What Are Reasons for The Increase of Urea Level
In lab, blood urea nitrogen (BUN) is often used to reflect urea level in the blood, while urea is discharged out of the body via kidneys. If it is higher than the normal, it indicates some underlying disorders.
The normal blood urea level
For healthy adults, their fasting plasma urea nitrogen is about 3.2-7.1 mmol/L, or 9-20 mg/dl. If one person’s blood urea nitrogen is higher than this value, they should find out the reasons actively.
What reasons can cause the increase of blood urea level?
The leading cause is kidney damage. Since kidneys are responsible for eliminating waste products and toxins including urea, kidney damage can cause BUN level to rise directly. Fortunately, our kidneys have strong compensatory ability, so urea level won’t increase obviously unless more than 50% of kidney functioning tissues are lost. Therefore, if kidney patients’ BUN level is higher than the normal, they should take prompt treatments to manage their health problem.
In addition to kidney damage, some other factors can also result in high BUN level such as:
* Intake of too much food rich in protein: Urea is one terminal product of protein metabolism, so extra intake of protein can lead to the increase of urea level temporarily.
* Dehydration: Because of diarrhea, vomiting, a lot of physical activity or lack of fluid intake, people may suffer from dehydration that causes the blood to concentrate, resulting in the increase of blood urea level.
* Diabetic acidosis: If the person has diabetes, they are at a risk of diabetic acidosis which is another cause of elevated urea level.
Besides, many other disorders can also lead to high urea level. If you want to know what causes your problem, you can contact kidney experts here. They can guide you to find the answer.
Tag: Blood in Urine
