Is foamy urine a sign of kidney failure?

Foamy urine does not mean kidney failure, but it can be an early warning sign. Monitoring the cause helps detect abnormalities early, if any, for timely examination.

Specialist Doctor 2 Nguyen Thi Diem Huong (Ho Chi Minh City University of Medicine and Pharmacy Hospital - Facility 3) said that foamy urine is a phenomenon in which urine has many small bubbles, sometimes floating for a long time without dissolving, often clearly seen when urinating in the toilet.

"Foamy urine can be an early warning sign of kidney disease, including kidney failure, but it is not always a sure sign," said Dr. Huong.

When is foamy urine an abnormal sign?

Foamy urine can be caused by many things. If it is due to a physiological cause, it is not a cause for concern. Physiological causes include frequent urination, strong water jets that create foam due to pressure; mild dehydration that causes concentrated urine, creating a lot of foam, and eating a lot of protein in recent meals.

However, there are some pathological causes that need to be monitored such as:

• Proteinuria (protein in urine): Often seen in glomerulonephritis, nephrotic syndrome or also an early sign of kidney failure.
• Diabetes or high blood pressure affect the filtering function of the kidneys.
• Urinary tract infection or urinary tract infection.
• In addition, there are a number of other causes such as in the case of cirrhosis (especially the stage of decompensated cirrhosis).

If foamy urine is caused by a medical condition, it needs to be examined and monitored.

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When to see a doctor if you see foam in your urine

You should go to a medical facility for a urine test and kidney function check if the foamy urine lasts for many days, does not go away despite drinking enough water, is accompanied by fatigue, facial swelling, leg swelling, little urine, high blood pressure, loss of appetite... or has an underlying medical condition such as diabetes, high blood pressure, autoimmune disease.

Necessary examination and testing such as urinalysis: check for proteinuria, red blood cells, white blood cells... Kidney function tests: creatinine, urea, calculate glomerular filtration rate (eGFR), kidney ultrasound if necessary.

"Foamy urine does not mean kidney failure, but it can be an early warning sign. If this phenomenon persists or is accompanied by other symptoms, you should see a doctor early for an accurate diagnosis and timely treatment," Dr. Huong recommends.

Kidney failure patients are getting younger and younger.

Recently, many very young people have been diagnosed with kidney failure and need to undergo dialysis. What these patients have in common is that they have the habit of staying up late, drinking soft drinks, and having an irregular lifestyle...

Specialist Doctor Vu Le Anh - Head of the Department of Nephrology, Xuyen A General Hospital, said that in young people, unhealthy living habits such as staying up late and drinking soft drinks regularly unintentionally cause abnormal immune responses in the body. These immune responses support the outbreak of glomerular disease, gradually leading to kidney failure.

"Because energy drinks and carbonated drinks contain substances that are allergic to the body, when consumed regularly they will cause repeated reactions that affect the kidneys and some other organs. At this time, the kidneys excrete too much and the body is allergic, leading to nephritis," Dr. Le Anh analyzed.

In addition, staying up late disrupts the biological rhythm, leading to disruption of the body and immune system. When staying up late is repeated regularly, it will cause abnormal immune responses in the body, and those immune responses lead to the outbreak of glomerular disease, gradually leading to severe kidney failure.

Through that, Dr. Vu Le Anh recommends that young people today need to change their lifestyle to be scientific and healthy, do not let soft drinks, staying up late... "take away" their kidneys. "Every day, we need to drink enough water, have a balanced diet, limit fried foods, get enough sleep and the right biological rhythm of the body, exercise regularly to protect our health as well as protect our kidneys", Dr. Le Anh shared.

Source: https://thanhnien.vn/nuoc-tieu-noi-bot-co-phai-dau-hieu-suy-than-185250607070354819.htm