said that he had nocturia at least three times. When running long distances, he had to find a service area every hour. However, there has always been controversy about this type of pollen preparation. Many scholars in the Western medicine camp believe that its specific mechanism of action has not been fully studied yet, and individual differences are huge. Some patients with severe hyperplasia have not improved after taking it for more than half a year. In the end, they still have to rely on α-blockers or surgery, so they cannot be blindly superstitious.

After talking about the medicinal ones, let’s talk about the more familiar health-care prostate health capsules that are sold most online. Most of these are dietary supplements. The core ingredients are basically saw palmetto extract, lycopene, pumpkin seed oil, and selenium. Interestingly, the academic community is more divided on the effects of this type of product than on medicinal products: Previous guidelines from the European Association of Urology mentioned that high-purity saw palmetto extract can improve urinary discomfort caused by mild to moderate prostatic hyperplasia, which is close to the effect of low-dose finasteride, and will not cause side effects such as decreased sexual function that finasteride may cause. It is suitable for patients who are intolerant to Western medicine. ； However, a large-sample randomized controlled study published in the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA) in 2012 showed that the improvement effect of saw palmetto was not statistically different from that of placebo, and it was believed that this type of product has more of a psychological comfort effect. Among the patients I have contacted, I have seen both situations: Last year, there was a 36-year-old Internet programmer who had chronic prostatitis for 3 years. He always sat for long periods of time and worked overtime, and his perineum became severely swollen. After taking health capsules containing pumpkin seed oil and saw palmetto for 2 months, the bloating was indeed relieved by most of it. However, another patient with the same symptoms took the exact same product, but there was no improvement at all. In the end, it was relieved by adjusting his work schedule and taking a sitz bath with warm water.

A special reminder here: don’t believe the claims made by merchants such as “taking it for 3 months to cure prostatitis” and “prevent prostate cancer”. These are completely exaggerated propaganda. Not to mention that chronic prostatitis itself is strongly bound to lifestyle habits such as sitting for a long time, staying up late, and eating spicy food. If you stay up until three o'clock every day eating hot pot, drinking wine, and taking capsules, no matter how good the ingredients are, it will be useless. ； The incidence of prostate cancer is related to multiple factors such as heredity, age, and diet. Currently, no prostate capsule has been proven to clearly reduce the risk of prostate cancer. If you are really worried, doing a PSA (prostate-specific antigen) screening once a year is more reliable than how many capsules you eat.

The advice I usually give to patients is also very practical: If you only have mild frequent urination and perineal swelling, and there are no abnormalities in the physical examination such as prostate ultrasound and PSA, don't rush to buy capsules first, change your living habits first, sit for an hour, stand up and walk two steps, smoke and drink less, drink less water before going to bed, and insist on half a day. If there is no improvement after one month, you can try a regular brand of prostate capsule, whether it is medicinal or health-care. If there is no effect at all after taking it for one month, don’t waste money and go to the hospital to check if there are other problems. Don’t drag a small problem into a big one.