Blood in urine
Most of the time the cause is not serious, but it always needs checking, even if it happened once and went away.
Seeing blood in your urine is frightening. The good news is that most of the time the cause is not serious. Even so, it should not be ignored, because it is sometimes a sign of cancer, and cancer found early is easier to treat.
What colour is it?
Blood in urine may look bright pink, red or dark brown. Even if there is only a little or you are not sure it is blood, have it checked.
Where does it come from?
Blood can come from anywhere in the urinary tract: the kidneys, bladder or urethra. Other symptoms give some clues, but do not diagnose yourself:
- Burning, frequency, cloudy urine or fever: it may be a urinary infection
- Severe pain in the side or groin that comes and goes: it may be a stone
- A man over 50 with difficulty passing urine and waking at night: it may be an enlarged prostate
Sometimes it is not blood at all
- Beetroot can turn urine pink
- Some new medicines turn urine red or brown
- The blood may be coming from the back passage, a period or the vagina
What happens at the visit?
The doctor asks about your symptoms and may examine you, ask for urine and blood tests, and start treatment if there is an infection. If needed, further tests such as imaging or a cystoscopy are requested.
Do not wait to see whether it happens again. Blood stopping does not mean the problem has gone.