Symptoms, causes, and treatments for blood in urine

Panicking is a given if something about your body feels a little off, or you have been undergoing health issues of late. But one thing that never fails to alarm everyone is the presence of blood where it shouldn’t be. One such condition is hematuria, where blood is found in the urine. It is not advisable to ignore this sign. You should get a diagnosis done at the earliest so that this medical condition does not aggravate.

Following are some pointers that you should remember if you find a trace of blood in urine.

What are the common causes for blood to be found in urine?

Some of the common causes to find a trace of blood in the urine are:

• Strenuous exercise
• Side effects during sexual activity
• Having a viral infection
• Aggravation of urinary tract infection
• Having an injury in the intimate areas
• Menstruation

When should blood in urine worry you?

Some of the more complicated issues, which may result in blood in urine, are:

• Bladder cancer
• Kidney cancer
• Swelling in kidneys
• Distended prostate in men
• Complication or swelling in the urinary tract
• Diseases that may result in blood clots
• Sickle cell disease

What are the symptoms of this condition?

• In case you are suffering through microscopic hematuria, then you will not notice any additional symptoms other than blood, in little amounts, while urinating.
• If you find blood in urine due to gross hematuria, then you will notice that the urine may be brown, pink, or red. Blood clots and pain are also common symptoms in this condition.

How is the diagnosis for this condition made?

• There are multiple ways to diagnose the severity of the condition that is caused by blood in the urine.
• First and foremost, the doctor will conduct a physical examination, wherein he will discuss your medical history.
• A urinalysis may be conducted if a trace of blood in urine is found. After this, another urine test may need to be conducted to see if there are red blood cells present in the urine.
• A urinalysis may also be used to detect the presence of minerals, which may result in kidney stones or check for the presence of a urinary tract infection, to know the exact cause of blood in urine.
• An imaging test is also conducted sometimes to diagnose this condition. Under this, a CT scan or an MRI may be in order.
• If this condition becomes too extreme, then a cystoscopy may be required. A narrow tube, which has a small camera, is passed through your bladder. This helps in the examination of the urethra to detect any signs of a disease.

Which demographic is most prone to having this condition?

Certain people who are most susceptible to getting this condition are:

• People who have a family history of being affected with kidney disease
• Men who have an enlarged prostate
• People who are at risk of developing kidney stones
• People who are taking blood thinners, pain relievers, and antibiotics
• People who participate in strenuous exercise
• People who have recently had an infection in the body

Even though the aforementioned groups are most susceptible to getting blood in the urine, this condition can affect anybody. If you see such symptoms, then consult your healthcare provider right away.

How can I treat the blood in urine?

Some treatment options that can be adopted for solving this problem include:

• Taking antibiotics such as amoxicillin or augmentin, Ceftriaxone (Rocephin), Cephalexin (Keflex), Fosfomycin ( Monurol ), Trimethoprim/ sulfamethoxazole (Bactrim, Septra ), Levofloxacin. (Levaquin), Nitrofurantoin (Macrodantin, Macrobid) and Ciprofloxacin ( Cipro ), which help in clearing the urinary tract infection.
• A prescription medication to help shrink an enlarged prostate.
• Having shock wave therapy to break up the kidney stones or the bladder.

A treatment may not be necessary in most cases. However, consulting a health care provider to chart out the right course of treatment is necessary to keep this condition from aggravating.