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Housecall, our weekly general-interest e-newsletter, keeps you up to date on a wide variety of health topics with timely, reliable, practical information, recipes, blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts and more. Our biweekly topic-specific e-newsletters also include blogs, questions and answers with Mayo Clinic experts, and other useful information that will help you manage your health.
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Prevention
By Mayo Clinic staffBladder stones usually result from an underlying condition that's hard to prevent, but you can decrease your chance of developing bladder stones by following these tips:
- Ask about unusual urinary symptoms. Early diagnosis and treatment of an enlarged prostate or another urological condition may reduce your risk of developing bladder stones.
- Drink plenty of fluids. Drinking lots of fluids, especially water, may help prevent bladder stones because fluids dilute the concentration of minerals in your bladder. How much water you should drink depends on your age, size, health and level of activity. Ask your doctor what's an appropriate amount of fluid for you.
- Try cranberry juice. Chronic bladder infections can lead to the formation of bladder stones. Cranberry juice may help prevent these infections by slowing bacterial growth and preventing bacteria from adhering to the lining of your bladder.
References
- Managing bladder dysfunction. Clinical Center: National Institutes of Health. http://clinicalcenter.nih.gov/ccc/patient_education/pepubs/bladder/bladder7_9.pdf.Accessed Oct. 4, 2008.
- Weinstein AJ. Urinary calculi (stones/urolithiasis/nephrolithiasis). In: Weber CG. The Clinical Medicine Consult. Pacific Primary Care; 2008. http://clinicalmedconsult.com. Accessed Oct. 4, 2008.
- Pearle MS, et al. Urologic diseases in America: Urolithiasis. National Kidney and Urologic Diseases Information Clearinghouse.http://kidney.niddk.nih.gov/statistics/uda/Urolithiasis-Chapter08.pdf. Accessed Oct. 4, 2008.
- Medical management of stone disease. American Urological Association. http://www.urologyhealth.org/search/index.cfm?topic=102&search=bladder%20AND%20stones&searchtype=and. Accessed Oct. 4, 2008.
- Hammad FT, et al. Bladder calculi: Did the clinical picture change? Urology. 2006;67(6):1154-1158.
- Garcia Cardozo JV, et al. Bladder calculi: Is extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy the first treatment choice? Archives of Spanish Urology. 2003;56(10):1111-1116.
- Gravel root. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com. Accessed Oct. 5, 2008.
- Stone root. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com. Accessed Oct. 5, 2008.
- Hydrangea arborescens. Natural Medicines Comprehensive Database. http://www.naturaldatabase.com. Accessed Oct. 5, 2008.
- Ellis H. A history of bladder stone. Journal of the Royal Society of Medicine. 1979;72(4):248-251.
