Table of Contents Show
Are you bleeding while urinating? If yes, do you know what causes small blood clots in urine? In this article, we will learn about a common physical problem often faced by many: small blood clots in urine flow.
Though the topic suggests all about this article, let’s dig in to know what causes small blood clots in urine.
Women who had attained periods might see blood while urinating. Still, women must not confuse periods with hematuria as the period is a natural phenomenon, whereas hematuria1 is a disease that needs to be treated as early as possible.
Blood Clots in Urine
There can be multiple reasons that cause small blood clots in urine; like:
- Urinary tract infections
- Microscopic hematuria to gross hematuria
- Kidney infections
- Enlarged prostate
- Prostate cancer
This blood in the urine can come out in many possible ways like bleeding before urinating, bleeding after urinating, or small blood clots in the urine flow.
This bleeding urine can also have multiple symptoms:
- Abdomen pain
- Pain in the bladder
- Irritation in the urinary tract along with a burning sensation or just a burning sensation
Therefore the pain and the symptoms may vary from person to person; depending upon the disease, the blood clot colour may also vary from person to person from brown-red to light pink.
If the blood is visible in the urine, it is known as gross hematuria2. If it is only visible under a microscope or so, then it is called known microscopic hematuria.
In the upcoming sections, we will discuss what causes small blood clots in urine in detail, but before we go further if one is facing this blood clot problem in their urine, they should consult a physician immediately.
What is Hematuria?
Hematuria is nothing but blood in the urine, or the bloody urine is known as Hematuria. As mentioned earlier, hematuria can be further divided into two parts:
I) Gross hematuria and
II) Microscopic hematuria.3
The blood visible in the urine through the naked eye is gross hematuria, and the other one that needs a microscopic test to see the blood in the urine tests is microscopic hematuria.
Now moving on to the next question: Is Hematuria what causes small blood clots in urine? Well, no, Hematuria is the urine that consists of blood; it is not a disease but a symptom.
Hematuria can rather caused by many other diseases whose symptoms are hematuria4; there are many diseases like urinary tract infections, kidney diseases, kidney stones, etc., which cause blood in the urine and other symptoms.
Hematuria can often be analogous to severe pain, either in:
- The internal lining of the urethra or it may be the urinary tract
- Bladder
- Pain in groins in men and labia in women
- Pain in the pubic region
One should not ignore such symptoms rather one should consult a doctor immediately and seek further tests and medication.
What Causes Small Blood Clots in Urine?
Some many reasons and diseases cause small blood clots in urine; the reason can be as follows:-
This blood in your urine might look like worms in urine flow for some, some might bleed before urination, and some people can also bleed at the end of urination.
1. Urinary Tract Infection / UTI
What is UTI? Generally known as UTI, it is a short form of Urinary tract infection; this urinary tract infection can be a prominent reason for the blood in your urine.
A UTI occurs when one is having bacterial infection in the urinary bladder; these bacteria enter the body through the urethra (which is the exit point of our urine from the body) and create colonies by growing into the urinary bladder.
Symptoms include:
- A perpetual impulse to pee or frequent urination; However, you might not pee even after trying
- There is a pain and burning sensation while urinating
- A very pungent or strong smell in the urine.
If untreated for a long period, Urinary tract infection can lead to kidney diseases such as Pyelonephritis5, which is discussed in detail further.
2. Pyelonephritis (Kidney Infections)
Now let’s move on to the next part of what causes small blood clots in urine.
Pyelonephritis might be what causes small blood clots in urine; this kidney infection is when the bacteria residing in the lower urinary tract moves to the kidney or the kidney gets infected with the bacteria through blood.
This disease is similar to urinary tract infection and the same symptoms along with flank pain and fever may be seen.
3. A Kidney or Bladder Stone
A kidney stone is also one of the common causes of small blood clots in urine; if you see blood in your urine without much pain, you might also have kidney stones.
The minerals in our body are all filtered by the kidney; sometimes, these minerals concentrate in one place in the kidney or the bladder in crystal forms and give rise to kidney disease, namely kidney stones.
These stones are not painful unless they are stuck in the passing canal or create an obstacle or blockage for the other fluids to pass through; these can often lead to severe pain accompanied by either or both of the hematuria.
These diseases mentioned above are the top three reasons found in the human body that causes small blood clots in urine now moving further; here are also the other reasons found in the human body that causes small blood clots in urine.
4. Kidney Disease
Kidney disease is also one of the components that cause small blood clots in the urine; kidney disorder is not only limited to strep infections or stones. Rather, it can be Vasculitis (disease of the blood vessels).
Kidney inflammatory diseases6 like glomerulonephritis and other immunity disorders in the kidney can cause blood in your urine; now, let’s move on to the next part of what causes small blood clots in urine.
5. Enlarged Prostate Gland
This generally happens in men, especially those who have attained middle age; in these cases, their prostate gland often gets enlarged. The prostate gland is situated just below the bladder covering up the urethra.
The enlarged prostate then blocks the urine flow up to a certain limit by creating an obstacle. This enlarged prostate problem then causes passing blood clots in the urine.
Now this urine blood in the urine might be visible or can be microscopic blood in the urine.
6. Inherited Disorders
Inherited disorders or genetic disorders such as Sickle cell anemia, a disease related to red blood cells, can also be a prominent cause of what causes small blood clots in urine.
This is a hereditary/genetic disorder carried through genes; this disorder mainly affects the red blood cells. However, this red blood cell disorder is very rare.
This medical condition can cause red-coloured urine and abdominal pain, so if you suspect this medical condition, you must look at your medical family history to determine.
The red blood cell easily loses their shape and takes the sickle form; the RBC here dies quickly and creates a deficiency of red blood cells in the body.
Other medical conditions besides sickle cell anemia, namely Alport syndrome, cause blood in the urine.
Fun fact
People used to think that inherited disorder is X-linked; therefore, these red blood cell disorders mainly affect men, whereas if women are affected or have these disorders in their genes, they will be just the carriers of the disorder, but this is a myth.
7. Cancer
Blood in the urine can be caused by bladder cancer or kidney cancer or may be due to prostate cancer; in these cases, cancer has already developed to a critical level, and sometimes it is barely treatable.
8. Kidney Injury
Kidney injury may cause visible urinary bleeding, such as an injury that happened because of an accident, while playing any sport, or some other activity.
9. Medications
Certain medications can also cause blood in the urine; for example, if someone is consuming the anti-cancer drug cyclophosphamide or using prescribed antibiotics such as penicillin or blood thinners, these can cause blood in the urine. Though always, these things may not be an obvious reason.
10. Strenuous Exercise
Those who work out or do an intense or heavy workout like swimming, cycling, and racing, are often prone to this urinary bleeding Although, this urinary bleeding was mostly seen in runners.
These urinary bleeding may be related to bladder trauma, dehydration, or the breakdown of red blood cells. It might cause urinary bleeding, but it is very rare.
Just because one exercises daily and is having urinary bleeding, not going to the doctor is not an option; in such cases, one should go to the doctor immediately.
11. Dehydration
Though it is very common that if one is having or suffering from dehydration can have this urinary bleeding problem, this generally happens when one person stops taking an adequate amount of water for a long time.
In these cases, there is a constant urge to pee, which bleeds at the end of the urine flow and severely hurts the urethra, the extreme exit point of urine.
Coping with dehydration is easy and treatable at home; having a lot of water constantly throughout the whole day till you stop bleeding is one way.
Another home remedy is to drink coconut water, whether fresh coconut water or chilled coconut water, as coconut water has a lot of benefits which aid in hydration, and also help in preventing kidney stones.
Another remedy is drinking chilled water mixed with rock sugar; drinking these chilled drinks will aid in hemoglobin production, which will help in coping with blood deficiency and also has a soothing effect on the body.
Is a Small Blood Clot in Urine Curable?
Here we are almost at the last stage of these articles, namely what causes small blood clots in urine; in most cases, if one is having abdominal pain accompanied by blood in the urine or urine hematuria, one must consult a physician.
Any disease in an earlier stage is treatable, and so is this disease. If treated earlier, this urine hematuria is curable. Some physical examinations, blood tests, and examination of the patient’s urine sample are necessary.
In certain cases, if it indicates some kidney disease, one must opt for a kidney biopsy and a urine test suggested by the doctor.
Biopsy of any body part is the test of the said body cells to determine whether the cell of that body part consists of or carries cancerous cells.
Frequently Asked Questions
1. Should I be worried if I bleed when I pee?
Yes, it is a matter to worry about. If you are bleeding while urinating, contact your healthcare practitioner or a urologist fast.
2. How do you treat blood in urine?
This can be treated by a range of options from medication to surgery, as your doctor suggests.
3. What is the most common cause of blood in urine?
The most common reason is urinary tract infection (UTI). A UTI is an infection that occurs anywhere in the urinary tract as it involves the bladder, ureters, and kidneys.
In a Nutshell
So here we are at the last part of our article on what causes small blood clots in urine. To sum up or conclude all of the above in a nutshell, we will suggest that if someone notices blood and is having difficulty urinating accompanied by abdominal pain, is suffering from hematuria.
This hematuria is treatable if treated on time. To examine such diseases, MRI (magnetic resonance imaging), biopsy, urine test, and blood test, are available to detect the exact problem and to treat such diseases.
One must visit the doctor as soon as possible to clear all the chaos and seek the right treatment.
If you liked this article, here is something for you.
- Sutton, James M. “Evaluation of hematuria in adults.” Jama 263.18 (1990): 2475-2480. ↩︎
- Pan, Cynthia G. “Evaluation of gross hematuria.” Pediatric Clinics 53.3 (2006): 401-412. ↩︎
- Cohen, Robert A., and Robert S. Brown. “Microscopic hematuria.” New England Journal of Medicine 348.23 (2003): 2330-2338. ↩︎
- Avellino, Gabriella J., Sanchita Bose, and David S. Wang. “Diagnosis and management of hematuria.” Surgical Clinics 96.3 (2016): 503-515. ↩︎
- Kleeman, Charles R., William Hewitt, and Lucien B. Guze. “Pyelonephritis.” Journal of the American Medical Association 173.3 (1960): 257-259. ↩︎
- Ernandez, Thomas, and Tanya Mayadas. “Immunoregulatory role of TNFα in inflammatory kidney diseases.” Kidney international 76.3 (2009): 262-276. ↩︎
Last Updated on by ayeshayusuf
Authors
