Table of Contents
Hematuria has many different causes, and blood in the urine can come from any condition that results in infection, inflammation, or injury to the urinary system. Typically, microscopic hematuria indicates damage to the upper urinary tract (kidneys), while visible blood indicates damage to the lower tract (ureters, bladder, or urethra). However, this is not always the case. The most common causes in people younger than 40 years are kidney or ureter stones. A common cause is also urinary tract infection. [2] These infections may cause hematuria in older people, but cancers of the kidney, bladder, and prostate become a more common concern with people over 40 years of age.
Several conditions causing hematuria may exist at the same time. Some of these causes are serious, while others are not. The health care provider is there to do tests which help tell the difference.
READ Ten Home Remedies for Kidney Stones: Renal Calculi Treatment
Well-known causes of blood in the urine also include a urinary tract blockage, usually the urethra, by a stone, a tumor, a narrowing of the urethral opening, or a compression from surrounding structures. [3]
Blood clotting disorders and some medications could provoke blood in the urine. Antibiotics (such as Rifampin), analgesics (Aspirin), and anticoagulants (Warfarin, Phenytoin, and Quinine) commonly cause blood in urine.[3]
Benign or non-cancerous enlargement of the prostate, known as benign prostatic hypertrophy, is a common condition in older men that leads to blood in urine. [4]
Chronic diseases such as diabetes, hypertension, and sickle cell anemia [5] and viral infections could also be the cause of blood in the urine. In some cases, strenuous exercise, especially running, could cause repeated jarring of the bladder and thus lead to blood in the urine. [6]
On the other hand, sometimes no cause is found for blood in the urine. If serious conditions such as cancer, kidney disease, and other chronic diseases that cause kidney damage or bleeding are ruled out, the cause of blood in the urine is almost certainly not serious. The hematuria will probably go away by itself or continue as a chronic condition without doing any harm.
Urine can be colored pink, red, or brown for reasons that have nothing to do with bleeding in the urinary tract, for example, because of large amounts of certain foods (beets, berries, rhubarb). Food coloring, medications, menstrual blood and liver diseases could also lead to blood in urine. [6]