Polyps in Bladder

Workplace Environment can Contribute Towards Polyp Formation

Polyps are small lump of cells that grow inside the body which can be either benign or malignant (cancerous). These can form on different body organs including your bladder. Bladder is a hollow organ in the pelvis that stores urine and polyps that occur in the bladder are called urinary polyps.

Bladder Polyps
Polyps formation occurs when cells begin to grow abnormally and until now, we are unaware of the reason behind such abnormal cell growths. Some children are born with the polyp while in some other cases it might be due to an infection, irritation or injury of the bladder. Rarely, individuals injected with collagen for dealing with stress incontinence can develop a bladder polyp. Incontinence affects quality of life badly and for more details about it please visit www.firsteatright.com. Cell growth restricted to their origin are benign and those that spread to other organs (usually other areas in the urinary tract or the surrounding tissues) are usually cancerous. Bladder cancers are very common and it is recommended that individuals with bladder polyps get them checked regularly even if they have been labeled as benign initially. Some common reasons for bladder cancer include:

1. Smoking-not only lung cancer but even 50% of bladder cancer cases are due to tobacco smoking
2. Radiation or chemical exposure
3. Any infection that affects the bladder lining
   
   

Symptoms
Bladder polyps do not show any symptoms in the early stages and they start appearing as the polyps grow. Though they often don’t cause prominent symptoms most common of them include:

• Blood in the urine
• Pain while urinating
• Pain in the abdomen
• An urge to urinate
• More frequent urination
  
  

The presence of any of these conditions indicate the chances of a bladder polyp but an in and out diagnosis is required to confirm the same as these symptoms are also indicative of other diseases such as urinary tract infections, urinary stones or prostate growth.

Risk Factors
The underlying reason behind bladder polyps is unknown but there are common risk factors for a polyp to grow:

1. Age is a critical factor as 9 of 10 people with bladder cancer are above 55 years of age.
2. There are more chances of a polyp growing in a man compared to a woman
3. Where you work is crucial for deciding the chances of a developing polyp. Exposure to radiation, chemicals, environmental conditions and workplace environment such as jobs that include working with paints, leather and textiles are all contributing factors
4. Repeated infections or irritations caused due to these infections or urinary stones
5. Smoking is an important cause as the blood absorbs certain harmful chemicals from the smoke which are filtered by the kidney before they enter the bladder. The chemicals in smoke can rupture bladder lining and cause polyp formation
6. Though not hereditary there are certain people who inherit certain genes from their parents which increase their risk of bladder cancer
7. Presence of the human papillomavirus (HPV) increases the risk of developing bladder cancer
   
   

While some of these risk factors are controllable and it is in our hands to prevent the growth of a polyp some others are beyond our hands.