If your urine is red or dark brown in color, you might be suffering from a condition called hematuria. In hematuria, your kidneys or other parts of your urinary tract might allow some red blood cells to pass into your urine. It can be diagnosed by checking your medical history and performing a urine analysis. It is not a very dangerous condition and can be caused by a number of factors.
1. Urinary Tract Infection
Your urinary tract can get infected by bacteria called Escherichia coli, which is generally found in the gastrointestinal tract but can sometimes make its way up to your urinary tract through contamination. One such urinary tract infection called cystitis can cause the walls of the urinary bladder to swell up, causing blood cells to seep into your urine. Some urinary tract infections can heal within some time, whereas, some are persistent and need to be treated medically.
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2. Kidney Infections
Kidney infection can cause some blood to enter your urine. If bacteria enter the kidneys through the blood or through your uterus, in case of severe urinary tract infections, you might suffer from kidney infections. Kidney infections are more severe than urinary tract infections and can cause fever and pain. Since kidney function is impaired during an infection, some blood can pass into the urine instead of getting filtered out.
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3. Kidney Stones
In case of kidney stones, when you urinate, stones can rub against the walls of your urethra. This can cause the walls of the urethra to get damaged, causing blood to appear in your urine. Sometimes the amount of blood passing into the urine can be very less and can only be detected by using a urine test strip.
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4. Prostatitis
Prostatitis is generally an infection of the prostate. The prostate gland is located slightly below the bladder. When it gets enlarged due to infection, it can press against the urethra. Symptoms of prostatitis include a frequent urge to urinate, difficulty urinating, and small amounts of blood in the urine.
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5. Trauma To The Urinary Tract
If urinary is injured due to an accident or rough contact sports some blood can appear in your urine. It should disappear in a few days after your urinary tract heals, but if the blood in the urine persists, you should get it checked by a medical professional.
6. Strenuous Exercise
Sometimes after vigorous exercise, small amounts of blood cells can pass into the your urine. This can occur even if you do not suffer from any urinary tract infections or kidney diseases. There is generally nothing much to worry about and this can go away with proper rest. Blood in urine from exercise is more common in men than in women.
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7. Bleeding Disorders
Bleeding disorders such as hemophilia and von Willebrand’s disease can be on of the causes of urine in blood. Blood thinning drugs taken to treat these diseases can cause microscopic amounts of blood to leak into the urine through the urinary tract.
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8. Cancer
In the later stages of kidney, prostate, or bladder cancer, you can notice blood in your urine. Such cases of hematuria are not visible during the early, treatable stages of cancer.
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9. Drugs
Drugs like heparin, penicillin, warfarin, cyclophosphamide, and blood thinning medications can lead to hematuria.
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10. Inherited Diseases
Some inherited diseases such as sickle cell anemia and Alport syndrome can cause some blood to leak into the urine.
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When you do notice blood in your urine, it is better to get it diagnosed so that you know what you are dealing with before it gets too complicated.
