Ignore this serious symptom and you may discard your good health.
What you always expect to see on the toilet is yellow. But what if what you find is red?
The presence of blood in the urine is known as hematuria, and it can be a sign of a health problem as simple as a bladder infection or as severe as cancer. The color of the blood can vary from a light pink, to brown and even to thick and dark clots.
If you only see her once, you should seek treatment, says Dr. Brian Norouzi, a urologist at San José Hospital in Orange, California. Postpone it longer and the root of the problem will be more difficult to deal with.
Here is what you need to know about urinating blood and what you and your doctor should do about it.
Why do you urinate blood?
Dr. Norouzi lists these potential causes of blood in your urine .
INJURIES:
Any kind of trauma, such as a blow to the kidneys, can cause you to urinate blood . If your kidneys are cut or torn, blood can leak into the tissue around them, before making its way into your urine .
INFECTIONS:
When germs invade your urinary tract, just like with bladder or prostate infections, your body’s inflammatory response to combat them can cause bleeding, Dr. Norouzi explains.
KIDNEY STONES:
They can create friction as they rub inside your organs, much like the blisters from new shoes. And the soft tissue of your organs bleeds much more easily than your outer skin layer.
CANCER:
Cancer cells in your bladder, kidneys, or urethra can affect healthy tissue, causing bleeding. In addition, tumors grow fast and demand a significant amount of blood . The new blood vessels that sprout to feed them usually rupture and cause bleeding.
HEAVY EXERCISES:
Exercising vigorously, especially running long distances, can cause bleeding. Doctors are not sure why, but they think that these types of activities cause minor damage to your bladder or cause the body to break down red blood cells.
How likely is it to be a bad thing?
Sometimes even though the urine is red, it may not be blood . Some foods, like beets, can change the color of urine .
So if you are seeing something that you think is blood , go to the doctor. The blood real in the urine is a serious problem: a study in the journal Urology, 47% of people with blood visible in the urine were diagnosed with a problem in the kidneys or urinary tract and required medical attention, and of that 47%, 41% had cancer of the bladder.
If along with the blood you have other symptoms such as pain, fever or chills, everything points to an infection or kidney stones. But, painless blood should trigger the cancer red alert.
While finding blood in the toilet while urinating can be a sign of a serious health problem, seeing it only through a microscope can also point to a problem.
This is called microscopic hematuria and is, in fact, very common: about 18% of the population can have blood hidden in their urine , without pain or other symptoms, says Dr. Tanveer Mir, member of the board of directors of the American College of Physicians (ACP).
In most cases, this is not a sign of cancer: only 2% of patients with asymptomatic microscopic hematuria are diagnosed with cancer of the urinary tract, a 2013 study from the Mayo Clinic found.
Either way, whether visible or invisible, blood in the urine is not something you should underestimate.
The recommendation of the ACP for all patients, with any type of hematuria, is to undergo further studies.
What kind of tests should I do if I have blood in my urine?
If you see blood on the toilet, speak to the doctor immediately. You can start with a family doctor or go directly to a urologist, just see him as soon as possible.
He will start with a urine test , where a laboratory technician will check your urine under a microscope to determine if it actually contains red blood cells.
If so, your doctor will suggest a cytoscopy, a method considered foolproof for detecting cancer in the bladder. He or she will use a long, thin tube with a camera to peek into your urinary tract and detect stones or tumors.
Another urine test may reveal signs of infection or minerals attached to the kidney stones. Visual studies such as ultrasounds or CT scans can uncover stones, cancer, and other problems.
Treatment will depend on the cause: antibiotics for infections; fluids and some pain relievers for kidney stones and cancer surgery, radiation or chemotherapy.
Even if I don’t see blood, should I check my urine?
If you don’t have symptoms or risk factors, you don’t need to have your urine checked for cancer regularly.
Diagnosing cancer early usually makes treatment more effective, but studies have not shown that looking for blood in everyone’s urine is an effective way to save lives, says Dr. Mir.
This is likely to expose healthy people to unnecessary and invasive testing.
Either way, if you are at risk for bladder cancer, talk to your doctor about what is best for you, a urine test or an ultrasound. Risk factors include: being a man over 50, smoking, having a family history, and working in a place that exposes you to chemicals.