Treatments
Treatments and drugs
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.
Enlarged prostate. Treatments for an enlarged prostate seek to reduce symptoms and restore normal functioning of the urinary tract. All are effective to varying degrees, and all have some drawbacks. Medications are usually tried first, and they provide long-term relief for many men. When medications don't help, minimally invasive treatments using heat, lasers or sound waves to destroy excess prostate tissue may be tried.
Kidney disease. Most kidney problems often 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.
Prevention
It's generally not possible to prevent hematuria, though there are steps you can take to reduce your risk of some of the diseases that cause it. For instance, drinking plenty of water, urinating when you feel the urge and as soon as possible after intercourse, and avoiding irritating feminine hygiene products may reduce your risk of urinary tract infections. Other prevention strategies include:
Kidney stones. To help lower the likelihood of kidney stones, drink lots of water and limit salt, protein, and oxalate-containing foods such as spinach and rhubarb.
Bladder cancer. Stopping smoking, avoiding exposure to chemicals, drinking plenty of water, and eating more cabbage and broccoli can cut your risk of bladder cancer.
Kidney cancer. To help prevent kidney cancer stop smoking, maintain a healthy weight, up your intake of fruits and vegetables, stay active, and avoid exposure to toxic chemicals.
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