Does anyone know how blood in urine looks?

[Lucy1234]

Hey everyone.

I had been doing well with my anxiety for about two weeks, after seeing my doc and asking her about my last worry and her explaining why it was not risky or worth losing sleep over.

Then last night I noticed a red piece of what I thought first was just a bit of thread from clothing, in the toilet with my normal- coloured otherwise urine.

I'm embarrassed to keep going back to my doctor at this stage, so I used that paid online doctors question service, to check if blood in urine could present like that. The doctor (who is 3rd party verified) said it was not significant and only to see my GP if it happens again, as it was most likely from clothing. (I wasn't wearing red, but a wooly skirt that attracts other threads, and had a few in different colours including red stuck to it when I looked)

With my anxiety I've just lost all perspective on what is worth going to the doctor over. I feel like I am indulging my own tendency to overreact, especially by going to her to ask 'was that random thing I thought was a thread just a thread?' How can she even know, unless it happens again? I probably shouldn't even use those question websites, except its a change to get better qualified information than the horrors of google.

Any advice or perspective you guys can offer would be much appreciated. I have also changed contraceptive pill recently which I know can cause a breakthrough bleed, but again I don't think this is how it presents?

[Canbud]

Imagine pouring some wine into the toilet bowl--blood in urine looks like pink pee. Sometimes little clots can come out, but I think you'd know a clot when you see it--it kind of looks wet and goopy.

[Lucy1234]

Thank you so much Canbud for your reply.

I do know clots from having my period, so I think I would have recognised that. It was more like a thread of string as it was the same thickness all along, narrow (1-2mm) and about an inch long, bent into a 'U'. The other reason i did not think it was blood at first was that it was holding its shape- if you know what i mean, the lines stayed straight, depite it being very thin, not wobbly or flimsy like you might think a string of blood would be. I have bits of embroidery thread around my couch from projects (which I will now hoover up pronto).

Paranoia is unfortunately getting the better of me.

I belatedly wish rather than flushing i had pulled it out to examine it on a tissue. Horrible as that thought may be

[debs71]

It certainly doesn't sound like blood to me.

Blood in urine is usually either slight, pinky tinged, very red looking or else looks like normal, and the blood is so minimal that it is only picked up by a dipstick test.

A red stringy thing...I've never seen that, and as a nurse for many years I saw a lot of blood in wee!

I think from what you say, you yourself suspect that this is just your anxiety getting a hold of you (been there myself time and time again)

I am sure you are just fine. As long as you feel ok, you are not symptomatic in other ways (which I won't go into as that just adds fuel to an anxious fire) then I really wouldn't dwell on it. x

[Lucy1234]

As long as you feel ok, you are not symptomatic in other ways (which I won't go into as that just adds fuel to an anxious fire) then I really wouldn't dwell on it. x

Thank you debs71, this forum has been a godsend to me.

I was last at the doctor about my pill but asked her did she think someone could give me HIV by splashing me when priming their insulin pen, so I'm kind of afraid to add more crazy points to my chart at this stage!

I will do as the online doctor suggested, and be vigilant, report it if anything similar happens again, and not panic. (he asked if I had any pain or history of abdominal pain, which I don't) I thought maybe the pay for answers site would be useful to me, as I wouldn't be escalating things by taking time from work to go to the doctor, but I ended up paying at two different sites 'just be be sure' as I started questioning whether you can trust info from the online doctors. Both answers were the same, that it's likely just one thread, unless it recurs.

So yes in brief, the anxiety has really gotten the better of me. I had some personal issues as well this week, and changing pill made me extra anxious about the scary new reactions and side effects I might get too.

I appreciate both of your kindnesses in replying to me, I've become a little embarrassed bringing up anxieties with friends as I got a lot of teasing for the HIV worries when I did before. It's not them being mean, my friends just see me as a worry wart rather than someone with a real problem.