Blood in urine causes need to be investigated. Blood in urine is an obvious sign that something serious may be wrong. A qualified urologist can quickly diagnose the problem and administer the appropriate treatment.

Blood in urine causes can be serious. It may at first alarm us, but as the purveyor of our health and longevity, blood in urine is an easy sign to read, exclaiming a call to action. While blood in urine may be brought about by many medical complications, the majority of the time the source of the blood lies within the urinary tract. The urinary system includes the two kidneys, two ureters, bladder, urethra and in men the prostate and genitals.

Along with hematuria you may have other symptoms that you should tell the urologist about, painful urination, burning urination, frequent urination, nausea, vomiting, fever, and pain in the back or abdomen. You should also mention if you are taking any blood thinners such as aspirin or Coumadin, or if you have a bleeding disorder.

Hematuria is divided into two categories gross hematuria and microhematuria. As the names imply, gross hematuria is a large amount of blood, which is why you are able to see it when urinating. Micro hematuria is when blood is only seen with the use of a microscope. Both symptoms are to be taken seriously. Urinary tract infection symptoms often include micro hematuria or gross hematuria along with painful urination.

Initially, the urologist will test your urine to help find the cause of the bleeding. A dipstick will immediately give the doctor some information about the composition of the urine. They may send a sample to a laboratory, to see if there is a bacterium that may be causing an infection. They may send a specimen of urine to get a urinalysis which is an even more detailed description of the urine’s composition.

If there is a large amount of blood, the urologist will rinse out the bladder so that the blood clots that have formed do not block the urine from coming out of the bladder. Rinsing, or irrigating, the bladder will also show the urologist how much bleeding is still occurring.

The urologist may look in the bladder with a cystoscope. The cystoscope is a very small fiber optic instrument that easily slides into the urethra and up into the bladder. The urologist can look into an eyepiece to view the urethra and the bladder. A camera may be attached to the eye piece, and you can view the cystoscopy also. The urologist may take some photos of suspect areas of the bladder, urethra, and prostatic urethra (the area of the urethra surrounded by the prostate).
A urine specimen may also be collected for cytology to check for cancer cells.

After the initial visit, other tests may need to be done, such as a kidney ultrasound, intravenous pyelogram (viewing a dye as it goes through your kidneys and ureters with an x-ray) and a CT scan (more detailed X-ray) of your kidneys and ureters.

Blood in urine causes may run the gamut from bright red, to a barely noticeable pink, to a brownish tea color, to the unseen blood (microhematuria) that is found on a dipstick when tested in the doctor’s office or when your blood is sent to the laboratory. Other times what appears to be hematuria is simply a discoloration from food (berries, rhubarb, or beets) or from medications such as pain meds and laxatives. The following is a list of 5 types of blood in urine causes

• Infection anywhere along the urinary tract may cause blood to appear. The terms used to indicate infection and inflammation of an organ end in “itis” (such as cystitis (bladder inflammation), nephritis (kidney infection/inflammation), and prostatitis).
• Growths in the urinary system such as cysts, tumors, enlarged prostate, and diverticuli (pouches or pockets that may grow on the sides of the bladder).
• Trauma from a litany of physical situations such as falls, car accidents, impact sports, and distance running are also common occurrences that bring about hematuria. 
• Stones may be lodged in your kidneys, ureters, bladder or urethra, which can both rip the tissue causing bleeding, and block urine from coming out.
• Cancer of the prostate, kidney, bladder, and genitals will cause bleeding in its mature stages.