What's going on if there's occult blood in the urine?

Clinical studies have found that occult blood in the urine indicates inflammation in the body, which may be caused by urinary tract infection, glomerulonephritis, cystitis and other diseases; it may also be caused by stones in the body, in which case you need to drink plenty of water to allow the stones to be excreted with urine; it may also be caused by a tumor, in which case a detailed examination is needed, and surgical treatment is required after the disease is confirmed.

1. What happens if there is occult blood in urine?

The presence of red blood cells in urine cannot be observed with the naked eye or under a microscope, but there is a reaction when tested with a test strip. Why is this so? Because when red blood cells are destroyed, the hemoglobin contained in them will be released, so the urine test stick can detect the hemoglobin reaction. But why do red blood cells burst before leaving the body? This is because the lifespan of the red blood cells has come to an end and they dissolve on their own like foam. It may also be because after drinking a lot of water, the urine becomes thinner and the tension decreases, causing the red blood cells to burst. In any case, the presence of occult blood, like hematuria, is a warning sign and should not be taken lightly.

Generally speaking, occult blood in urine is attributed to the following three reasons: inflammation, stones, and tumors. Regarding inflammation, such as glomerulonephritis, pyelonephritis, cystitis, etc., in addition to hematuria, occult blood may also occur in urine tests. The stones themselves, whether they are kidney, ureter or bladder stones, may cause occult blood. Other situations such as constipation during menstruation may also cause occult blood.

In addition, tumors can also cause occult blood, such as benign or malignant tumors of the kidney, bladder, and ureter. Of course, older men have prostate hypertrophy and excessive residual urine, which makes the bladder prone to inflammation. The blood vessels on the surface of the prostate are congested, and they have difficulty urinating. After straining to urinate, they may have hematuria or occult blood. In fact, prostate hypertrophy is also a type of tumor. It is a tumor of the prostate, which becomes enlarged due to proliferation. Therefore, tumors of the urinary tract should not be taken lightly. At this time, intravenous pyelography should be performed. If there is no problem with the angiography, transitional cell tumor can be ruled out. Urinalysis should also be checked regularly. If there is still occult blood, you should go to the nephrology department for treatment and perform a renal puncture biopsy if necessary.

The most worrying thing is hematuria caused by nephritis. Many patients, including many children, suffer from repeated attacks of the disease due to kidney disease or incomplete treatment of the disease. They have hematuria and cannot find the cause. At this time, proteinuria and edema may also occur. At this time, they should not simply receive symptomatic treatment, but go to a specialist hospital for reexamination and systematic treatment based on the kidney disease and previous medical history.

3. Treatment of occult blood in urine

After the test results come out, occult blood bothers some people. In addition to objective factors such as exercise-induced hematuria and drug-induced hematuria, we should also conduct relevant examinations to confirm the diagnosis. When urinary tract infection, stones, tumors and other factors are excluded, the possibility of kidney disease should be considered. At this time, you should go to the hospital as soon as possible. Many patients with occult blood in urine neglect treatment in the early stages, thus delaying the disease.

In kidney diseases, such as acute and chronic nephritis, pyelonephritis, etc., hematuria will occur. When various pathological damages lead to local microcirculation disorders in the damaged kidney, renal tissue will be ischemic and hypoxic, thereby releasing inflammatory mediators and initiating the process of renal fibrosis. At this time, local pathological changes will occur in the glomeruli: mesangial cell proliferation, increased mesangial matrix, changes in the glomerular basement membrane, leading to charge barrier damage and increased renal permeability, resulting in urinary occult blood and proteinuria.

With the leakage of hematuria and proteinuria, kidney damage is further aggravated, and the glomeruli gradually progress to the stage of fibrosis and sclerosis. Clinically, systematic and targeted treatment should be adopted to promptly block the process of renal fibrosis and avoid renal failure caused by the gradual reduction of functional renal units.

It can be seen from this that if occult blood in urine is caused by kidney damage, the patient must be vigilant and seek treatment as soon as possible.

Urinalysis (RT) or dry urine chemistry. The urine result was: three plus signs for urine occult blood. This can be said to be more serious, with visible hematuria (you can see the red color of the urine with your eyes). This result indicates a urinary tract infection (the urinary system includes the kidneys, ureters, bladder and urethra). At this time, you should go to the hospital for a routine urine test and a B-ultrasound of the urinary system and get treatment as soon as possible.