What is Hematuria
Passing blood in urine is indeed distressing. In some cases, there tend to be benign causes, however hematuria (blood in urine) can signal a serious illness.
Visible blood in urine is termed as gross hematuria , whereas, urinary blood which is only visible under the microscope is called microscopic hematuria. It is very important to find out what is causing the bleeding, which later helps in deciding your treatment plan.
What are the symptoms of hematuria?
Cola, red or pink-colored urine that indicates rbc presence is the obvious symptom of the condition. Passing blood in urine is rarely painful though blood clots can cause pain. Usually, hematuria causes no other symptoms.
What causes hematuria?
Few causes of hematuria include:
- Kidney or bladder infections.
- Kidney or bladder stones.
- Specific kidney diseases for example glomerulonephritis.
- Prostate cancer or enlarged prostate.
- Inherited diseases for example cystic kidney disease and sickle cell anemia.
- Specific drugs for example phenazopyridine, cyclophosphamide, heparin, penicillin and aspirin.
- Tumor in prostate, kidney or bladder.
- Injury to kidney from sports or accident.
- Vigorous exercise.
What are the risk factors of hematuria?
Nearly all of us, including teens and children can experience blood in urine. However certain factors that make you more likely to face hematuria include:
- People above 50 tend to experience occasional hematuria because of enlarged prostate gland.
- Kidney inflammation resulted by a bacterial or viral infection is a major cause of hematuria in children.
- Urinary tract infection strikes more than fifty percent of females at least for once in their life spans consequently leading some bleeding in urine. Moreover, younger men have higher risk of developing Alport syndrome pr kidney stones, which can cause urinary bleeding.
- If kidney stones or kidney disease run in family, than a person is more likely of urinary bleeding.
- Specific drugs: Taking Aspirin, antibiotics (penicillin) or nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory pain relievers put you at a higher risk of hematuria.
- Performing strenuous exercise can also make you more likely to experience urinary bleeding.
How is hematuria diagnosed?
In order to determine the underlying cause of hematuria, the doctor can perform/suggest the following tests and procedures:
- Physical exam including the medical history of the patient.
- Urine tests.
- Imaging tests.
- Cystoscopy.
How is hematuria treated?
Urinary bleeding tend to have no particular treatment, rather the doctor is more likely to treat the causal condition. For example he or she can prescribe antibiotics for clearing urinary tract infection, for shrinking enlarged prostate the doctor can suggest drugs. In order to break kidney or bladder stones he can advise shock wave therapy. However, no treatment is needed in case the causal condition is not serious.
Prevention:
It is important to drink plenty of water in order to avoid urinary tract infections, kidney stones and bladder cancer that can cause urinary bleeding. Moreover, quit smoking and consume a healthy diet. Avoid chemical exposure to prevent bladder and kidney cancer that can cause hematuria.
By : Natural Health News
