Patient Teaching Video

By P. Garlinghouse

Patient Teaching Video Script:

Nurse Practitioner:

Hi Mr. Rology,

After reviewing your medical history, lab results and exam findings, it’s confirmed you have a urinary tract infection. We will be treating this with antibiotics. And it is important to take the antibiotics as directed and to finish the entire prescription even if you start to feel better before the antibiotics are finished.

(Holmium Laser Enucleation of the Prostate (HoLEP). (n.d.). Retrieved October 24, 2019)

Also, you have a chronic condition called Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy. Some people call this BPH.

BPH is the enlargement of the prostate gland, let me show you. This is the bladder and prostate. The prostate gland surrounds the urethra which is the tube that carries urine out of the body. An enlarged prostate means the gland has grown bigger than its normal size. When it does this, it compresses or obstructs this area and that is what has been causing your symptoms. This enlargement happens to most men as they age. Actually, 90% of men in their 70’s have BPH. The good news is this condition is not cancer and it does not raise your risk of cancer.

The treatment for BPH is medication. And its job is to relax the bladder and the prostate muscles. This will help improve the flow of your urine and should ease your symptoms within 48 hours.

There are some lifestyle changes that you can make that will help.

  1. Taking time to completely empty your bladder when you urinate – waiting a few moments, then trying again can be a good strategy. This will help eliminate frequent trips to the bathroom and by completely emptying your bladder you will reduce your risk for frequent UTIs.
  2. Avoid OTC decongestants – they can make it difficult to urinate.
  3. Finally, you need to be on a diet that will promote prostate health – we will get you information on this.

Do you have any questions?

Mr. U. Rology:

What if that doesn’t work?

Nurse Practitioner:

There are other medications that can be used to help shrink the size of the prostate. These medications do have possible side effects like raising your blood pressure and possible sexual dysfunction. But, don’t worry, we will monitor your blood pressure and any sexual function changes that you might experience.