What is a bladder stone?
Bladder stones or also known as bladder calculi is a stone formed from mineral deposits in the bladder. Everyone is actually at risk of having one bladder stone, but men over the age of 50 are at higher risk of developing it, especially for men who have an enlarged pros**tate.
Bladder stones can clog the urinary tract and cause pain when urinating, difficulty urinating or not being able to urinate at all. When not treated immediately, bladder stones have the potential to cause infections and complications. Handling bladder stones usually require the help of a doctor. However, small bladder stones can come out along with urine
Bladder stone symptoms
Bladder stones can not cause any complaints or symptoms. New symptoms appear when the stones formed clog the urinary tract or injure the bladder wall.
Symptoms that can arise when this condition occurs include:
- Pain and feeling like burning when urinating
- Bloody urine (hematuria)
- Urine is more concentrated and darker.
- Difficulty urinating
- Not smooth or halting when urinating
- Discomfort or pain in the pe**nis, if it occurs in men
- Pain in the lower abdomen
- Constantly feeling the urge to urinate, especially at night
- More frequent bedwetting, if it occurs in children.
Bladder Stone Risk Factors
There are several factors that can cause a person at risk of bladder stones, including:
Nerve Damage.
Or also called neurogenic bladder, which is a condition when your bladder nerve cannot function as usual. This condition can cause urine to be left in the bladder. Nerve damage can be caused by several medical conditions, such as diabetes, spinal cord injury, and stroke.
Have a pros**tate that is larger than normal size.
The pros**tate is an organ that only men have. Its function is to help produce semen. As men age, the pros**tate usually becomes larger and can press on the urethra, the tube that carries urine out of the body. This condition makes the flow of urine cannot flow out, so finally the bladder is difficult to empty.
Swelling of the bladder
Bladder stones can also be triggered by swelling of the bladder. This swelling is caused by urinary tract infections and radiation therapy in the pelvic area.
Area of the bladder wall weakens or loosens and falls
This condition occurs in women, which is when one area of the bladder wall weakens or loosens and falls towards the vagi**na. A cystocele can cause urine flow to be obstructed, so that eventually urine settles to form bladder stones.
Medical devices.
The use of urinary catheters or birth control devices can sometimes be the cause of bladder stones. The minerals contained in urine are often found crystallized on the surface of these medical devices.
Diet
The risk of bladder stones forming will be higher in people who are on a diet high in fat, sugar, or salt, but consuming only a small intake of vitamins A and B. Drinking less water can also increase the risk of bladder stones.
Kidney stone.
Kidney stones are not the same as bladder stones, because the process of formation is different. However, usually kidney stones are small in size and can drop easily into the bladder, thus becoming bladder stones.
Bladder diverticula
Bladder diverticula, which is a pouch that forms on the bladder wall at birth. The formation of this additional bladder can also be caused by an infection or enlargement of the pros**tate. As a result, people with bladder diverticula will have difficulty emptying urine and experience bladder stones.
Bladder enlargement surgery.
Five percent of people who undergo bladder enlargement surgery will have bladder stones.
Bladder Stone Diagnosis
This disease can be diagnosed through several different tests, namely:
- Physical examination. Your doctor will perform an examination of your lower abdomen or rectum to see if your bladder is enlarged.
- Urinalysis. Doctors test urine samples to see if there is blood, bacteria, or minerals formed.
- Computerized tomography (CT) scans and X-rays. This examination aims to see the picture of organs in the body and whether there are stones in it.
- Ultrasound. This examination also aims to see the condition of the internal organs, but with the help of sound waves.
- Intravenous pyelogram. The doctor will inject special fluid into the veins to the kidneys and bladder to see the condition.
