Bladder stone

Definition
Bladder stones are usually small masses of minerals that form in your bladder.
Bladder stones develop when urine in your bladder becomes concentrated, causing
minerals in your urine to crystallize. Concentrated, stagnant urine is often the result
of not being able to completely empty your bladder. This may be due to an enlarged
prostate, nerve damage or recurring urinary tract infections.

Bladder stones don't always cause signs or symptoms and may be discovered during
tests for other problems. When symptoms do occur, they can range from abdominal
pain to blood in your urine.

Small bladder stones sometimes pass on their own, but you may need to have others
removed by your doctor. Left untreated, bladder stones can cause infections and
other complications.

Symptoms
Some people with bladder stones have no problems — even when their stones are
large. But if a stone irritates the bladder wall or blocks the flow of urine, signs and
symptoms can develop. These include:

← Lower abdominal pain

← In men, pain or discomfort in the penis

← Painful urination

← Frequent urination, especially during the night

← Difficulty urinating or interruption of urine flow

← Blood in your urine

Cloudy or abnormally dark-colored urine

Causes
Bladder stones generally begin when your bladder doesn't empty completely. The
urine that's left in your bladder can form crystals that eventually become bladder
stones. In most cases, an underlying condition affects your bladder's ability to empty
completely.

The most common conditions that cause bladder stones include:

← Prostate gland enlargement. An enlarged prostate, or benign

prostatic hyperplasia (BPH), can be a cause of bladder stones in men. As the
prostate enlarges, it can compress the urethra and interrupt urine flow,
 causing urine to remain in your bladder.

← Damaged nerves (neurogenic bladder). Normally, nerves carry

messages from your brain to your bladder muscles, directing your bladder
muscles to tighten or release. If these nerves are damaged — from a stroke,
spinal cord injury or other health problem — your bladder may not empty
completely.

← Weakened bladder wall. Bladder diverticula are weakened

areas in the bladder wall that bulge outward in pouches, and allow urine to
collect.

Other conditions that can cause bladder stones include:

← Inflammation. Bladder stones can develop if your bladder

becomes inflamed. Urinary tract infections and radiation therapy to your
pelvic area can both cause bladder inflammation.

← Medical devices. Occasionally, catheters — slender tubes

inserted through the urethra to help urine drain from your bladder — can
cause bladder stones. So can objects that accidentally migrate to your
bladder, such as a contraceptive device or stent. Mineral crystals, which later
become stones, tend to form on the surface of these devices.

Kidney stones. Stones that form in your kidneys are not the same as bladder
stones. They develop in different ways and often for different reasons. But
small kidney stones occasionally travel down the ureters into your bladder
and if not expelled, can grow into bladder stones.

Risk factors
In developing nations, bladder stones are common in children — often because of
dehydration, infection and a low-protein diet — but in other parts of the world,
bladder stones occur primarily in older men. If you live in an industrialized country,
these factors increase your risk:

← Your sex. Bladder stones occur primarily in men.

← Your age. In industrialized countries, bladder stones tend to

occur in people age 30 and older, although younger people may also develop
stones.

← Bladder outlet obstruction. The most common cause of

bladder stones in men, bladder outlet obstruction refers to any condition that
blocks the flow of urine from your bladder to the urethra, the tube that
carries urine out of your body. Bladder outlet obstruction has many causes,
but the most common is an enlarged prostate.

← Neurogenic bladder. Stroke, spinal cord injuries, Parkinson's

 disease, diabetes, a herniated disk and a number of other problems can
damage the nerves that control bladder function. Some people with
neurogenic bladder may also have an enlarged prostate or other type of
bladder outlet obstruction, which further increases the risk of stones.

Frequent bladder infections. Inflammation from chronic bladder infections

can lead to the formation of bladder stones.

Complications
← Chronic bladder dysfunction. Left untreated, bladder stones
can cause long-term urinary problems, such as pain or frequent urination.
Bladder stones can also lodge in the opening where urine exits the bladder
into the urethra and block the passage of urine from your body.

Urinary tract infections. Recurring bacterial infections in your urinary tract

may be caused by bladder stones.