What Blood in Your Urine Could Mean

It’s tempting to ignore a scary problem, especially when it involves intimate parts of your body. However, you should never ignore any issue that involves blood.

You can have blood in your urine for a wide range of reasons, many of which aren’t serious. But it’s always important to get to the bottom of this situation whenever possible, and our team at Urology Associates of Southeastern North Carolina can help.

If you’ve noticed blood in your urine, here are a few things it could mean.

Blood and the urinary tract

Your urinary tract removes excess fluid and waste from your body, and it all involves filtering your blood.

Each day, your kidneys process 120-150 quarts of blood. In adults, this creates 1-2 quarts of urine that flow from the kidneys to the bladder by way of thin tubes known as ureters.

Your bladder acts as a storage container for urine before it leaves your body through your urethra.

If blood appears in your urine, it can come from any part of your urinary tract. 

Common causes of hematuria

If you can see evidence of the blood, meaning your urine appears red, brown, or pink, or it contains blood clots, you have gross hematuria. It’s also possible to have blood present that isn’t visible to the naked eye; a condition referred to as microscopic hematuria.

Hematuria can occur for a variety of reasons, such as:

• Trauma, vigorous exercise, or sexual activity
• Infections or inflammation in the bladder, kidney, or prostate
• Enlarged prostate
• Kidney stones
• Viral illnesses, like hepatitis
• Inherited disorders
• Medical conditions, like polycystic kidney disease or endometriosis 
• Certain medications, like pain relievers, antibiotics, and blood thinners
• Bladder or kidney cancer

In many cases, hematuria can occur without other symptoms. Because of this, it’s essential to schedule a consultation to look for underlying causes, even if it only happens from time to time or seems to go away on its own.

What to do if you see blood in your urine

First, don’t panic. Remember that many causes of hematuria aren’t life-threatening and respond to treatment. 

Instead, schedule a visit with a skilled physician, like our team of experienced urologists. Urologists have advanced training in the urinary tract, giving them added expertise in diagnosing issues in this part of the body. 

During your appointment, we perform a comprehensive exam and discuss your medical history. In many cases, we also order diagnostic tests to look for signs of disease.

Treating blood in the urine varies, depending on the cause. For example, we might recommend:

• Therapies for an enlarged prostate
• Antibiotic medications for infection
• Healthy lifestyle changes
• Surgery for kidney or bladder stones

And, sometimes, hematuria requires no treatment at all.

Do you have blood in your urine? Don’t ignore it. Contact our Urology Associates of Southeastern North Carolina office in Wilmington or Southport, North Carolina, to schedule a consultation today.