When should men be concerned about weeing during the night?

● 28% of men get up to use the toilet at least three times, with around a quarter (24%) of them saying their sleep quality is poor as a result
● 1 in 5 (20%) of them think this has something to do with their prostate, with just under 3 in 10 (29%) putting it down to simple old age
● Overall, over a half (55%) say they suffer from a symptom which could indicate a problem with their prostate, yet around two fifths (43%) would avoid seeing the doctor

Many men ignore weeing in the night but using the toilet three times or more could indicate a problem with their prostate.

This is according to new research from independent charitable hospital King Edward VII’s Hospital, which found that a quarter of men (28%) suffer from unusual nocturia.

And, only 1 in 5 (20%) of men who get up in the night to wee at least 3 times consider that this could be down to a problem with their prostate, with just under 3 in 10 of them thinking it’s just because they’re getting old (29%), over a fifth believing it’s because they drink too much water before they go to bed (21%), and a similar number attributing it to their nightly caffeine intake (20%).

In total, 55% of men report a symptom which could suggest problems with their prostate including a quarter dribbling at the end of weeing (25%), just over a seventh incompletely emptying their bladder (15%) or struggling to start weeing (14%).

Yet, more than two fifths of them wouldn’t see a doctor (43%), with 35% of them worried about having to have an intimate exam (35%), and a similar proportion (34%) shirking their GP due to embarrassment. Worryingly, 29% of those who have had the symptoms of pain with urination or bloody urine wouldn’t see their GP.

Professor Caroline Moore, at King Edward VII’s Hospital, is urging men to visit their GP if they are struggling with an embarrassing issue: “We are used to seeing men with a wide range of symptoms that they mind find embarrassing – so there really is nothing that can shock us.

“It’s important that men who are struggling with an issue with pain, delayed or frequent weeing to see their GP at their earliest convenience. Most of the time it will be caused by something harmless that can be fixed by a change in lifestyle, such as drinking less alcohol or caffeine.”

“When there is a more serious problem at play, such as an enlarged prostate or cancer, we have a wide variety of diagnostic and treatment tools available, such as a state-of-the-art HoLEP technique which can help manage an enlarged prostate, or focal therapies for prostate cancer, such as High Intensity Focussed Ultrasound (HIFU) or NanoKnife.”

More information

• If you don’t have access to a GP, you can make an appointment with a same day private GP here at King Edward VII’s Hospital.
• Our Urology Department is one of the UK’s leading centres for urology and has some of the best prostate cancer diagnostic and treatment equipment.