Frequency of Urination
Answered by: Susan Eagles
Question from: Liz
Posted on: September 1, 1998

My Dad, who is basically good health, has a problem with urinating. He has had this problem for at least 2 years. He has been to many medical doctors, had numerous tests (for cancer, etc.) and the medical profession can find nothing wrong with him. He has to get up each hour, 24 hours a day, ‘round the clock, because he cannot totally empty his bladder. He has tried "Prostata", but to no avail. Can you recommend an herb that may help him? He is a firm believer in herbs.

The most common causes of frequency of urination are prostate enlargement, inflammation of the kidney or bladder, diabetes or a stone in the kidney or bladder. Prostate enlargement would be determined by rectal examination, the others by blood and urine tests.

In the elderly, frequency may be caused by weak bladder muscles or sphincter. This can be helped with exercises such as swimming, cycling, hot and cold sitz baths, or as recommended by a specialist in the field of elderly health care.

Prostate herbs, such as in Prostata and those mentioned below, may take 6 weeks to 3 months to show an effect. Assuming all of the above tests have been done, your Dad can try the remedies and diet suggestions below, and continue with frequent examinations by his doctor.

The following information is useful for benign prostate hypertrophy, including all men over the age of 45.

Prostate growth is caused by the fall in FREE testosterone. It is thought that the prostate grows in order to produce more testosterone, even though it is the testicles, not the prostate, that produces testosterone.

An enzyme that binds free testosterone, making it inactive, increases in older age, starting around 45-50. At age 60, 60% of male prostates are enlarged, at age 70, 70%..and so on to 100% at age 100. This doesn’t become a problem until the prostate squeezes the ureter, decreasing urine potency, which will eventually lead to the inability to pass urine, resulting in death.

There are 4 phases to Benign Prostate Hypertrophy:

1. the force of the jet of urine decreases, taking longer to complete urination

2. there are problems at the start & finish of urination. The start is delayed, and dribbling continues at the end

3. urine doesn’t completely enter bladder. Renal stones develop due to stagnation of urine

4. Narrowing of ureters results in inability to void enough to keep the bladder 1/2 empty, leading to an increase in pressure & urine from the bladder is pushed back up the ureters. This is an emergency state.

Most men are at stage 1 around the age of 60.

THE herb, researched & used in Germany, is stinging nettle ROOT. (the usual stinging nettle that you might buy is leaves). The root contains lactane, which acts to make the body think that there is enough of the enzyme that binds free testosterone, so that it doesn’t produce any more. So the free testosterone grows, because it is no longer being bound, and the prostate doesn’t grow. This remedy is effective before stage 3. You should be able to buy preparations from Germany or Switzerland. If you have a nettle patch, you would use 4 grams per day of FRESH nettle root. There can be a side effect: nettle root also inhibits the enzyme that inhibits an enzyme that converts some of the free testosterone into the chemical that is used for secondary sex characteristics: facial hair growth, deep voice etc. But as someone said, he’d rather have a high pitched voice & live.

Other herbs: equisetum (horsetail), thuja & Saw Palmetto (inhibits testosterone production) combination works to stabilize the size of the prostate. Pumpkin seeds (1/4 - 1/2 cup daily) and Ribwort are useful for their zinc content, and work to reduce the size of the prostate in the early stages only.

James Duke, The Green Pharmacy (St. Martin’s Paperback’s) is using a homemade "Prosnut Butter" made of pumpkin seeds, Saw Palmetto and

Back to Medicinal Herbs and Their Uses | Q & A Index

Copyright © 1997-2024 Otto Richter and Sons Limited. All rights reserved.