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Having Flank Pain, Noticed Blood And Crystals In Urine. What Am I Suffering From?
Question: I am a 55 year old woman. Every time I go for a urine test it has blood++ , it also contains polymorphism and crystals. I also have flank pain constantly. Please help.
Hi, thanks for using healthcare magic
Blood in the urine or haematuria as it is also called, can have different causes.
Haematuria is normally divided into that which is clearly visible by the naked eye because the urine is discoloured or that which is only picked up by the use of a dipstick in the doctor's office.
Your haematuria appears to be the second. Infection is a common cause of haemturia but is should respond to appropriate antibiotic therapy. Your doctor would likely have sent urine off to the lab to determine whether the bacteria that is in the urine causing the infection, is responsive to the antibiotic that you are using.
If the bacteria is resistant to the anti biotic prescribed then your symptoms would not improve.
If you have been given an appropriate antibiotic then your doctor may consider looking for other possible causes of the haemturia.
To do this certain tests would have to be done, these include: full blood count and ESR, creatinine and urea (looks at the function of the kidney), albumin level (the level of protein in the blood is also relevant), calcium. In addition a 24 hr urine sample should be done to check the protein level in the urine. IF the protein level is increased, it usually indicates that a certain aspect of the kidney is involved.
In addition to the above,imaging should also be done- this would include an ultrasound and/or a CT scan.
The other causes of haematuria other than infection include:reactions or side effects of some medications, inflammation of different aspects of the kidney, vascular diseases, trauma, conditions related to the immune system, cystic diseases of the kidneys, cancer, inherited diseases.
I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions
Blood in the urine or haematuria as it is also called, can have different causes.
Haematuria is normally divided into that which is clearly visible by the naked eye because the urine is discoloured or that which is only picked up by the use of a dipstick in the doctor's office.
Your haematuria appears to be the second. Infection is a common cause of haemturia but is should respond to appropriate antibiotic therapy. Your doctor would likely have sent urine off to the lab to determine whether the bacteria that is in the urine causing the infection, is responsive to the antibiotic that you are using.
If the bacteria is resistant to the anti biotic prescribed then your symptoms would not improve.
If you have been given an appropriate antibiotic then your doctor may consider looking for other possible causes of the haemturia.
To do this certain tests would have to be done, these include: full blood count and ESR, creatinine and urea (looks at the function of the kidney), albumin level (the level of protein in the blood is also relevant), calcium. In addition a 24 hr urine sample should be done to check the protein level in the urine. IF the protein level is increased, it usually indicates that a certain aspect of the kidney is involved.
In addition to the above,imaging should also be done- this would include an ultrasound and/or a CT scan.
The other causes of haematuria other than infection include:reactions or side effects of some medications, inflammation of different aspects of the kidney, vascular diseases, trauma, conditions related to the immune system, cystic diseases of the kidneys, cancer, inherited diseases.
I hope this helps, feel free to ask any other questions
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Above answer was peer-reviewed by :
Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar
Answered by
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