Bladder stones
Overview
Bladder stones are hard lumps of minerals that can form inside the bladder when it's not completely empty of urine.
Causes
Bladder stones usually form when you can't completely empty your bladder of urine. A common reason for this in men is having anenlarged prostate glandthat blocks the flow of urine. If urine sits in the bladder for a long time, chemicals in the urine form crystals, which harden into bladder stones. Read more about thecauses of bladder stonesand who's at risk.
Prevention
If you have had bladder stones, they can come back. There are things you can do to try to prevent this happening. You can try to: increase your daily fluid intake to 2 to 3 litres to lower the concentration of your urineregularly empty your bladder without delayingurinate again 10 to 20 seconds after your first attempt (if you're unable to empty your bladder completely first time); this is called double voiding and helps empty the bladder more efficientlyavoidconstipation(regularlaxativesmay be recommended)
When to see a doctor
See your GP if you experience any of the above symptoms, particularly if you have persistent abdominal pain, need to pee more frequently, or have blood in your urine. These symptoms may not necessarily be caused by bladder stones, but need to be investigated further. If your GP suspects you have a stone in your bladder, you'll be referred to hospital for testing. A blood and a urine test will probably be carried out first. Ablood testwill detect if there's an infection inside your bladder. The next stage is to take anX-rayof your bladder. Not all types of bladder stones show up clearly on X-rays, so a negative X-ray result doesn't always mean that you don't have bladder stones. Anultrasound scanmay be used instead of an X-ray. Bladder stones can also be identified using acystoscopy. This is where a thin fibreoptic tube with a light and a camera at one end (a cystoscope) is inserted into the urethra (the tube that carries urine out of the body) and moved up into the bladder. The camera relays images to a screen, where they can be seen by the urologist (specialist in treating bladder conditions).