If you notice blood in your urine, you are experiencing a symptom known as hematuria. Hematuria, or blood in your urine is not usually a condition in and of itself, but rather it is usually a symptom of a something else happening in your body. It can, at times, be insignificant, while at other times it can be a sign of some very serious problems. If you notice blood in your urine, then due to the possibility of a severe situation, you need to see a doctor immediately.
So, the big question is, how do you know if you have blood in your urine, or if your urine is just a pink, orange, red, brown or rust urine color but not from hematuria? There are some simple questions you can ask yourself to help you self-diagnose hemturia.
- Is it painful to urinate?
- How long have you had red urine (or pink,
brown, orange, or rust color urine)?
- What have you eaten
recently?
- What medications are you taking?
Do you experience painful urination?
Painful urination is one of the easiest ways to realize
that something is wrong. When it hurts to urinate,
or you notice pain in your gut or lower abdomen while
you also notice red, pink, orange, brown or rust
colored urine, then there's a reasonable chance you
have blood in your urine.
How long have you noticed the discolored urine?
When you notice what you think might be blood in your urine,
it's helpful to keep a log of how many times and how
frequently you see the bloody urine. When it only happens
once, and you don't notice it again, it could just be
something else causing the abnormal urine color, such
as something you've eaten.
What are you putting in your mouth?
People severly underestimate how the food you eat can affect
the color of your urine. If you have been eating
a lot of beets (beetroot), raspberries or rhubarb lately,
that may explain the red urine color. Any food that is
made with a red dye can, in turn, dye your urine pink,
orange, red, brown, or even rust color.
Are you taking pills?
Certain medications can have the unfortunate side effect
of cuasing blood in your urine. The good news is
sometimes that means the hematuria is not caused by a
condition in your body. The bad news is sometimes the
side effect of the medication causes a serious body condition,
such as a kidney infection, which in turn causes you
to have blood in your urine. You really need to talk
to your doctor about the side effects of any medication
you are taking if you think you may have blood in your
urine.
Even by asking yourself these basic questions, it's not always easy to determine if you have hematuria. Why? Well, there are many parts of your body involved in your urinary tract. Your bladder and kidneys and prostrate are all part of the urinary tract and can each be the source of blood in urine. A kidney stone, for example, can cause a lot of pain and blood in your urine, while at other times, you may not experience any discomfort.
Streaks of red are most likely a sign of blood in urine. Seeing streaks in your urine is easier to recognize as hematuria than when your urine seems to be a single color. A red urine color is not necessarily the most common urine color to see when there's blood in your urine. Keep in mind if you have blood in your urine, the amount of blood will affect the actual color of your urine. When you mix red and yellow, you will see a few different colors before the urine turns a deep red urine color or even a light red urine color. While a reddish urine color is the most typical symptom of blood in urine, pink, orange, brown, rust or smoky urine can also mean there's blood in your urine.
Hematuria can be either microscopic or macroscopic. When you have microscopic hematuria, the blood in your urine probably won’t be visible to the naked eye. You would most likely need a urinalysis to even detect the blood in urine. Macroscopic hematuria, by contrast, has very noticeable blood in urine. Macroscopic hematuria is also known as gross hematuria. In other words, there's a large amount of blood in your urine.
Up to this point, we've told you that blood in urine can be a sign of a few health issues, but it might be helpful to know some of the conditions that might cause the hematuria. Some health issues are, obviously, more serious than others.
Menstrual Cycle
Not exactly a seious health condtion, however, a menstrual
cycle can give the appearance of hematuria. While a common
menstrual cycle does produce blood from the sloughing
of the uterine lining, it appears to cause blood in urine.
Well, it doesn’t come
through the bladder or the urethra, but the blood does
end up in your urine… once
it’s in the toilet.
Technically, this is not hematuria since the blood
does not come from within urinary tract but rather from
the uterus and through the vaginal canal, but may require
attention if your menstrual cycle is abnormal.
Kidney Stones
Kidney stones can cause blood in your urine. The kidney
stone is not smooth, but rather a crystalline structure
that has jagged edges and can tear up the sides of your
kidney or urethra as it passes,
causing the blood in your urine. This might explain
why they can be so painful. While a kidney stone hurts
like crazy and causes blood
in urine, it’s not usually life threatening. In some cases, you
may have enough kidney stones or some really large
kidney stones that may require surgery to remove
the stones and stop your hematuria. Kidney
stones are also sometimes referred to as bladder
stones, since they pass through the bladder.
Bladder Infection
A bladder infection is the most common type of urinary
tract infection (UTI), and can cause blood to appear
in your urine. The bladder infection is also known as
Cystitis. The hematuria the comes from a bladder infection
is also accompanied by an elevated white blood cell
count. You know how that works. White blood cells fight
the infection, so you would see
elevated levels when you have a bladder infection.
Bladder infections may be accompanied by painful urination
as well as the blood in urine.
You may also notice cloudy urine, since your urine
may have a pus discharge. A bladder infection may cause
you to need to frequently pee
during the night, an occurrence known as nocturia. Most
bladder infections can be cleared up with inexpensive
antibiotics.
Kidney Infection
A kidney infection is a type of urinary tract
infection (UTI), which can also produce blood in
your urine. A kidney infection, however, can be much more
serious than your typical bladder infection. While a
kidney infection may produce blood in your urine,
the hematuria may be microscopic and hard to notice.
You should watch for other symptoms of a kidney
infection. Common and serious symptoms of a kidney
infection are vomiting, night sweats, chills, fever and
fatigue. The kidney infection may also
produce pain in your stomach, back, side, or groin.
An untreated kidney infection may not lead to kidney
failure (renal failure) and death,
but it can be a sign that there are other issues
that could signify impending acute renal failure or chronic
renal failure. Certainly not
something to be ignored. See a doctor now.
Cancer
Kidney cancer produces hematuria in the majority of
cases. The blood in your urine can cause the urine
to be a dark urine color, a rusty urine color, or even
a brown urine color. There are many other
symptoms of kidney cancer, such as pain, but hematuria
may be your first indicator. Prostate cancer has also been
known to produce blood in urine.
Blood in your urine is not something to be taken lightly. Just don't ignore the symptoms and try to pass it off as "It's only hematuria." Remember that hematuria is a symptom of something else and not a condition. You should note the urine color and you note the frequency of the urine color. Report this information to your doctor as soon as possible.