What does it mean to have albumin in your urine?

Albuminuria is a sign of kidney disease and means that you have too much albumin in your urine. Albumin is a protein found in the blood. A healthy kidney doesn’t let albumin pass from the blood into the urine. A damaged kidney lets some albumin pass into the urine.

What are the signs and symptoms of albuminuria?

Signs and symptoms. It is usually asymptomatic but whitish foam may appear in urine. Swelling of the ankles, hands, belly or the face may occur if losses of albumin are significant and produce low serum protein levels ( nephrotic syndrome ).

Is there a urine dipstick test for albuminuria?

Also a urine dipstick test for proteinuria can give a rough estimate of albuminuria. This is because albumin is by far the dominant plasma protein, and bromophenol blue the agent used in the dipstick is specific to albumin.

Which is the most effective treatment for albuminuria?

Among other measures, blood pressure control, especially with the use of inhibitors of the renin-angiotensin-system, is the most commonly used therapy to control albuminuria.

How much albumin is in a liter of blood?

A blood sample test that shows albumin levels to be 4.0 g/dl indicates that 1 liter of blood will contain approximately 40 grams of albumin. As we all know, kidneys filter the blood to remove impurities, which are then excreted in the form of urine.

Why are albumin levels important to your health?

Maintaining albumin levels in the normal range ensures proper circulation of vitamin A throughout the body. This in turn will help to safeguard your health from dreaded diseases cancer and other infections. Normal Albumin Levels… As albumin circulates in the blood, a simple blood test will help to determine the blood albumin status.

When to take albumin test for kidney disease?

Health care providers regularly test people for albuminuria as part of a routine medical exam and will closely monitor urine albumin in people with kidney disease. A urine albumin level that stays the same or goes down may mean that treatments are working.