Urology

Seeing blood in your urine is a scary thing for anyone. Unfortunately, many people let it go when they should see a physician right away. If you’ve seen blood in your urine and you’re unsure how serious it is, you’re not alone. We asked Dr. Larry Tetsotti, urologist, to help us out.

What is it called when you see blood in the urine, and what does it mean?
In medicine, hematuria, or haematuria, is the presence of red blood cells (erythrocytes) in the urine. It can be a sign that there’s a kidney stone or a tumor in the urinary tract (i.e., kidneys, urinary bladder, prostate, and urethra), ranging from trivial to lethal. If white blood cells are found in addition to red blood cells, most likely you have a urinarytract infection.