In normal urine, the test should not detect protein at all. But the presence of protein in the urine does not necessarily mean you are seriously ill. Nevertheless, it is worth discussing this with your doctor. What does protein in urine mean? What are the causes of proteinuria?
Proteinuria( protein in urine ) can have many causes. Not havingprotein in your urinedoesn't mean you don't excrete it at all. But only 100 mg a day is getting through, which the study fails to detect. Only when the amount of protein in the urine exceeds 150 mg per day, tests used in laboratories will detect it. The few proteins that show up in one study, however, don't necessarily mean something dangerous. Its excretion may be caused by prosaic reasons, such as freezing, strenuous physical exertion and various body imbalances, including stress and fever, and even long standing is the cause of proteinuria, then called orthostatic. The presence of protein in the urine of pregnant women is also physiological. When the protein in urine is not pathological, doctors say it is functional proteinuria. Confirmation of this diagnosis is obtained if protein is not detected during the subsequent urinalysis.
When does protein in urine signal illness?
If the presence of protein in the urine is accompanied by bacteria, there is a high probability that the cause is a urinary tract infection. The urologist should step in. Good diagnosis and treatment are enough to remedy the problem. Protein in the urine of women may be caused by a discharge or a vaginal infection. In men, especially in their forties, the presence of protein in the urine may signal prostate problems. In this case, it is also necessary to go to a urologist, undergo an examination, perform an ultrasound of the prostate and test PSA markers.
Proteinuria and kidney damage
Proteinuria can mean kidney disease and damage, and this problem should be de alt with by a nephrologist.
Protein in the urine is often caused by pyelonephritis. The disease is caused by bacteria such asEscherichia coliand chlamydia, mycoplasmas, HPV and gonorrhea. A urine test shows high levels of leukocytes and bacteria, and red blood cells may also be found. The disease requires treatmentantibiotics.
Proteinuria can be caused by acute or chronic glomerulonephritis. In the acute stage, blood also appears in the urine, the disease is accompanied by fever, increased blood pressure, pain in the lumbar region and swelling of the entire face or only eyelid edema. In the chronic state, there are no such expressive symptoms, although you may notice urine foaming, swelling appearing during the day and disappearing at night. It is accompanied by fatigue, apathy, headaches and a lack of appetite. In acute and severe glomerulonephritis, administration of steroids may be necessary. Hypertension that occurs in kidney disease should always be treated.
Proteinuria can also signal renal dysfunction due to renal vein thrombosis, cancer, autoimmune diseases such as systemic lupus erythematosus or diabetes (diabetic nephropathy) and hypertension (hypertensive nephropathy). In such cases, it is primarily the disease that caused the kidney damage that needs to be treated.
When the cause of proteinuria lies outside the kidneys
Protein in the urine may also appear in people suffering from heart failure, it is caused by congestive heart failure. A specific type of low molecular weight protein that appears in the urine - Bence Jones protein - is characteristic of multiple myeloma cancer (cancerous growth of a certain type of bone marrow cells) and Waldenström's macroglobulinemia (cancerous disease of cells in the marrow, spleen and lymph nodes). However, this protein cannot be detected by a general urine test. It usually comes out during further, more detailed diagnostics, when a general examination reveals proteinuria. Usually, a daily collection of urine is performed.