Blood in Urine – Causes, Treatment & Prevention

In the case of blood in the urine (hematuria), a distinction is made between macro and micro hematuria. The patient recognizes gross hematuria immediately because the urine is clearly red in color.

Microscopic hematuria is usually diagnosed incidentally during a routine examination because it cannot be seen with the naked eye.

It is not uncommon for self-diagnosis to lead to a misjudgment. A reddish coloring of the urine can also occur due to the food that the patient has eaten. Beetroot, for example, causes the urine to turn red.

A lack of fluid in the body also leads to a clear discoloration of the urine and often to the wrong assumption that blood is excreted in the urine.

If the cytological examination of the urine shows that the urine contains proteins as well as blood, this can indicate damage to the kidneys. Whether the damage was caused by kidney stones or whether the patient is suffering from a kidney tumor must be diagnosed in further examinations.

Causes

The causes of blood in the urine can be very diverse. For example, hormonal changes in women can lead to blood being excreted in the urine. Competitive athletes often find blood in their urine – in this case the cause is general physical exertion, which can lead to minor bleeding in the urinary bladder and thus to hematuria.There are also a number of people who regularly excrete small amounts of blood in the urine without a medical explanation being able to be found for this. Especially in young people, the cause of blood in the urine is harmless in most cases. Further therapy is usually not required.

Another harmless, but not exactly a little painful cause of heavy blood in the urine is cystitis . When the bladder is severely inflamed, it spasms and spasms, causing severe pain. The spasm also causes the walls of the bladder to tear and start bleeding. The blood is clearly excreted in the urine.

The doctor recognizes a bladder infection by an increased concentration of white blood cells in the urine. He will advise the patient to drink plenty of fluids over a short period of time to flush the inflammation out of the body and reduce the pain. If there is a bacterial infection, he will also prescribe an antibiotic . The bladder infection will subside quickly and blood will no longer be visible in the urine.

When to the doctor?

If there is little blood in the urine, there is no immediate need for action. This applies in particular if the person concerned has previously engaged in intensive physical or sporting activities. In these cases, the blood in the urine may be due to ruptured blood vessels . Lifting heavy objects, for example, can temporarily build up a lot of pressure in the body that small blood vessels cannot withstand. These symptoms disappear within a few hours if you take it easy.

Women and young girls may have blood in their urine due to menstrual bleeding. This is a natural process and can be associated with abdominal pain . A doctor does not have to be consulted either. If the above situations can be ruled out, however, a doctor should be consulted. There may be other diseases that also have a serious background.

This applies in particular in cases where other symptoms such as burning when urinating, pain or a feeling of pressure in the abdomen occur. This increases the risk that the proportion of blood in the urine will increase in the coming days. If the blood in the urine is present for several days without any further symptoms, there may also be a disease that needs to be clarified. If there is blood in the urine after an accident, internal bleeding may be present. A doctor should be contacted immediately.

Diagnosis and course

First of all, you should be sure that the reddish urine admixture is really blood and not recently eaten food. For example, the increased consumption of beetroot or rhubarb can lead to a temporary red discoloration of the urine. However, if a patient unequivocally detects blood in the urine, a doctor should be consulted immediately. There are many different reasons that cause blood to appear in the urine. They can be harmless but also indicate a serious illness. The urologist will immediately carry out an examination of the urine and blood. Based on the results, the urologist or laboratory doctor can determine where the bleeding is coming from. The cause of blood in the urine is often quite harmless.

Complications

If the urine changes color, make sure it is actually blood. Sometimes the ingestion of food can lead to blood-like urine formation. This is especially the case if the sufferer has eaten cactus fruit. Real blood in the urine is rarely a harmless phenomenon. If it occurs once, there is no worrying situation. Further complications are therefore classified as unlikely. This can happen especially after vigorous exercise or other heavy physical activity. Nevertheless, care should be taken to reduce the load in the future so as not to cause additional damage.

However, since in most cases serious diseases can be hidden behind the formation of blood, these are associated with a wide variety of other complications. Usually there is a disease of the kidneys or urinary tract. Bladder infection or the formation of a tumor in the kidney, bladder or urinary tract are also conceivable. A tumor disease can lead to a surgical intervention and the associated risks. In addition, chemotherapy is often carried out, which also has a number of side effects. Failure of the kidneys leads to dialysis and, in the worst case, to a kidney transplant. Inflammation is treated very successfully with medication.

Treatment and therapy

If a urinary tract infection (such as a bladder infection) is causing blood in the urine, antibiotics may help.If kidney stones are found, it must be observed whether the stones are excreted by themselves. If that doesn’t work, it is considered whether the stones can be broken up using shock wave therapy and then removed. The stones should be checked at regular intervals.

In particular, men over 50 years of age who notice blood in their urine should definitely not wait to see a doctor. It is not uncommon for blood in the urine to indicate kidney cancer in this group of patients. If kidney cancer is diagnosed, all or part of the tumor is surgically removed. The prognosis is good if the disease is detected early.

Outlook and prognosis

After an extensive diagnosis has been carried out, a decision is made on the treatment of the causes. Since 50% of cases of visible blood in the urine are an inflammatory infection of the urinary tract, this is treated with antibiotics after a laboratory test and an ultrasound of the bladder. Inflammation of the urinary tract is accompanied by severe pain when urinating . These accompanying symptoms can often be treated and relieved with pain relievers such as ibuprofen or buscopan until the antibiotic takes effect. A urinary tract infection usually clears up within a few days with antibiotic treatment.

If the symptoms persist or even indicate kidney stones or ureteral stones due to fever , the urologist or gynecologist will carry out a cystoscopy. If painless blood indicates a tumor, an MRI of the lower abdomen is done. Once the cause of the bleeding is localized, it can be treated with surgery or radiation. The further therapy and prognosis for these symptoms depends entirely on the underlying disease.