Blood in Urine

Blood in urine or hematuria is generally not a reason for major alarm. But blood in urine can be a sign of a serious medical issue; therefore, it shouldn't be ignored. The problem of hematuria must be evaluated by a doctor who can recommend tests to confirm or rule out an underlying cause.

There is no particular treatment for hematuria, as it's a symptom and not a specific condition. Instead, treatment is meant to treat the underlying cause if one can be found. In various cases, no treatment is required.

What are the Symptoms of Blood in Urine

The colour of urine may be pink, red, brownish-red, or tea-colored instead of normal. This is known as gross hematuria.

Occasionally, blood in urine cannot be seen through naked eye and the presence of red blood cells can only be detected by the lab. This is known as microscopic hematuria. It's generally only exposed when a urine sample is tested with a dipstick and the results are confirmed with a microscopic exam.

Hematuria can be without any other symptoms. Some underlying conditions are associated with added symptoms which can be moderate to severe. These include:

• Bladder infections: Bladder infections typically cause burning or pain while urinating. Infants having bladder infections may get fever, be irritable, and feed inadequately. Older children may get fever, pain and burning while urinating, urgency, and lower abdomen pain.
• Kidney infections: Fever, chills, and pain in the lower back.
• Kidney stones: severe belly or pelvic pain.
• Kidney diseases: Weakness, high blood pressure, body swelling, and puffiness around the eyes.

What are the Causes of Blood in Urine

Common causes of blood in urine include:

• Kidney or bladder infections
• Kidney or bladder stones
• Some kidney diseases like inflammation in the filtering system of the kidneys
• Enlarged prostate, prostate cancer
• Some Inherited diseases like sickle cell anemia and cystic kidney disease
• Certain medications
• A tumor in the bladder, kidney, or prostate

Diagnosis

After going through your medical history and asking what may have caused the appearance of blood in urine,your doctor may ask for a urin test. Urine tests can include urine cytology that uses a microscope to find abnormal cells in the urine. Blood tests may also be required. When blood has high levels of wastes which kidneys are supposed to remove, it may perhaps be a sign of kidney disease.

Apart from urine and blood tests, you may require additional imaging tests, like:

• CT scan: It can help find out bladder or kidney stones, tumors, and other abnormalities of the bladder, kidneys, and ureters.
• Kidney ultrasound: An ultrasound uses sound waves to generate a picture of the kidney's structure.
• Kidney biopsy: A small tissue sample is taken from the kidney and checked under a microscope for signs of kidney disease.
• Intravenous pyelogram: This is an X-ray of the urinary tract that needs dye.
• Cystoscopy: This test includes the insertion of a small tube with a camera into the bladder through the urethra. Tissue samples may be obtained to check for the presence of abnormal or cancerous cells.

What are Treatments of Blood in Urine

Treatment is done to treat underlying cause. Your doctor will recheck your urine to see if the blood is gone. If you are still having blood in your urine, you may require additional tests, or you may be referred to a urologist.

Generally, no treatment is required unless a serious condition is causing the hematuria.If no underlying condition is found in the initial examination, you may be recommended to have follow-up urine test and blood pressure monitoring every three to six months, particularly if you have risk factors for bladder cancer, like being age 50 or older or smoking cigarettes etc.