What Does High Urea Mean
Urea is the terminal product of protein metabolism. In lab, blood urea nitrogen (BUN) is usually used to monitor urea level in the blood. High urea level is more likely to indicate some healthy problems. Well then, what does high urea level mean?
The normal BUN level
As the above mentioned, urea is generated from protein metabolism, and kidneys are repsonsible for eliminating urea from the body. Normally, the production and excretion of urea is quite stable, so healthy adults’ BUN level ranges from 3.2 to 7.1 mmol/L, 9~20 mg/dl. If BUN level is higher than normal value, we call it high BUN level.
What does high urea mean?
Since the urea excretion has a close link with kidney function, BUN as well as serum creatinine level is commonly taken to reflect kidney condition. Most often, high urea level is caused by various types of renal parenchymal diseases such as glomerulonephritis, interstitial nephritis, chronic kidney failure, acute kidney failure, and so on. Since our kidneys are great excretory organs, they can still work normally unless 50% of kidney function is lost. Thereby, elevation of blood urea nitrogen level may mean more than 50% of kidney functioning tissues are damaged.
In addition to kidney problem, some other factors can also cause high urea level. They are CHF(congestive heart-failure), severe burn, dehydration, severe infection, diabetic acidosis, etc.
How to reduce high urea level?
The first step should be finding out the underlying cause. Then, patients should take corresponding treatments and methods to decline their urea level effectively. If it is caused by kidney disease, the treatment should be able to not only increase urea excretory amount and reduce the urea production but also protect remaining kidneys and repair damaged kidney cells.
To learn more about detailed treatment plan, you can leave your problem in the form below or email to kidneyservice@hotmail.com. Therefore, you can get professional advice timely.
Tag: High BUN Level High BUN Level Causes
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