Hematuria Basics
Hematuria is the medical term for having blood cells in your urine. This condition takes a few different forms:
- Microscopic hematuria: With this condition, your urine contains blood cells, but there aren’t enough to see without a microscope.
- Gross hematuria: This variant means the blood contents of your urine are visible to the naked eye. You may notice that your urine makes the water in the toilet pinkish or even bright red.
- Dipstick hematuria: A dipstick test can help detect the presence of blood in your urine, but it’s not a perfect solution. Many dipstick tests are known for generating false positives, so they’re typically used in conjunction with other diagnostic methods.
Why Do You Have Hematuria?
Hematuria can appear for many different reasons. Although it’s important to talk to your doctor about precisely what’s happening inside your body, some possible risk factors may include:
- Having a urinary condition: Urinary tract infections and urinary stone diseases, such as kidney or bladder stones, can lead to blood in your urine.
- Endometriosis: Endometriosis sufferers develop uterine lining tissue in abnormal locations, which can cause hematuria.
- Infections or inflammation: Infections that affect your kidneys, such as pyelonephritis, and bladder inflammation conditions, like cystitis, may be behind your hematuria.
- Menstruation: Having your period can be a cause of blood in urine.
- Cancer: Various forms of cancer may lead to hematuria, including ureteral, urethral, prostate, kidney, and bladder cancer.
- Prostate conditions: Enlarged prostate patients are at higher risk.
- Physical injuries: Trauma that penetrates or impacts your abdomen may lead to internal bleeding that works its way into your urine.
Diagnosing Hematuria
Because hematuria can have many different causes, it’s critical to get an accurate diagnosis. This usually involves a complete physical examination that may include special attention to your rectum or pelvis.
You might also go through urinalysis, urine culture tests to hunt for infections, or cytology tests to find irregular cells. Ultrasound, cystoscopy, CT scans, and MRIs can also help your doctors image your organs to understand what’s going on.
Learn More About Why You Have Hematuria
Hematuria isn’t always cause for alarm, but it’s a serious condition that deserves immediate attention. Get informed about your care options by scheduling a consultation with the Greater Hartford Urology Group in Hartford, CT. Call 860-522-2251 or book your appointment online.
