High Protein In Urine
Important Facts About Having High Protein In Your Urine
Having high protein in your urine is commonly called proteinuria, albruminuria and sometimes urine albumin. Protein is very important for your body to function properly as well as being important for your muscles, hair, nails and bones. Protein in your blood protects your body from getting an infection. In addition to that important job it helps your blood to clot and keeps fluid running through your body.
High protein in your urine is a sign of chronic kidney disease. This disease can be a result of diabetes and high blood pressure as well as a number of other diseases that your kidneys can become inflamed by. If the disease continues to progress without being treated, your kidneys can completely fail and you will need a kidney transplant or dialysis for the rest of your life. When blood flows through kidneys, the kidneys work to filter out the waste. Proteins are too big for kidneys but sometimes protein from your blood will slowly leak into the urine when it's filtered by your kidney.
If you have diabetes or certain family backgrounds then you run the risk of having high protein in your urine. This is the first sign of having a deteriorating kidney. High blood pressure or hypertension can also cause you to have high protein in your urine. African Americans run a six times higher risk than Caucasians to have kidney failure related to high blood pressure. If you are Hispanic, American Indian, overweight or older then you run a higher risk of having high protein in your urine.
If you have a large amount of protein, there aren't a lot of symptoms but it may cause your urine to look really foamy in your toilet bowl. When the protein starts to leave the body through urine then your blood cannot soak up fluids that are in your body so edema may then occur. Edema is described as the physical characteristic of your hands, feet and sometimes your abdomen swelling up.
If you have diabetes you need to test your blood sugar, and like they, check it often, and eat properly with a diet full of healthy foods. You also will need to take prescribed medicine and be sure to exercise regularly. If you have high protein in your urine but you do not have diabetes but do have high blood pressure then you may need to take an ACE inhibitor and also diuretics to go along with that. The diuretics will aid your body to release fluid from your body. Restricting salt and protein from your diet is also recommended.
When testing for high protein in your urine it requires a 24 hour collection period of urine. You will need to urinate into a container that will need to be kept in the refrigerator between uses. It will begin in the morning when you first wake up and you will use the container every single time you urinate through the day and the following morning where you finalize this task with your first urination of the day.
If you are a race that runs a higher risk than others or you have other health issues that put you at risk than you should get laboratory testing done to see if you have high protein in your urine. You should also work on controlling your blood pressure and blood sugar. If you feel you have high protein in your urine then you should visit your doctor to diagnose a potential problem before it progresses. Catching a problem early can help prevent serious health problems in the future.