You can look to have a kidney, prostate or bladder scan for several reasons. It could be because you have been having certain urinary tract symptoms, and preliminary blood and urine tests suggest something could be wrong with your kidneys, ureters or prostate gland.
Some symptoms that may lead your healthcare provider to ask for a urinary ultrasound are if you have blood in your urine, pain when passing urine, increased urinary frequency, pain in the abdomen and incomplete bladder emptying.
The scan will check for anomalies that could indicate various conditions and provide images and a detailed diagnostic report you can show the healthcare provider.
Facts About Your Urinary Tract
The urinary tract is the medical name for various organs and muscles that produce, store and dispose of urine. These include:
- Kidneys: They filter waste and remove water from the blood. They are located below the ribcage towards the back.
- Ureters: These tubes transport urine from the kidney to the bladder.
- The bladder: It is a balloon-shaped muscle responsible for storing urine
- Urethra: It is a tube that carries urine out of the body.
The Prostate Gland
The prostate gland is a walnut-shaped gland that produces the chemicals needed to nourish sperm. It is not part of the urinary tract but may cause urinary symptoms because the urethra runs through it.
Prostate problems are quite common and affect one in three men during their lifetime, with some requiring surgery.
Some of the common prostate problems include:
- Benign prostate hyperplasia: This is a non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate gland, which can cause pressure on the bladder and urethra, affecting how you pass urine. The condition is more common with age, with a substantial number of men experiencing it by age 65.
- Prostate cancer: Prostate cancer is one of the common conditions associated with the prostate gland. The number of prostate cancer has been steadily rising, but so has the number of survivors.
Kidney Conditions and Symptoms
Kidneys suffer various conditions. A private kidney scan plays a crucial role in providing a clear picture of the size, shape and condition of the kidneys and ureters and may help in diagnosing various conditions connected to kidneys, such as:
Kidney stones
Small, stone-like lumps form in the kidneys from crystallised waste products. Sometimes, the stones can pass out of the body without fuss through the urine, but in instances where the stones are large, they may block the ureters and urethra tubes, causing excruciating pain in the back or side of the abdomen and sometimes in the groin.
Other symptoms of kidney stones include more frequent urination, pain when passing urine, nausea and, in extreme cases, blood in the urine.
The pain caused by kidney stones causes most people to seek medical help. The stones are more common in women than men. Smaller stones can be dissolved with medication, but larger stones may need to be broken with guidance from ultrasound scans or an X-ray.
Kidney infections
Kidneys can also suffer from infections, including a kidney stone blocking the ureter tubes. Bacteria can also travel from the bladder to the kidney. The symptoms of a kidney infection include pain in the back or side, feeling sick, and feverishness.
Kidney infections are quite rare, only affecting one in 830 people, and when they occur, they are more likely to occur in women than in men.
Men experiencing recurrent kidney infections can develop a swelling in the prostate gland called prostatitis. The infection can be treated with painkillers and antibiotics.
Kidney cancer
Like many other types of cancer, kidney cancer has also been on the rise in the UK, but with better healthcare and early detection, the survival rate has increased to 50% of patients surviving for 10 years or more.
The most common symptom of kidney cancer is blood in the urine. Other symptoms can include loss of appetite, unexplained weight loss, fatigue and tiredness, high temperature, excessive sweating and pain in the side below the ribs, among others.
During the treatment, the tumour or the whole kidney can be removed. Other options include radiowave treatment, biological drugs, cry therapy, and radiotherapy.
Bladder Conditions and Symptoms
The bladder can also suffer from various conditions, each with different symptoms, which include the following:
Bladder and urethra infections
These are usually referred to as lower urinary tract infections or UTIs. They are quite common in women and rare in men, with one in 2000 men developing one every year.
An infection of the bladder is called cystitis, while an infection of the urethra is called urethritis. Symptoms for these conditions can include pain or a burning sensation when passing urine, a need to pass urine more often, and pain in the lower abdomen. UTI infections can be treated with a course of antibiotics.
Bladder cancer
Bladder cancer is more common in men than women. The most common symptom among bladder cancer patients is blood in the urine. Other symptoms include needing to urinate more often and a burning sensation when passing urine. Treatments for bladder cancer include transurethral resection of the bladder tumour, the removal of the bladder and the creation of a new bladder using a section of the bowel. Radio and chemotherapy treatments can also be considered.
Bladder stones
These stones irritate the bladder wall, affect the flow of urine, and cause infections. Symptoms of bladder stones include blood in the urine and severe pain when passing urine. The stones can be removed using a telescope or stone-crushing devices.
Bladder, Kidneys, and Prostate Scans
Bladder, kidney, and prostate scans, whether as diagnostic or checkup tools are crucial. They give your healthcare provider a detailed look at your urinary system and bladder when full and immediately after emptying. They also closely examine the kidneys, ureters, and prostate gland.
The scan can help look for causes of persistent bladder problems, including prostate enlargement, and look for obstructions caused by stones in the bladder.
