Blood in your urine (hematuria) is only normal during menstrual cycles. So, if you notice a pink or red tinge in your urine at any other time, it indicates that you need to seek treatment.
However, it's not always a sign that you have serious kidney disease or other life-threatening issues—it could just be an early indication of an infection or kidney stone. It's still a good idea to have a doctor check the blood in the urine to get to the root of the problem.
Our three expert nephrologists at Metro Renal Associates have experience treating a variety of genitourinary issues, including hematuria. Our team carefully evaluates your symptoms and provides urine testing to determine what's causing blood in the urine.
Seeing blood in your urine or the toilet after peeing can be scary, especially if it seems like a lot. Although frightening, it's not always a sign of a severe medical problem – but it warrants further investigation.
There are several reasons you may have blood in your urine, some minor issues and others more serious. The only way to determine the cause of hematuria is to come in for an evaluation.
Most of the reasons for hematuria aren't severe but could become an issue without treatment. The common causes of blood in the urine include the following conditions:
Intense exercise can also cause tinges of blood in your urine – but why? It's not 100% clear why it happens in marathon runners or those who play contact sports, but it may have to do with the bladder moving around a lot.
Contact sports often involve direct physical contact, which could cause mild hematuria from minor injury to the bladder. However, most exercise-induced hematuria resolves on its own within a few days.
Seeking treatment for hematuria is essential, especially when it starts suddenly or without provocation. It's a good idea to get treatment for the health of your genitourinary tract and your body.
It's especially critical to seek treatment for hematuria when you have other symptoms, including any of the following:
Although some of these symptoms may be unrelated to blood in the urine, they often signal an infection or other issue within the kidneys, bladder, and urethra. A fever usually means an infection, which could become serious without treatment.
The treatment you need depends on the issue that's causing the problem. Our team carefully evaluates your health and related symptoms to determine the cause of hematuria.
The initial step in evaluating hematuria is providing a urine sample. Before testing, we look for gross or obvious blood in the urine sample. During a urinalysis, we check for bacteria and trace blood, which could indicate a problem.
If the urinalysis shows bacteria and blood, it could be a sign of a urinary tract infection, kidney infection, or kidney stone. Our team may recommend antibiotics and pain medications to treat the disease and relieve pain.
The urinalysis sometimes clearly indicates the problem, which may require additional testing. We provide CT scans, X-rays, or an MRI to evaluate your genitourinary tract for other issues that could be causing hematuria.
In most cases, treating the underlying cause of the issue typically resolves hematuria. Our team diagnoses you and provides the best treatments available for your needs.
Call Metro Renal Associates today to schedule an appointment for hematuria, or use our convenient online booking tool to request a consultation with one of our providers.
