Blood in the urine without an obvious cause such as cystitis or a kidney stone is common. But it should not be neglected because it might be an indication of cancer.
Due to negligence most people are diagnosed of cancer when in their later stage, says Dr AK Mandal of the Postgraduate Institute of Medical Education and Research.
It is not uncommon to note passage of red colored urine which is almost always indicative of presence of blood. This in Medical term is called Haematuria which is an important symptom pointing towards a serious underlying disease affecting the urinary tract (kidney, ureter, urinary bladder, prostate gland and urethra).
The concern is that haematuria may be caused by an underlying disease, such as inflammation of the prostate, kidney stones and, in older patients, cancer in a kidney or somewhere in the urinary tract, said Dr Mandal.
Although some would seek medical advice following an episode of Haematuria, more commonly people tend to believe that this is a result of taking spicy food or exposure to heat and ignore this.
Most often such bleeding would stop spontaneously and patients do not seek medical advice subsequently.
This allows the underlined disease to progress silently to a serious stage.
In adult individual blood in urine indicate serious urinary infection, stone disease, cancerous tumor in kidney, urinary bladder, prostate, tuberculosis etc. A timely diagnosis of all these diseases is extremely important for cure.
On the other hand a late diagnosis would lead to advanced malignancy and kidney failure added the urologist while addressing patients at the Golden Jubilee Public lecture Series in the New OPD Block.
Presence of blood can easily be diagnosed by routine examination of a sample of urine which would confirm presence of red blood cells (RBC).
Presences of pus cells in urine indicate an infection. To diagnose the underlying disease medical specialist usually depends on ultrasound scan of abdomen, IVP (Intravenous Urography) and or a CT scan (Computed tomography) depending on the seriousness of the condition.