ShouldI be worried if there is blood in my urine?It can be scary to seeblood in your urine. But try to stay calm. Blood in the urine is not alwaysserious. Still, you should see a doctor or nurse. The medical term for blood inthe urine is "hematuria."Bloodin the urine can come from the kidneys (where urine is made) or from anywherein the urinary tract .Whatcauses blood in the urine?Blood in the urine can be caused by lotsof problems, including:●Bladder infection, which also often causes burning or pain whenyou urinate●Kidney infection, which also often causes back pain and fever●Kidney stones, which also often cause back pain●Certain kidney diseases●Intense exercise●Injury (for example, if you fall off of a bike and bruise akidney)●Enlargement of the prostate (called "benign prostatichyperplasia"), which is common in older males●Cancer of the bladder, prostate, or kidney (cancer is anuncommon cause of blood in the urine, and it usually affects people older than50)Sometimes,urine can look as though it is bloody even though it isn't. This can happen ifyou eat a lot of beets or food dyes, or if you take certain medicines.ShouldI see a doctor or nurse?Yes. See your doctor or nurse if you seeblood in your urine, or if your urine is pink, red, brownish-red, or the colorof tea.Sometimes,doctors find blood in the urine when they do a routine urine test. That canhappen even if the urine looks normal. It means that there are microscopic(trace) amounts of blood in the urine.WillI need tests?Maybe. This depends on your age and symptoms. Not everyone needstests.Ifyour doctor or nurse thinks that you need tests, they might include:●Urine tests –These can show what kind of cells are in your urine. This can help the doctorfind out what's happening. The test might also measure the amount of protein inyour urine. Too much protein can be a sign of a kidney problem.●Blood tests –These can show whether your kidneys are working normally, or if you might havecertain diseases.●CT scan – This is aspecial kind of X-ray. It creates a picture of the kidneys and urinary tract.Doctors can use it to check for kidney stones and other problems in the urinarytract.●Kidney ultrasound –This is another way to create a picture of the kidneys. Doctors sometimes useultrasound instead of a CT scan.●Cystoscopy –This is a procedure that lets the doctor look inside your bladder and urethra.During cystoscopy, a doctor puts a thin tube with a tiny camera on the end intothe urethra and moves it up into the bladder. The tube is called a"cystoscope." If the doctor sees anything unusual, they might take asample of tissue (called a biopsy) to look at under a microscope.●Kidney biopsy – Forthis test, the doctor takes a small sample of tissue from the kidney to look atunder the microscope. The most common way to get the sample is by inserting aneedle straight through the skin in the back and into the kidney.●Blood pressure –Your blood pressure will probably be measured. That's because high bloodpressure can be a sign of certain kidney problems.WillI need treatment?It depends on what caused the blood in your urine. If you hadblood in your urine because you exercised too intensely or because your kidneywas bruised, you might not need any treatment. But if you have blood in theurine because of a bladder or kidney infection, you will probably needantibiotics.Whatproblems should I watch for?Call your doctor ornurse for advice if:●You have signs of an infection – These include a fever of100.4°F (38°C) or higher and chills, or pain when urinating.●You have very bad pain in your back or side.●You can't urinate at all, or only a small amount of urine comesout.●You have blood clots in your urine.●Your symptoms are not getting better after a few days or aregetting worse.