Microscopic Hematuria

Hematuria means blood in the urine. There are many reasons a patient can have blood in his or her urine. Some of these can indicate serious problems while others may produce no alarm.

In general, hematuria is classifies into two types:

Gross Hematuria: Visible blood in urine and

Microscopic Hematuria: blood that is present in smaller amounts indivisible to eyes but can be found when testing urine or looking at it under the microscope.

Even healthy people can show symptoms of Hematuria, at times for really long durations.

Kidneys work to filter the blood, water and waste products are separated and allowed to pass, while proteins and blood is stopped, where the blood is filtered through very small blood vessels within. When these blood vessels are damaged blood and or protein may leak through the blood vessels and is observed in the urine. Sometimes, the red color seen may not be blood cells but muscle cells, due to damage to kidneys.

Patients with Hematuria may show no indications or relatively unidentifiable readings as tiredness, pale complexion, weight gain and fluid retention. Even if large amounts of blood are present in the patient’s urine, it may cause only slight difficulty in urinating. Clots of blood in the urine might occur seldom, and passing of these clots can be irritatingly painful.

Urine with both blood and protein present at the same time is often a more serious problem and may need more prompt attention.

As these diseases are incurable so far, patients should be educated that it is a hereditary problem and their children have a 50% chance of acquiring the disease. Only interventions that slow down the progression of renal disease (blood pressure control etc) are of benefit.

Prenatal diagnosis is available through DNA linkage studies if enough family members cooperate.