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Hematuria means there is blood in your urine. The two types of hematuria are
Hematuria is a common diagnosis in individuals who visit a urologist. Researchers estimate that at least 1 out of 5 people evaluated by a urologist is diagnosed with hematuria.1 Gross hematuria is less common than microscopic hematuria.2
You are more likely to develop hematuria if you
Gross hematuria makes your urine look pink, red, or brown. Though the color difference may be alarming, it only takes a small amount of blood in the urine to cause a color change. In most cases, gross hematuria does not cause pain or other symptoms. However, you may have bladder or back pain if there are blood clots in your urine. Blood clots can be painful to pass during urination or can cause pain if the clots block the flow of urine.
Microscopic hematuria does not change the color of urine and typically has no symptoms.
Reasons people may have blood in the urine include
More serious reasons people may have hematuria include
Health care professionals use your medical history, a physical exam, and urinalysis to diagnose hematuria and help find the cause. As part of the physical exam, your health care professional may perform a digital rectal exam if you’re a man, or a pelvic exam if you’re a woman.
Your health care professional may also order additional tests, such as urinary tract imaging tests, to help find the cause of your hematuria.
Your health care professional will use urinalysis—or a urine test—to check a sample of your urine for blood. In some cases, your health care professional will test your urine again to confirm the diagnosis of hematuria.
Sometimes blood from a woman’s menstrual period can get into the urine sample, and the test can show that the woman has hematuria when she doesn’t. Women who test positive for hematuria and are menstruating at the time of the test may be asked to repeat the test after menstruation stops.
If urinalysis shows too many red blood cells in your urine, your health care professional may order one or more of the following tests
Health care professionals treat hematuria by treating the underlying cause of the hematuria. You may not need treatment if there is no serious condition causing your hematuria.
Researchers have not found that eating, diet, and nutrition play a role in causing or preventing hematuria.
The NIDDK conducts and supports clinical trials in many diseases and conditions, including urologic diseases. The trials look to find new ways to prevent, detect, or treat disease and improve quality of life.
Clinical trials—and other types of clinical studies—are part of medical research and involve people like you. When you volunteer to take part in a clinical study, you help health care professionals and researchers learn more about disease and improve health care for people in the future.
Researchers are studying many aspects of hematuria, such as
Find out if clinical studies are right for you.
Watch a video of NIDDK Director Dr. Griffin P. Rodgers explaining the importance of participating in clinical trials.
You can view a filtered list of clinical studies on hematuria that are open and recruiting at www.ClinicalTrials.gov. You can expand or narrow the list to include clinical studies from industry, universities, and individuals; however, the National Institutes of Health does not review these studies and cannot ensure they are safe. Always talk with your health care provider before you participate in a clinical study.
This content is provided as a service of the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases
(NIDDK), part of the National Institutes of Health. NIDDK translates and disseminates research findings to increase knowledge and understanding about health and disease among patients, health professionals, and the public. Content produced by NIDDK is carefully reviewed by NIDDK scientists and other experts.
The NIDDK would like to thank:
Badrinath R. Konety, M.D., M.B.A., FACS, Allina Health Cancer Institute