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Original poster

Would you go to A and E with this? (picture included)

664 replies

BalaRua · 31/12/2016 08:25

DH was weeing red yesterday and this is his wee this morning. He has a cold and has been taking lemsip. He's definitely had a temperature although no thermometer to check. Would this warrant a and e given the day/date? Thanks

Would you go to A and E with this? (picture included)
OP posts:
GloriaGaynor · 01/01/2017 10:58

Gloria are you an online medical doctor now? FFS I am sure the hospital did all the tests they could

I've had acute glomerulonephritis that was missed by A&E caused by a throat infection...

Next question.

GreatNorthern · 01/01/2017 11:09

OP, Have you got family near who can help out at all?

Your DH is younger than my son. I know if either of my DCs were ill, I'd do what I could to help.

Can your parents or inlaws come and give you a break and help with your DC?

SparklyMagpie · 01/01/2017 11:16

Hope your DH gets answers OP and gets sorted

Original poster
BalaRua · 01/01/2017 12:30

we have amazing families who are such a big help with the LO and everything else we need :) we are very lucky!

OP posts:
GreatNorthern · 01/01/2017 12:55

I'm sure if he is a fit and normally healthy 29 yr old then this is just some odd 'blip'. But I hope you get a diagnosis. Ask your GP for a referral to someone if it doesn't clear up. Also- did A&E say there was blood in the urine or is it brown wee that looks as if there is blood?

Original poster
BalaRua · 01/01/2017 14:25

Yes blood. The wees he has kept since last night, the blood has separated as sediment at the bottom! Bit freaky.

OP posts:
GreatNorthern · 01/01/2017 15:27

I think you ought to go back. This is not right.

If they tested his blood - liver and kidney function- what did it show?

Your GP will only order more tests so you may as well go back to A&E yourselves and insist they do some more.

It is possible to have wee that colour with an infection, and is not serious if it's 'just the bladder ' but infections are rare in young men.

Tell him to go back!

FrameyMcFrame · 01/01/2017 16:04

GreatNorthern, he's been checked by a doctor and sent home with instructions to see his own GP.

No need to worry the op further. If there was anything seriously wrong be would've been admitted to hospital after being checked in A&E

thatdearoctopus · 01/01/2017 16:08

Tell him to go back!

And now we've come full circle back to what the role of A&E is about. They've treated him and ruled out anything that's immediately life-threatening. Further tests is not their role - the correct course of action for that is to start with the GP, who will presumably refer him to the appropriate hospital department, which will not be A&E.

I think the OP was right to take him there yesterday (in the absence of any other options, mainly), but it would not be right to do so again today - unless his condition has deteriorated or altered significantly.

Olympiathequeen · 01/01/2017 16:18

The blood is very dark so I think it's coming from the kidneys rather than the bladder. That's usually much pinker or red.

So pyelonephritis ruled out as bloods would have shown severe infection and fever would continue.

Physical injury ruled out. Doubt heavy lifting would cause injury.

Tumour or cancer unlikely as the symptoms are so sudden.

Kidney stones are massively painful and as he's had no loin pain it's unlikely. Presumably no pain in back on either side?

Not likely kidney failure as that is sudden and v ill or slow and comes on gradually.

I wonder if this is a reaction to the virus he had? Causing unusual inflammation of the kidneys which let red blood cells leak through the filtering system?

Interesting to know what his gp says? Also surprising a sample wasn't sent off.

GreatNorthern · 01/01/2017 16:28

Framey am fully aware of what happened.
I just don't happen to agree with the advice from A&E. Known many people sent home then had to go back after misdiagnosis.

A GP is not going to be able to run any more tests than a hospital. GPs are just that- 'general' drs. if A&E can't find a cause how would a GP Confused

They may refer him to a specialist, but then the hospital could /should have started that chain when he was there.

MountainPeaks · 01/01/2017 16:30

GreatNorthern A and E may know the cause - it may just be that it's been left to the GP to tell the patient, and is nothing that needs immediate treatment in hospital.

I do however think that it is totally rubbish if they do...

AwaywiththePixies27 · 01/01/2017 16:36

How is he this evening OP?

Sallystyle · 01/01/2017 16:39

A&E just needs to rule out any life threatening conditions. It's all they are there for really in cases like this.

People come in all the time asking for more tests etc. No, that is not how it works. If your condition has changed for the worse then that is different. You get checked that you don't have a life threatening illness then you are either admitted onto a ward or told to go back for your GP, it's how it is meant to work, no matter how many people don't like it and want more.

You can't demand more tests because you want to know what is going on right now. You can't ask them to get the ball rolling. Their job is done when they know that you aren't about to die or need inpatient treatment.

userbkifhnvdd · 01/01/2017 16:40

When I was pregnant with my second from around 5 months I had many spells of peeing bright red blood, many trips to the doctors/hospital and scans etc and the cause was never found, it went away and hasn't come back in 12 years

Olympiathequeen · 01/01/2017 16:42

Having worked as an a&he nurse for 9 years I can assure you the Drs didn't know the diagnosis but decline to tell you!

Also in a&e only certain tests are allowed. If others are needed then patients are referred to specialities who take over the patient. Unless this is an accident or emergency they won't refer. It's not a back door.

Gp surgeries don't do the tests they send them to the same labs that the hospital uses. So they can do it all just as well. True test results take longer via the gp. Not because they are done later routinely, just that sending them back and remaking appointments takes time.

Clearly there was nothing acute that couldn't be dealt with via the gp or they wouldn't have sent him home. I'm sure they said if anything worsens significantly before the gp opens then to come back.

What would just turning up on the doorstep achieve if he isn't very ill? (I presume he is reasonably ok at the moment)

Expellibramus · 01/01/2017 16:46

While agreeing with not using A&E for trivial matters, if a number of my friends and family had taken the first medical opinion they'd been given, more of them would be dead now, and sadly some of them did, and arguably are sooner. So, blindly following medical advice to the contrary of common sense is also potentially dangerous.

I get the irony of A&E being overloaded contributing to sometimes poor care, but nevertheless, sometimes it's necessary to get a second opinion.

Blinkyblink · 01/01/2017 16:49

Sorry if already covered but my dh had exactly the sameness after he'd just been for a run.

Google it. Blood in urine after intense exercise, really quite common

Original poster
BalaRua · 01/01/2017 16:53

He's still having extremely dark wee. I agree A and E did their job in ascertaining that he wasn't dying :) but wish we'd been closer to an answer. He's fine in himself though, if a little tired.

He hadn't just been for a run and they tested to see if it was post-exercise ie rhabomyolisis and it wasn't

OP posts:
GloriaGaynor · 01/01/2017 17:11

I wonder if this is a reaction to the virus he had? Causing unusual inflammation of the kidneys which let red blood cells leak through the filtering system?

Along the lines I referred to above. I had acute glomerulonephritis - inflammation of the glomeruli in the kidneys which causes the kidneys to leak blood and protein - triggered by a throat infection, which is apparently typical.

Cola coloured blood is characteristic, slight fever, nausea, high BP, as is lack of severe pain (compared to passing a kidney stone) although I did notice he has a tender mid-back, which is where your kidneys are located.

A&E missed it the first time as my BP wasn't that high (it was raised, but it's normally low).

Not saying that's what he has btw, but it's good to be aware of it as I'd never heard of it.

GreatNorthern · 01/01/2017 17:43

I agree 100% about not bothering A&E for trivial issues.

But at the same time, drs aren't always right.

Who knows whether the dr he saw was just qualified, or had been on duty for 2 days with almost no sleep, or what. Drs are not infallible.

My own elderly father almost died after a GP prescribed the wrong meds for him, even though they are clearly contraindicated for his chronic illness. Two consultants also disagreed over the dose of other meds for him and changed them. A specialist nurse had her own views on dosage....

medicine is not an exact science!

It also shows how inefficient the NHS is when patients are referred back to GPs when they may need a specialist. The ball has to start rolling via the GP even though the patient has gone to A&E and been discharged , unwell, with no diagnosis. Madness.

FrameyMcFrame · 01/01/2017 18:09

GreatNorthern. If it's not a medical emergency then it's not within the remit for A&E. You don't jump the queue or speed up the process by going there first. It doesn't work like that.
I was sick with a heart arrhythmia, I attended my GP who booked me in for an ECG in the hospital within the hour. The cardiac unit is in a hospital which has no A&E dept. so going to A&E would've slowed down my treatment. It wasn't an emergency, I took myself over and got my tests.
Sometimes A&E isn't the right answer.

GloriaGaynor · 01/01/2017 19:37

Not everyone can get an appointment with a GP straight away. And it may not always be possible to get an appointment with a local cardiac unit within an hour.

My father had atrial fibrillation - a type of heart arrythmia - went to his GP and she immediately called ambulance. His heart rate was over 200 BPM.

oldlaundbooth · 01/01/2017 19:49

Crikey OP hope he feels better soon xxx

passmethewineplease · 01/01/2017 19:50

Olympia the OP said her DH felt like his back was quite tender but they attributed this to coughing.

A tender back if exactly how my kidney stone was found.

I would still wait for the GP OP. I wouldn't bother going back to A&E, the GP will refer to the appropriate department which will help him much more than A&E.