Proteinuriais the presence of too much protein in the urine.
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Symptoms
Typically, there is very little protein in your urine.
Foamy urine is not diagnostic of proteinuria.
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The foaminess should be persistent over time before considering other causes, like decreased kidney function.
This causes fluid buildup anddyslipidemia(unhealthy levels of cholesterol or fats).
But other conditions can cause proteinuria, some of which occur independently of kidney disease.
Kidney Disease
Proteinuria is a common feature of kidney disease.
When these filters are damaged, more protein can escape into the urine.
There are many causes of this, and it is collectively referred to asglomerular disease.
Proteinuria can also be triggered by damage to tiny structures called proximal tubules that return protein to the bloodstream.
When these units are damaged, protein is forced into the urine.
The impaired function affects other organs too, especially the heart.
When this happens, the excess protein exits the body in urine.
These drugs are classified asnephrotoxicbecause they are toxic to the kidneys.
As such, the treatment is mainly focused on resolving or managing the underlying cause.
In most cases, the kidney function will return to normal with no permanent damage to the kidneys.
Results are returned within one to two minutes.
However, the urine dipstick test may not be as accurate.
Talk with your healthcare provider about the urine test.
At 300 mg or more, the likelihood of kidney disease is much higher.
For this, you would need to see a healthcare provider.
Without treatment, kidney failure is associated with a high risk of death.
Summary
Proteinuria is the presence of excess presence of protein in the urine.
The treatment of proteinuria varies by the underlying cause.
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