Hematuria (Blood in Urine)

During routine visits to your health care provider, you are often asked to give a urine sample for testing. Many tests are done routinely, like checking for sugar (diabetes), bacteria (infection) and blood. Blood in the urine that you do not see is called “microscopic hematuria.” This blood is only visible under a microscope. “Gross hematuria” is blood that you can see in the urine with the naked eye.

Causes of hematuria

There are many causes and most are not serious, but may call for care by your health care provider:

• Kidney infections.
• Enlarged prostate.
• Urinary tract (bladder) infection.
• Swelling in the filtering system of the kidneys (this is called “glomerulonephritis”).
• A stone in your bladder or in a kidney.
• A disease that runs in families, such as cystic kidney disease.
• Some medicines.
• A blood disease, like sickle cell anemia.
• A tumor in your urinary tract (this may or may not be cancer).
• Exercise (when this is the cause, hematuria will usually go away in 24 hours).

How is hematuria treated?

If the cause of the blood in your urine is clear, your doctor will probably treat you. Then your doctor will check your urine again to see if the blood is gone. If it’s not, your doctor may perform more tests or refer you to a urologist.