What is hematuria?
Hematuria is a condition when blood is present in your urine. There are two types of hematuria. In gross hematuria, the blood is visible. In microscopic hematuria, the urine in the blood is visible only under a microscope.
What causes blood in urine?
Your urinary tract is made up of your kidneys, ureters, urethra, and bladder. The kidneys are responsible for filtering your blood to remove waste and excess fluid.
Urine travels from your kidneys through the ureters to your bladder, which holds it until you urinate. The urine moves out of the bladder through the urethra tube located at the bottom of your bladder.
There may be blood in your urine for numerous reasons, including:
- Trauma
- Viral illness
- Endometriosis
- Menstruation
- Sexual activity
- Urinary tract infection
- Bladder or kidney cancer
Polycystic kidney disease, a genetic disorder that causes multiple cysts to grow on your kidneys, may also cause blood in your urine.
What are the symptoms of hematuria?
Gross hematuria symptoms include urine that appears red, pink, or brown. It takes only a small amount of blood to change the color of urine.
In some cases, you may also experience blood clots when urinating and have pain in your bladder or back.
How is blood in urine diagnosed?
Your Kidney360 physician can diagnose the cause of hematuria in several ways. He first takes a medical history to determine if conditions, medications, or other issues could cause blood in your urine. You will also undergo a physical exam, including checking your abdomen for tenderness or other abnormalities.
A urine test is necessary to identify possible causes of blood in the urine, including infection. If results don’t indicate the cause, your doctor may perform other tests like a blood test, CT scan, cystoscopy, or kidney biopsy.
What treatment options are available for blood in urine?
Your doctor customizes a treatment plan based on the results of your tests. For infections, they might recommend a course of antibiotics. You may also need to make lifestyle changes, such as improving your diet and getting more exercise.
For more severe conditions like cancer, surgery may be necessary to remove the tumor of the affected organ.
Schedule an appointment online or by phone to discuss your concerns about blood in your urine.
