Let’s face it — the appearance of blood often heralds something unwelcome, such as a bleeding wound. After all, our blood best serves us by staying inside our bodies. So what about when blood appears in urine, which is medically known as hematuria?
The reality is that this condition isn’t all that uncommon — about 1 in 5 patients who sees a urologist has blood in their urine. And there are many explanations for this development, ranging from perfectly harmless to more serious.
Given how common hematuria is, the team at Arizona Urology thought it would be a good idea to review how this condition develops and whether blood in your urine warrants concern.
Urine is what your kidneys produce after filtering your blood, and it’s your body’s way of cleaning and purifying your blood. About 91% to 96% of healthy urine should be water, and the balance typically contains:
Blood can make its way into your urine in two forms:
Of the two, microscopic hematuria is more common, so many people don’t even know that they have blood in their urine unless we evaluate it.
If your urine is a different color — it appears pink or red — it’s important to first make sure that it’s not from something you ingested — certain foods and medications can temporarily change the color of your urine.
Barring that, gross hematuria often stems from urinary tract infections (UTIs), kidney stones, or trauma to the kidneys — you can have a direct hit to the kidneys, which causes them to bleed.
Or, indirectly, you might exercise in a way that can damage your kidneys. You can even bounce on a horse or in a bumpy car and temporarily bruise your kidneys, which can cause some blood to leak out in your urine.
These conditions are not only obvious — it’s hard to ignore trauma or a urinary tract infection — they’re also acute and should clear up with time and treatment.
The other possible causes of blood in your urine are often more subtle and show up as microscopic hematuria, and this can stem from:
As you can see, there are some serious issues on this list, which is why we always investigate microscopic hematuria thoroughly.
The bottom line is that blood in your urine is often not cause for concern, but it can be, so we want you to treat the issue as something to investigate, especially if it persists for more than a day or two. And by “investigate,” we mean coming to see us for an evaluation of your hematuria.
To get that ball rolling, please contact us at one of our offices in Phoenix, Goodyear, Gilbert, and Glendale, Arizona, today to schedule an appointment.
