Hematuria is the presence red blood cells in the urine. Whether the blood is visible only under a microscope or visible to the naked eye, hematuria is a sign that something is causing bleeding in the genitourinary tract.
Bleeding may happen once or it may be recurrent, and indicates different problems in men and women.
Many non-serious conditions may cause hematuria, for example strenuous exercise such as jogging or long-distance running. In these cases the urine usually clears within 24 hours.
Excessive consumption of beets, berries, rhubarb, food coloring, certain laxatives and pain medications (e.g., NSAIDs such as aspirin) can produce pink or reddish urine called pseudohematuria. This condition is temporary and does not require treatment.

Many people have hematuria without any other related problems, and often no specific cause can be found. But because hematuria may also be the result of kidney disease, tumors or other serious problems, a doctor should be consulted.

To find the cause of hematuria or to rule out certain causes the doctor may order a series of tests including urinalysis, blood tests, kidney imaging studies, and cystoscopic examination.

• Urinalysis is the examination of urine for various cells and chemicals. In addition to finding RBCs, the doctor may find white blood cells that signal a urinary tract infection or casts, which are groups of cells molded together in the shape of the kidneys' tiny filtering tubes, that signal kidney disease. Excessive protein in the urine also signals kidney disease.
• Blood tests may reveal kidney disease if the blood contains high levels of wastes that the kidneys are supposed to remove.
• Kidney imaging studies include ultrasound, computerized tomography (CT) scan, or intravenous pyelogram (IVP). An IVP is an x ray of the urinary tract. Imaging studies may reveal a tumor, a kidney or bladder stone, an enlarged prostate, or other blockage to the normal flow of urine.
• A cystoscope can be used to take pictures of the inside of the bladder. It has a tiny camera at the end of a thin tube, which is inserted through the urethra. A cystoscope may provide a better view of a tumor or bladder stone than can be seen in an IVP.

Symptoms of Hematuria:
The only visible sign of hematuria is pink, red or cola-colored urine — the result of the presence of red blood cells. It takes very little blood to produce red urine, and the bleeding usually isn't painful. Bloody urine often occurs without other signs or symptoms. In many cases, you can have blood in your urine that's only visible under a microscope (microscopic hematuria).

Treatment of Hematuria:
Hematuria has no specific treatment. Instead, your doctor will focus on the underlying condition:

• Urinary tract infection: Antibiotics are the standard treatment for urinary tract infections. Symptoms usually subside a few days after you start taking medication, but recurring infections may need multiple or longer therapies.
• Kidney stones: You may be able to pass a kidney stone by drinking large amounts of water and staying active. Talk to your doctor about an appropriate amount of fluids for you. If this doesn't work, your doctor is likely to try more invasive measures. These include a procedure that uses shock waves to break the stone into small pieces (extracorporeal shock wave lithotripsy) and, in some cases, surgery to remove the stone.
• Kidney disease: Most kidney problems require treatment. No matter what the underlying cause, the goal is to relieve inflammation and limit further damage to your kidneys.
• Cancer: Though there are a number of treatment options for kidney and bladder cancer, surgery to remove cancerous tissue is often the first choice because the cells are relatively resistant to radiation and most types of chemotherapy. The primary treatment for bladder cancer is surgical resection or complete removal of the bladder. In some cases, surgery may be combined with chemotherapy. In others, the immune system in the bladder is boosted with medications.
• Inherited disorders: Treatments for inherited disorders that affect the kidneys vary greatly. Benign familial hematuria usually doesn't require treatment, for instance, whereas people with severe Alport syndrome may eventually need dialysis — an artificial means of removing waste products from the blood when the kidneys are no longer able to do so. Sickle cell anemia is treated with medications, blood transfusions or, in the best-case scenario, a bone marrow transplant.