Alternative medications for benign prostatic hyperplasia available on the Internet: a review of the evidence for their use.

The number of people seeking alternative medications to treat disease is increasing; indeed, this was the subject of study conducted by Eisenberg et al in 1993 [1] who reported that there were 425 million visits to providers of alternative treatment during 1992 in the USA. This number has probably increased since then. These alternative therapies are sold as nutritional supplements for numerous illnesses, ranging from treatments for the common cold to those for depression. As with other specialties, there is now an abundance of alternative therapies for urological conditions. It is estimated that in the USA 30-90% of patients seen by urologists for putative BPH may be taking some form of alternative therapy for the condition [2-4]. Access to these agents has become easier with the increased use of the internet by these patients.