Baby Urinating Blood

by Maria Leftakis
(Toronto)

My 10 months old baby boy is urinating blood. I took him to the doctor and they did a urine test and a blood test..but awaiting for the results.. Can anyone help me ease my anxiety? I need to know what can be wrong.

A week ago he had diarrhea and vomited... Fever at times and loss of appetite... but my husband and I got the gastro so we thought he had the gastro too.. Now I see blood in urine and freaking out...

Baby With Blood In Urine

The medical term for blood in urine is hematuria. Blood in the urine comes from some part of the urinary tract; from the kidneys all the way down to the urethra, and it is important to find out what is causing the bleeding. You did completely right to take your baby to the doctor and have the tests run.

In babies, a urinary tract infection can be the reason for blood in the urine, but there may be other reasons too, such as problems with the kidneys, some blockage or from taking antibiotics. Dehydration may also lead to blood in the urine; something that may explain your baby's situation as you mention a recent diarrhea.

The color of the blood indicates from where the blood in coming. Pink or red blood usually derives from the lower urinary tract (the bladder or urethra), while brown, tea- or cola colored blood is more likely to derive from the kidneys.

Often when it comes to babies, a parent may notice blood in the diaper without knowing excatly where it came from.

Newborn babies, for example, often have pink stains in their urine during their first few days of living; something that often scare the parents. However, in this case the pink stains are not blood, but urate crystals. Completely normal in newborn babies. You can read more about newborn baby urine habits here.

Newborn female babies may also have a mini-period; affected by their mom's hormones. Newborn boys may have a surface bleeding from a circumcision.

The blood can also come from the rectum, from a small crack for example. To learn more about blood in a baby's poop, read here.

In any case, while waiting for test results can be pure torture, there isn't much point in speculating about what may be causing the blood in your baby's urine. If your baby seems overall healthy, is wetting his diapers just as usual and in is no pain, chances are that the test results will come out completely nromal and you will never really know what caused the bleeding.

The best thing you can do in the meantime, is try to relax and focus on how lovely your little boy is. Worrying and imagining the worst is not going to help him or yourself at all. He will be picking up on your anxiety. You are far better to fill your days with love and fun activities, and focus on what you do have control over until the results are in.

All the best,
Annie Desantis

References:

• Urologic Clinics of North America
• Stanford School Of Medicine: Blood In Urine Infants And Children

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