Hematuriais the medical term for blood in the urine.
Most seriously, it can be a sign of a urinary tract cancer like bladder or kidney cancer.
Experts suspect blood vessels feeding the kidney narrow to improve blood supply to the exercising muscles.
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As a result of this blood vessel narrowing, red blood cells leak into the urine.
Urinary Tract Infection (UTI)
Urinary tract infectionsare usually brought on by bacteria.
Most people with kidney stoneswhat’s known asnephrolithiasishave gross or microscopic hematuria.
However, they often originate in the kidney, and their symptoms are similar to those of kidney stones.
Kidney Diseases
Certain kidney diseases can cause hematuria.
A common cause isglomerulonephritis, a disease affecting the part of the kidney responsible for filtering blood.
Cancer
Bladder or kidney cancer can cause painless hematuria.
Bladder Cancer
Blood in the urine is the predominant initial symptom of bladder cancer.
Overall, females have a 3 to 4 times lower risk of developing bladder cancer compared to males.
Still, females are more likely to have advanced disease upon diagnosis.
Kidney Cancer
Globally,kidney canceris the 10th most common punch in of cancer in females.
Angiomyolipomas are composed of blood vessels, muscle, and fat cells.
They are associated with the genetic conditiontuberous sclerosisbut can also develop randomly.
Symptoms are often absent, but if they are present, they can include painless hematuria and flank pain.
If they enlarge and rupture (break open), they can cause life-threatening bleeding, requiring immediate treatment.
Medication Side Effects
Compared to other drugs,blood thinnersare the most frequent cause of hematuria.
Other drugs linked to serious hematuria episodes, specificallyhemorrhagic cystitis, include the chemotherapy drugcyclophosphamide.
Inherited Diseases
A few diseases that run in families may cause hematuria.
Examples include:
What Are the Risk Factors for Hematuria?
Risk factors for hematuria depend on the underlying cause.
Notably, uterine or vaginal bleeding may be mistaken for hematuria.
Moreover, dehydration can cause the urine to turn a dark yellow, sometimes mistaken for blood.
If you are experiencing hematuria, see a healthcare provider for further evaluation.
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