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Blood In Urine


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I did read the original post and was going to comment earlier. Essentially my response was going to be "Any or all of the above".

A first episode of haematuria (blood in the urine) may be appropriately treated with antibiotics.

If it recurs or doesn't resolve then further investigation is warranted. The starting point is a urine culture and sensitivity performed on a specimen collected in a sterile manner. In an older dog, I would also suggest running general blood work to assess kidney function, as renal disease can be a contributing factor to the development of UTI's but also because it may affect the choice of drugs used to treat whatever is causing the haematuria. The underlying cause may be related to the bladder (infections, uroliths / stones and tumours are all possibilities), the urethra, the ureters or the kidneys.

Imaging by way of ultrasound or radiographs is also very important.

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Hi Rappie,

Thanks for responding, that has certainly cleared up some of the possibilities. I'm not sure why I deleted my post. I think perhaps I'm freaking out and a bit annoyed at myself at not asking some more thoughtful questions this morning at the vets. Unfortunately, I'm the sort of person who takes time to digest things. Of course I've been googling like mad and that's not always productive if you're not in the right frame of mind.

I will ask the vet about getting some more bloods done. She did get the all clear back in February when she got put under for surgery, however things may very well have changed. I will also ask about the urine test. I know for a fact that the sample I took today could not have been sterile and today they checked it with a test kit. I'm assuming they can do further testing.

When you say radiography and ultrasound, would a vet use the term x-ray to describe this? I'm thinking that ultrasound is different (like a human ultrasound). This may be something I need to clarify with the vet.

Thanks again! :)

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It is possible to get quite a bit of information from the in house urine testing (using a dipstick) but the interpretation really depends on what the original results were and what they are now. If there was evidence of infection previously (such as higher pH) and that resolved but bod remains positive then a physical problem might be more likely (like stones or a mass).

X-rays and radiographs are used interchangeably but X-rays are the things that create radiographs strictly speaking :laugh:

Ultrasounds are performed in much the same way as in people, they usually do not require sedation but in most cases will need the abdomen to be clipped to remove the hair. Radiographs and ultrasound are complementary but radiographs are usually the first step as the most common uroliths will show up clearly on them where as assessing the bladder for masses and wall thickness, kidney structure and sizes etc is better done with ultrasound.

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I suppose the only problem is we never took an original test. I didn't get one and rushed her in. We did attempt it during the consult (outside!)

I think it's amazing you can get so much info from a test kit! I guess not everything needs a complicated lab test.

I certainly feel in a much better position to discuss all this, especially bloods and urine, when I see my vet again.

We'll see what the radiograph shows up and take it from there.

I really appreciate your effort in providing this info, it's put my mind at ease in that at least I know that we are looking for answers.

I think perhaps I need a friend to come with me on consults to perhaps ask some questions and that might kick start me into thinking a bit more on my feet. I kind of shut down and ask not necessarily the 'wrong' questions, just maybe not some of the dead obvious important ones. :laugh:

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You aren't alone in the deer in head .ights / dumbstruck feeling. Lots of clients do it, I have done it when I go to the GP :laugh: that's part of why I come on here, to answer the questions you have when your clarity returns or explain some things more fully in the hope that you can then more confidently discuss things with your vet. I've heard some pretty dumb questions but nothing you've asked even rates on that radar (you have to try pretty hard!)

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