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King’s prostate diagnosis sees 1000% jump in visits to NHS advice

An NHS webpage offering advice on prostate enlargement saw more than 11 times the number of visitors following the monarch’s diagnosis.

Analysis by NHS England, which runs the NHS website, found visits to the prostate enlargement page  jumped to one visit every five seconds as news of the King’s health condition was announced this week.

On Wednesday, the day of the Palace announcement, the page received 16,410 visits compared with 1,414 visits on Tuesday – a 1061% increase.

Ian Eardley, National Clinical Director for NHS England and a consultant urological surgeon in Leeds, said: “Benign prostate enlargement is common in men over the age of 50 and you would expect around 70-80% over the age of 75 to have an enlarged prostate.

“Many men worry that having an enlarged prostate means they have an increased risk of developing prostate cancer but this isn’t the case. Help is available and there are a number of tests that can be done to rule out cancer.

“The symptoms of an enlarged prostate can be considerably improved by visiting your GP, taking medication and making lifestyle changes and, for most, there is no need for an operation”.

The prostate enlargement page provides information on the symptoms, diagnosis and treatment of benign prostate enlargement, a condition that can affect urination.

It details the side effects of having an enlarged prostate, such as difficulty or needing to pee frequently, and offers advice on treating mild symptoms by cutting the consumption of caffeine, alcohol, fizzy drinks and artificial sweeteners, exercising regularly and limiting fluids before bedtime.