Professor Li is 52 years old and is the backbone of the business of a research institute. A year ago, he found that the color of his urine was sometimes red and his body was not uncomfortable, so he did not care because he was busy at work. However, since then, Professor Li has repeatedly experienced hematuria. At the urging of his family, Professor Li came to a nearby clinic of some fame and prescribed some Chinese medicine. However, in the last two months, Professor Li’s hematuria symptoms appeared again, and frequent episodes, sometimes feeling panic, weakness, and significant weight loss symptoms. Ultrasound examination revealed a tumor in the bladder, and cystoscopy revealed advanced bladder cancer. At that time, the specialist who saw Professor Li lamented that if he had paid attention to the problem of hematuria, the ending would have been completely different. In fact, bladder cancer is a common tumor in adults over 40 years old, and its treatment effect is closely related to the degree of tumor development. In the early stage, when the tumor is small in size and less than 2 cm in diameter, it can generally be treated by cystoscopic electrodesiccation without the need for incision. As the size of the tumor increases, the malignancy of the tumor tends to increase, and it requires open surgery to remove the tumor or part of the bladder. Advanced bladder cancer requires removal of the entire bladder and the use of autologous ileum or colon to make an artificial bladder. Such patients need to wear a urinary bag for life and their quality of life is greatly reduced. Professor Li’s experience raises a question for us: How should we treat properly when our body has hematuria? Learn a little about hematuria Many diseases in the human body, especially urological diseases, can cause hematuria. From a medical point of view, there are two types of hematuria: one is when we cannot see blood in the urine with the naked eye, but only find red blood cells higher than normal during microscopic examination, called microscopic hematuria; the other is when the urine is red and can be seen with the naked eye, called visual hematuria. Which kind of hematuria is present is determined by the amount of bleeding in the urine. Generally speaking, the naked-eye hematuria is easy to notice, while microscopic hematuria is not easy to detect, but either type of hematuria indicates a pathology in the body. Therefore, once hematuria is detected, further examination should be conducted to clarify the cause and provide timely treatment. The causes of hematuria vary by age. Hematuria is rare in newborns, and the appearance of hematuria is usually caused by systemic diseases. In children, the common cause of hematuria is glomerulonephritis; in adult women under 40 years old, the common cause of hematuria is urinary tract infection; in adult men under 40 years old, the common causes are urinary stones, prostatitis, urinary tuberculosis, urethritis, etc. In adults over 40 years old, the occurrence of hematuria should be alerted to the occurrence of tumors. Painless hematuria cannot be ignored Painless hematuria, as the name implies, is the presence of hematuria without painful symptoms, and is usually seen in urinary tract tumors, among which bladder cancer is the most common. This kind of hematuria occurs intermittently and sometimes disappears temporarily with symptomatic treatment, presenting an intermittent phenomenon, which is often ignored and delayed. Professor Li’s case is of this type. In addition, kidney tumor also has painless hematuria as the main symptom, and the manifestation of hematuria is similar to that of bladder tumor. Therefore, when painless hematuria occurs in the body, you should never be careless. In many cases, the appearance of hematuria is often accompanied by physical discomfort, and its manifestations are diverse. The accompanying symptoms can be helpful to doctors in finding the cause. Hematuria with renal colic is a characteristic feature of kidney and ureteral stones. Hematuria usually occurs during an attack of renal colic and is not necessarily visual. Hematuria with bladder irritation, i.e. symptoms of frequent urination, urgency and painful urination, is mostly seen in acute cystitis or renal tuberculosis. Hematuria with high fever, chills, and back pain may be caused by pyelonephritis. Hematuria with difficulty in urination may be due to prostate enlargement and bladder stone. Hematuria with abdominal mass may be caused by renal tumor, renal tuberculosis, hydronephrosis, etc. Hematuria can also occur in systemic diseases. If hematuria is accompanied by systemic symptoms such as edema, hypertension, fever, bleeding tendency, etc., it mostly indicates that the cause of hematuria is renal parenchymal disorders or blood disorders. Such as various nephritis, kidney disease, leukemia, hemophilia, etc. Since hematuria can occur in various systemic and local diseases, it should be taken very seriously when it is detected. The correct way is to go to a regular hospital for a comprehensive and thorough examination once hematuria is detected, including urine routine, bacterial culture, X-ray, cystoscopy, B
ultrasound, CT examination and so on. In this way, you will find the lesions in your body in time and treat them in time. Then, the best opportunity for treatment will not be lost, as in the case of Professor Li, who was talked about at the beginning of this article. If, after various tests, no cause of hematuria is found, it does not indicate that everything is normal and must be reviewed regularly. For the sake of your health and the well-being of your family, please face hematuria correctly.