As soon as parents notice an admixture of blood in children's urine, they immediately contact a pediatrician or urologist. This condition is usually the reason for immediate medical advice, since the appearance of blood can be a sign of serious illness.
Causes
Most often, the detection of blood in the analysis of the child's urine indicates renal disease, however, extrarenal causes can also lead to hematuria. Blood can appear when:
- Hereditary diseases of the urinary tract.
- Infectious lesions of the excretory system.
- Renal failure.
- The deposition of salts and stones in the kidney or bladder.
- Glomerulonephritis.
- Damage to the urinary tract.
- Blood clotting problems.
- Decreased immunity in viral infections and colds.
- Problems with the blood supply to the kidneys, in particular, with venous thrombosis of the kidney.
- Systemic diseases.
- Tumor processes.
In a newborn
Often, parents mistaken for blood the reddening of the urine of a newborn baby, which normally occurs in the first days of a baby's life due to an excessive amount of urate getting into it. This condition is called uric acid infarction and is not a sign of the baby's illness.
Nevertheless, blood can really get into the urine of a newborn baby, for example, with birth injuries, congenital kidney pathologies or infection of the urinary tract of a crumbs.
In a baby
In the first year of life, the vessels in the baby's body are still very fragile, so any health problems can damage them. Even a cold with a high fever or vigorous exercise can cause bloody urination.
Due to improper care of the baby, a urinary tract infection may develop, for example, an infant may develop cystitis or urethritis.
In addition, hematuria detected in infancy may indicate congenital pathologies, the development of glomerulonephritis, or hemorrhagic diathesis.
In older children
Bloody urination in older children often indicates kidney or bladder disease. This is a common symptom of cystitis or nephritis.
Also, blood can appear when a stone forms in the urinary tract - it can damage the mucous membranes and cause bleeding. It is not uncommon in older children and bleeding from the urinary tract caused by injuries.
Diagnostics
A large number of red blood cells that have entered the urine changes the color of urine (it turns red) and is called gross hematuria. Her parents notice visually and seek immediate medical attention. However, a child may have another condition, called microhematuria, when blood enters the urine, but it is outwardly invisible. Such a problem can be detected only with a laboratory study of urine.
If there are suspicions of the presence of blood in the baby's urine, it is important to pass a general urine test, as well as Kakovsky-Addis and Nechiporenko samples. Also, the child will be assigned an ultrasound scan and a blood test. In some cases, the doctor directs the baby for tomography, cystoscopy, or x-rays.
If blood appears when the child begins to urinate, then problems with the urethra are the cause. If the discharge of blood is noted at the end of urination, this happens with lesions of the bladder.
Additional detection in urine protein analysis confirms kidney damage. If blood clots get into the urine, this is also typical for kidney disease, but it can also be observed with bleeding from other parts of the excretory system.
What to do?
The first thing to do for parents who notice blood in their baby's urine is to make sure that the urine does include blood cells. First, you need to remember if the child has eaten any foods with red pigments the day before (beets, blueberries, sweets, and others), and also whether he has started taking any new medications. If so, make sure the child is drinking enough, and very soon the urine will turn yellow again.
If no connection with drugs and food is found, you should see a doctor. The specialist will prescribe a urine test, as well as a blood test of the child, which will identify the cause of the problem and begin to eliminate it in a timely manner.
Reasons not to worry about blood in your urine
Excretion of blood in the urine is considered acceptable if:
- A catheter is inserted into the baby's urethra. The appearance of blood is possible for several days after its extraction.
- The child underwent cystoscopy. Blood may be released on the day of the procedure and for several days after it.
- A procedure was performed to crush or remove kidney stones.
- On the eve of the analysis, the child had a very intense physical activity.
