Bladder Stones Causes

What causes bladder stones is not completely understood. There are factors that seem to contribute to their occurrence, however. Diet and fluid intake, for example, seem to play an important role. Another theory is that hot weather, which causes fluid loss, contributes to the incidence of stones. Bladder stones are much less common in Western countries than in Asia. In the U.S., they are more common in the southwest and southeast than any other area.

Bladder stones often give you no symptoms. They frequently occur as a result of another urological disorder, such as a urinary tract infection. If you do have symptoms, they might range from abdominal pain, abnormally dark-colored urine and difficulty urinating to the frequent urge to urinate and blood in the urine. Diagnosis is usually made after a physical examination. Bladder stones might not be apparent until they scratch the wall of your bladder or when they block the flow of urine.

Other possible causes of bladder stones include obstruction of the urinary tract, prostate gland enlargement, or the presence of foreign bodies in the urinary tract. Bladder stones can form anywhere along the urinary tract, but they somehow end up in the bladder. Some bladder stones are also associated with gout. These are made of uric acid and are most common in Asia.

The most common type of bladder stones are those made of calcium oxalate. They can be caused by excessive levels of calcium or oxalate in the blood or urine due to hormonal problems or problems with kidney function. They can also be caused by poor bladder pressure in women or enlarged prostates in men. In older men and women, they may be due to not emptying the bladder completely during urination.