Blood in Urine
Blood in the urine is one of the most prevalent symptoms of kidney stones. In addition, it’s one of the few symptoms that can be pinpointed to a kidney stone as opposed to any other medical problem. However, blood in the urine can also be caused by bacterial urinary tract infections, kidney disease, bladder and urethra problems, or cancer. This can make it difficult for doctors to determine whether or not a person has kidney stones based on the blood in their urine alone.
To determine if a patient has a kidney stone, the doctor will ask about other symptoms the patient is experiencing. If there are no other medical conditions that could cause blood in the urine, doctors may do tests on a sample of the patient’s urine to determine if there are chemicals present that indicate a kidney stone.
If they can find evidence of crystals within a person’s urine, they will likely recommend an imaging test such as a CT scan or an ultrasound to get an even more precise picture of what is causing this symptom. They may also run further tests on their patient’s urine using microscopic analysis to look for larger-scale crystals, which indicate that they have developed into stones and will likely need treatment soon.
