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 In short, hematuria is the presence of blood in the urine, visible to the naked eye or only under a microscope. Hematuria is an indication of a problem in the urinary tract that is causing bleeding, and affects about 10% of men and women. There are two types of hematuria; microscopic hematuria, where the presence of blood can only be identified under a microscope, and gross hematuria, where the urine is colored pink or red from large amounts of blood.
There are several diseases that cause hematuria, such as:
- Benign Prostatic Hyperplasia (enlarged prostate)
- kidney / bladder stones
- urinary tract infections
- physical trauma of the urinary tract
- medications
Once the cause of the bleeding is identified, appropriate treatment can be chosen, such as the use of antibiotics for urinary tract infections. Some hematuria have no known cause, and so no treatment may be prescribed, though evaluation is necessary as hematuria may be caused by a life threatening disease.
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