Most people urinate 7-8 times per day and think nothing of it. But if you happen to glance down and notice a pinkish or brownish tinge to your urine, that can definitely be a cause for alarm and it could be a sign of a serious medical problem, too.
Pinkish or brownish urine is typically caused by blood in the urine, a condition known as hematuria. While some causes can be relatively benign, it’s never normal — and it should always be medically evaluated as soon as possible.
Alfred Shtainer, MD, FACS, and the team at Adult and Pediatric Urology use advanced testing to detect hematuria and determine its cause so it can be treated. Here, we review some of the possible causes of hematuria to help you understand why prompt medical care is so important for your health.
UTIs happen when germs enter the urethra and migrate upwards into the urinary tract. As infection progresses, it irritates and inflames tissues inside the urethra, bladder, or kidneys, often leading to hematuria.
Without prompt medical attention, even a seemingly mild UTI can lead to serious complications, including permanent kidney damage. Fortunately, most UTIs improve rapidly with medication and a few simple lifestyle changes, like drinking more water.
Kidney stones form when salts and minerals cling together inside your kidneys, forming hard, sharp crystals. As they pass through your urinary tract, they irritate and scrape the tissue lining your ureters or urethra, leading to bleeding that then shows up in your urine.
Most people with kidney stones have hematuria accompanied by sharp pain or persistent aching in the lower back or groin, nausea, and vomiting. Drinking plenty of fluid helps small stones pass on their own, but larger stones may need medical intervention.
In any case, any size stone should be evaluated by our team to prevent problems and reduce the risk of recurrence.
The prostate is a walnut-sized gland that wraps around the urethra in men. As men age, the gland often enlarges, a harmless condition called benign prostatic hyperplasia or BPH. As the gland swells, it compresses the urethra, leading to irritation, inflammation, and sometimes hematuria.
Most prostate issues cause other symptoms, too, like a frequent need to urinate, urinary incontinence, or a weak or interrupted urine stream. Prostate cancer can cause similar symptoms, which is one more reason why early evaluation is so critical.
Millions of people are diagnosed with sexually-transmitted infections (STIs or STDs) each year, making them a lot more common than most people realize. Most STDs cause few or no symptoms in their early stages, meaning you can be infected and not even know it until you develop symptoms — and that could include blood in your urine.
Typically, hematuria associated with STIs is related to inflammation and irritation inside your urethra or bladder (or both). Prompt testing supports early treatment to help prevent complications and transmission to others.
Your kidneys filter your blood, removing wastes and returning “cleaned” blood to circulation. CKD impairs filtration, leading to blood showing up in your urine. CKD can lead to kidney failure and even death if not treated promptly.
Other diseases and inherited conditions can also affect the kidneys, leading to fragile blood vessels, clotting issues, or problems with the kidney’s filter system, each of which can lead to hematuria.
Cancers in the urinary system, like bladder cancer or kidney cancer, can also cause blood in your urine. Bleeding happens when tumors affect nearby blood vessels or when fragile blood vessels inside the tumor burst.
Inflammation and irritation associated with cancer also increase the risk of bleeding and hematuria. Like the other issues mentioned, prompt testing is critical for reducing the risk of serious complications.
Hematuria causes can be benign or serious, but one thing is sure: Blood in your urine is never normal, and it should always be evaluated by our team. If your urine looks pinkish, brownish, or foamy, or if you have any changes in your urinary habits, don’t put off treatment.
To schedule a medical evaluation and lab testing, request an appointment online at Adult and Pediatric Urology in Manhattan, Brooklyn, and Queens, New York, or call today.
