What to do if you have blood in your urine

2024 Author: Malcolm Clapton | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 03:44

Do not panic: most likely, nothing terrible is happening to you.

Redness of urine doctors call hematuria Blood in urine (hematuria) - Symptoms and causes. In most cases, this is a one-time occurrence and is not a cause for concern.

But sometimes hematuria can be a sign of a serious malfunction in the body. Therefore, there is one important rule.

Be sure to consult with your doctor - general practitioner or urologist - every time you notice a urine with blood.

Better to spend time on a visit to a doctor than to miss a really dangerous illness.

Where does blood in urine come from?

Blood in urine: Causes that give urine its characteristic reddish tinge range from harmless and even funny to frightening.

1. You ate something wrong

Certain foods, such as beets, rhubarb, and dark berries, are capable of temporarily dyeing urine an intimidating bloody (actually not) color. A professional doctor can easily distinguish food stains from blood particles. But it can be difficult for an ordinary person to do this.

2. You are taking certain medications

Temporary hematuria can be caused by:

• antibiotics based on penicillin;
• blood thinners such as aspirin or heparin;
• non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs - the same ibuprofen or paracetamol;
• some medicines that are used to treat cancer.

3. You are too active in sports

Sometimes excessive physical exertion can provoke hematuria. Scientists have not yet fully figured out the mechanism of this phenomenon. It has been suggested that urinary redness may be due to microtrauma to the bladder, dehydration, or the destruction of red blood cells that occurs with prolonged aerobic exercise.

Long-distance runners are the most affected. There is even such a definition - "runner's hematuria".

4. You are pregnant

Blood in the urine is sometimes seen in pregnant women. Doctors call such hematuria idiopathic - that is, one whose causes cannot be established. As a rule, this disorder disappears after childbirth.

4. You are a man over 50

By this age, many have an enlarged prostate gland. An enlarged prostate (medically benign prostatic hyperplasia) presses on the urethra. The consequence of this can be difficulty with urination, frequent urge to use the toilet, and from time to time the appearance of microscopic particles of blood in the urine.

5. You have prostatitis

This is the name of the inflammation of the prostate gland. Prostatitis can be acute and chronic - in the latter case, the disease is difficult to notice without the help of a doctor, since the symptoms are blurred.

With prostatitis, an enlargement of the gland is also observed, with the consequences that are listed in the paragraph above.

It is extremely important to consult a urologist, since the causes of an enlarged prostate can be not only age or inflammation, but also prostate cancer.

6. You suffer from bladder or kidney stones

Small stones often do not show themselves in any way. However, these hard salt deposits can damage the urinary tract and cause some blood in the urine.

7. You have a bladder or kidney infection

Acute cystitis or pyelonephritis also sometimes manifest itself as hematuria. However, in addition to urine with blood, such diseases also have much more pronounced symptoms: fever, pain in the lower abdomen or lower back, burning sensation when urinating, and others.

8. You have kidney damage

Accidental injury to the kidneys, such as from an unsuccessful fall on the back, can also cause blood to appear in the urine.

9. You suffer from certain inherited disorders

For example, from sickle cell anemia. This disease is genetic in nature. It is manifested by disturbances in the structure of hemoglobin and sometimes makes itself felt in urine with blood.

What to do if you have blood in your urine

We repeat, contact a therapist or go directly to a urologist. Or to a doctor who monitors you at a specific period of time - for example, a gynecologist if you are pregnant, or another specialist with whom you are undergoing medication.

Perhaps everything will be resolved immediately after a short conversation with the medic. He will ask you about your lifestyle, diet, medications and, for example, recommend giving up aspirin or reducing physical activity.

But more detailed research may be required:

• Analysis of urine;
• Ultrasound of the kidneys and bladder;
• computed tomography (CT) or magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) - these tests help more accurately than ultrasound to detect stones, tumors and other disorders in the genitourinary system;
• A cytoscopy is a procedure in which a doctor inserts a very thin tube with a tiny camera into the bladder to carefully examine the bladder and urethra.

Be sure to tell your doctor at what stage the blood appears - at the beginning or at the end of urination. This will help you understand where exactly the problem is localized:

• if blood appears as soon as you start urinating, the urethra is most likely affected;
• blood at the end of urination indicates possible abnormalities in the bladder neck, upper urethra, or prostate gland (in men);
• blood that is constantly present is a sign of problems with the kidneys, ureters, or bladder.

The physician will treat the disease that is revealed during the examination. Once you defeat the disease, hematuria will disappear by itself.

However, it happens that the cause of the appearance of blood in the urine cannot be established. In this case, your doctor will recommend that you regularly (every 3-6 months) undergo a preventive examination so as not to miss possible new symptoms.