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Urea is the end product of protein metabolism in each person's body and is eliminated from the body through the kidneys. If a blood test shows that the amount of urea in the blood is higher than normal, it means that the kidneys are not working properly and there is a problem with the body.1. Blood urea metabolism process
Protein that humans consume every day is called exogenous protein. After entering the body, it is metabolized by proteases of the digestive tract and formed into amino acids. When amino acids continue to metabolize, it will form NH3 and CO2. Urea is the end product of protein metabolism and passes from the liver to the blood and then to the kidneys and is excreted in the urine.
Blood urea is always added to the body daily through protein-rich foods such as meat, fish, eggs, milk...
Normally, an adult will excrete about 30g of urea per day through water. urine and a small amount through sweat. When the body is healthy, the ability to excrete urea is good and the amount of blood urea is within normal limits.
Urea is relatively less toxic, even when its concentration in the blood is quite high. However, if you want to evaluate the kidney's ability to filter waste, doctors often rely on the blood urea index, the higher the index, the worse the kidney function and vice versa. If a blood test shows a higher than normal amount of urea in the blood, then there is a problem with the kidneys.
2. How much blood urea is high?
Normally, the blood urea index is at 2.5 - 7.5 mmol/l. If this index exceeds the allowable threshold, it shows that the kidneys are working less well and are prone to damage, which will cause long-term damage. kidney failure. To know this index, the doctor will give the patient a blood urea test to check and quantify the urea in the blood, if the urea concentration is higher than normal, the doctor may appoint the patient more specialized tests to assess kidney function.
Cases of low blood urea nitrogen are rare, may occur in patients with severe liver disease or malnutrition and are not considered a cause, and should not be used to diagnose or monitor this disease. In addition, low urea index can also appear in women during pregnancy, especially in the last months of pregnancy because the fetus will use a large amount of maternal protein for its growth.
3. Causes of high blood urea index
Chế độ ăn uống không khoa học, quá nhiều protein có thể khiến ure máu tăng cao
Blood urea test is also known as BUN test. Patients with acute or chronic kidney disease often have high blood urea levels because of impaired renal function. However, in fact, in addition to patients with kidney disease, there are many factors that can cause blood urea levels to rise such as:
Due to mercury poisoning; Unscientific diet, too much protein (protein); Due to kidney failure, pyelonephritis due to kidney stones, damage to the glomeruli, renal tubules; Due to urinary tract obstruction, anuria, oliguria; Due to increased protein catabolism by fever, starvation, malnutrition, burns, neoplastic pathology; Due to gastrointestinal bleeding leading to severe infection; Using antidepressants, diuretics, antibiotics, contrast agents...
4. Signs when blood urea levels are high
When blood urea concentration is high, the patient often has signs such as:
Loss of appetite, bloating, gas, dizziness, headache, exhaustion, insomnia; Tongue turns black, throat and oral mucosa ulcerated; Nausea, diarrhea; Ammonia breath, breathing disturbances; Lower body temperature; Increased blood pressure, rapid pulse, small; If you have end-stage renal failure, you may have a heart attack; In severe cases, there may be coma, convulsions due to cerebral edema, pupil constriction and poor light response; On examination, there were no focal neurological signs, no meningeal syndrome; Retinal bleeding, bleeding under the skin and mucous membranes.
Tăng huyết áp là dấu hiệu của nồng độ ure máu tăng cao
5. What should I do to measure urea in the blood?
To know whether the amount of urea in the blood is high or low, the patient needs to go to reputable medical facilities with a system of modern and synchronous equipment to conduct basic tests to help get the correct concentration, help determine the status of kidney function as well as take timely treatment measures.
If the blood urea is high, the doctor will advise the patient to pay attention to the functioning of the kidneys, if there are problems such as acute - chronic nephritis, polycystic kidney, hepatorenal syndrome caused by leptospira, Water retention in the kidneys due to kidney stones, kidney tuberculosis ... needs to be treated definitively.
In addition, to limit the increase in blood urea levels, the patient needs to rebuild a scientific diet, balance the amount of protein tolerated in the body and get a reasonable rest. Avoid using drugs that can increase the amount of urea in the blood.
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