Blood in the urine: why it needs a checkup, even once
Advanced Urology Oakwood, on Mundy Mill Road, is opening soon. Meanwhile, our Braselton clinicians are ready to see you, while procedures take place at our Lawrenceville Clinic & Surgery Center.
Blood in the urine, whether you can see it or a lab finds it, needs a urology evaluation even if it goes away. Most of the time the cause is an infection, a stone or an enlarged prostate, but the workup also rules out bladder and kidney cancer.
What can put blood in your urine?
- Urinary and kidney infections
- Kidney and bladder stones
- An enlarged prostate
- Kidney disease
- Bladder or kidney cancer
- Hard exercise, and sometimes a recent procedure
Blood thinners do not cause it on their own, but they can reveal a problem that was already there.
When should you see a urologist?
After any visible blood, or after a urine test shows red cells and there is no clear passing cause. Go to an emergency room if you cannot pass urine, are passing large clots, or have fever with back pain.
What does the workup for blood in the urine include?
A urine test and culture first, to look for infection. Then imaging of the kidneys and urinary tract, often a CT scan with contrast dye. An office cystoscopy, a short look inside the bladder with a thin camera, completes the check for most adults.
How is it treated?
Treatment follows the cause: antibiotics for infection, stone treatment, enlarged prostate care, or bladder and kidney cancer treatment when a tumor is found. When the full workup is normal, we usually recheck the urine over time.
What do patients ask about blood in the urine?
Is blood in the urine an emergency?
Usually not, but it still needs a prompt visit. It becomes urgent if you cannot urinate, pass large clots, or have fever with back pain.
Do I need to pause my blood thinner?
Do not stop it on your own. Talk with the doctor who prescribed it; the urology workup goes ahead either way.
Does blood seen under a microscope matter?
Yes. Microscopic blood can come from the same causes as visible blood, so adults with it are usually evaluated too.
Why do I need a cystoscopy if my scan is normal?
Scans can miss small growths on the bladder lining. The camera look is how those are found.
Do women need the same checkup?
Yes. Women are often treated for infections first, but blood that persists after an infection clears deserves the full evaluation.
What if every test is normal?
That is reassuring and common. We usually repeat the urine test at intervals and look again if blood comes back.
Which video explains this?
Watch on YouTube: #001 - Hidden Clues: Understanding Blood in the UrineWhat the video covers: A podcast episode on microscopic hematuria, blood in the urine that a microscope can detect but the eye cannot, and the conditions it can point to.
Videos open on Advanced Urology's YouTube channel.
Which of our urologists focus on this?
These physicians list it among their focus areas on their Advanced Urology profiles. You can ask for one by name when you book.
- Dr. Mukesh Patel, Lawrenceville: Cystoscopy
- Dr. Nicholas Farber, Braselton: Blood In Urine (Hematuria)
Which of our articles go deeper?
Where can you be seen for this?
At the Lawrenceville Clinic & Surgery Center on Crown Pointe Way, where testing and outpatient procedures share one building, or at the Braselton Clinic on Old Winder Highway for visits, lab work and follow-ups. Our Oakwood Clinic is opening soon. Call (678) 344-8900 or book online, and see your first visit and what to bring before you come.
Ready to talk with our urologists? We're here for you.