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Our previous article in the “Protein in Urine” series explained, what Proteinuria is, how it may occur & the kidney conditions commonly associated with it.
This article follows-up to inform how your medical team diagnoses Proteinuria in the clinic & relevant treatment approaches that may be undertaken.
The leakage of Plasma Protein in urine is technically termed as “Proteinuria” (pronounced as pro-teen-you-reah). These proteins are NOT the usual nutrient that you obtain from food. These are a different class of Proteins specially made by your Liver.
Plasma Proteins normally circulate in your bloodstream & help with a range of functions essential to keep you alive. Urine samples with Protein tend to be visibly foamy / frothy akin to the kind that you get after dissolving detergents in water. The extent of foam will certainly vary with the extent of protein leakage.
Urine Colour
Human Urine – the biochemical masterpiece “manufactured” by our Kidneys as a by-product of all the work that they do – is normally a clear, pale / straw yellow to dark (but transparent) yellow in colour. This is attributed to the pigment Urochrome normally found in urine.
In good health, how yellow your urine appears directly relates to your water/liquid intake. The more dehydrated you are, the denser & more concentrated your urine is, and the darker is the yellow colour as depicted in the image below.
Samples in the image above aptly show the normal variation in Urine Colour in good health. For all practical diagnostic purposes, this urine colour range qualifies as normal. Now, Urine is not a topic that would usually make the cut in any polite conversation in non-specialist social gatherings.
Something as humble and underappreciated as your Urine Colour is a reliable clinical criterion used by physicians to substantiate their clinical opinion on your health status. Continue reading “Urine Colour: Variations in Kidney & Urinary Tract Disease”
Urinalysis Report
Every time you deposit your Urine sample at the hospital lab, you need to wait for (usually) a few hours before collecting the Urinalysis Report.
Wondering what is it that takes the lab people that long or what they might be looking at, before commenting on your health status in their Report? It’s just Urine after all, right?! Continue reading “Urinalysis: Decoding the Report”
In a routine Urinalysis, the Physico-chemical examination comprises analysis of properties that help to define how a Urine Sample appears to the naked eye.
These include the following:
Normal Urine is typically Pale/Straw yellow to Dark yellow in Colour due to the presence of pigment Urochrome.
Continue reading “Urinalysis Report: Physico-Chemical Examination”
The Chemical Examination segment of Urinalysis analyzes components that require Reagent Strips.
These strips are basically plastic dip-sticks laced with “indicator” chemicals that correspond to a colour change as per a reference range based on the extent of the presence of the specific substance.
Under the Microscopic Examination of Urinalysis, laboratories focus on looking for the presence of tiny particles such as cells or infection-causing germs in Urine that are NOT VISIBLE to the naked eye but may change the Physico-chemical and Chemical properties stated above.
For this purpose, laboratories need to investigate several drops of your Urine Sample under a Microscope.
Continue reading “Urinalysis Report: Microscopic Examination”
A Urinalysis or a Urine Test is a laboratory-based test of your urine sample. In such tests, laboratories assess your urine sample along with certain physical, chemical, microscopic and/or microbiological (bacterial) criteria against research-approved standards. “Urinalysis” is a composite word made of two words – “Urine” and “Analysis”. The report helps your doctor to get an insight into your overall health status & support their clinical decision-making.