Blood in urine-No Pain (Hematuria)

Blood in urine, medically termed ‘hematuria’ may or may not be a serious problem. It can also be insidious as the blood passing through urine may not be visible in all cases. In case the degree of blood present in urine is miniscule the urine may appear to be normal. This nondescript condition is known as microscopic hematuria, as the blood cells in the urine are only noticeable under microscopic examination. This may only be discovered when a patient has opted for a urine test or microscopic examination for diagnosing other physical issues.

The urine may appear to be pinkish when there is enough blood to determine the prevalence of blood in urine. The urine may either appear to be smoky brown, pinkish or red. This condition is known as frank hematuria or even gross hematuria. A trace degree of blood seen in your urine indicates a benign condition. Unusual amount of blood occurring in urine may be a chronic issue as well as in some cases it may also be acute physical malady. In case of acute hematuria, the blood in the urine may occur just once or during few visits to the lavatory. In some cases the urine may appear in different color indicating occurrence of hematuria.

The urine may sometime not contain any amount of blood but discoloration may be noticed due to food or medicine. The actual reason can be determined thorough a UA or Urinalysis diagnosis. It is recorded that approximately 10% of the entire population suffer from hematuria out of which only 3% people progress to gross hematuria. In case of women hematuria is more common as compared to men because they are more prone to conditions such as urinary tract infection which may also lead to hematuria. People who have enlarged prostrate or those who take medications that may influence the urinary tract are more prone to blood in urine.

Blood in Urine- Possible causes:

Hematuria can be caused due to many different reasons; however, these are some of the possible causes of occurrence of urine with some amount of blood.

Any conditions that may result in infection, injury or inflammatory condition of urinary system may also cause the blood to appear in urine.

Generally, occurrence of microscopic hematuria may be formidable sign of damages to kidney (upper urinary tract). However, visible blood in urine may indicate inappropriate condition of lower tract such as ureters, bladder etc. But it should be known that this is not the case in all conditions.

Urinary tract infection as well as kidney stones is amongst the most common factors that may cause blood to flow from urine. This is usually seen in people with the age limit of 40 years. On the other hand, in case of people who age over 40 years, kidney cancer, prostate cancer as well as cancer of the bladder may be amongst the common causes leading to blood in urine. However, even such aged individuals may also experience urine with some amount of blood due to kidney stones as well as urinary tract infection.

It should be known that there are several causes of hematuria that may be present simultaneously. There are some factors causing hematuria which may be extremely serious whereas other causes may be benign. Hence, it is essential to get your condition diagnosed by a certified health care provider, who may accurately understand the severity of the condition and help you get rid of it faster.

Some of the prominent causes of blood in urine are as follows:

• Renal Calculi commonly known as Kidney stone

• UTI or Urinary Tract Infection or Genital infection

• Obstruction of Urinary tract Infection

• Kidney cancer

• Bladder cancer

• Prostate cancer

• Other kidney diseases

• Disorder including/ Blood clots

• Urinary tract injuries

• Side effects of medications

• BPH or Benign Prostatic Hypertrophy which is a non- cancerous enlargement of prostate which is commonly found in aged men

• Infection due to virus (Viral infection)

• Strenuous activities which involves recursive repetitive jarring of bladder

Symptoms of Blood in urine:

Blood in urine can be considered as a symptom and not as a disease. The cause of the conditions cannot be determined just by looking at the color of urine. It should also be known that the amount of blood in the urine also does not indicate the severity of the condition. Some of the common symptoms of blood in urine may include.

• Inflammation or burning sensation experienced while urinating

• High body temperature of fever

• Queasiness

• Vomiting

• Dramatic reduction in weight

• Reduced appetite

• Kidney stone

• Frequent urination

• Cloudy color of urine

These are not all but some of the symptoms that may be experienced if you also have blood in urine. It is essential to seek immediate medical aid if any of the above mentioned signs or symptoms is noticed.

Hematuria diagnosis:

Irrespective of the type or hematuria, whether gross or microscopy, your doctor may ask you questions about the health condition and try to determine the issue. The doctor may probe you on your medical history to know if you had any possible associative condition. You may also have to inform your doctor about the medication that you are taking for other existing disease, including herbal medications, home remedies, etc. Your doctor may also ask you about any existing physical condition that you are afflicted with. Since, the blood in urine may also be experienced due to unhealthy lifestyle habits, it is important to inform your doctor about any addiction such as smoking and alcoholism etc.

There are other tests that may have to be adopted to determine the issue better; these diagnosis techniques may include laboratory tests, UA or Urinalysis, urine culture, MRI scan and other imaging techniques. In some cases even Ultrasound technique may also be adopted to understand the condition causing blood in urine. The treatment of the condition is mainly depended on the root cause of the diseases. For benign condition sometimes doctor may suggest rest and mild medications for curing the disorder. However, in severe cases, sometime patients may also have to undergo surgical treatment.