Is Kidney Failure Always Accompanied by Foamy Urine
2013-11-01 14:20
Is kidney failure always accompanied by foamy urine? In medicine, foamy urine is also called proteinuria which is the presence of excess protein in urine. Kidney is responsible for filtering blood and when kidneys are injured for some reasons, protein will leak into urine and thus cause proteinuria. Proteinuria or foamy is one of the leading symptoms of kidney failure; however, is kidney failure always accompanied by foamy urine?
In kidney, glomerulus plays the role of filtering blood. During this process, wastes like creatinine and urea nitrogen can be filtered out and nutriment like protein are kept in the blood. Glomerular filtration membrane works through charge barrier and mechanism barrier. When this membrane is damaged, charge barrier and mechanism barrier will fail to function properly. Under such a condition, protein leak into urine easily. When protein get out of patient’s body with urine, foams will be formed due to the increase of tension of fluid. This is the reason why kidney failure always causes foamy urine.
Besides, kidney is responsible for regulating blood pressure. When kidneys are damaged, the secretion of rennin will increase, which also can cause increase of angiotensin II which has function of shrinking blood vessels. Therefore, in many cases, kidney failure is also accompanied with high blood pressure. Long-term high blood pressure will increase the permeability of blood vessels, which can aggravate the leakage of protein and worsen proteinuria. This is the reason why ACE inhibitors (Angiotensin-Converting Enzyme Inhibitors)and ARBs (Angiotensin II Receptor Blockers) which are hypertensive drugs can be used to remit protein in urine.
Kidney is responsible for filtering blood and preserving protein in blood, so when kidney tissues are injured, protein will leak into urine and cause proteinuria. Generally speaking, the more serious the kidney damages, the more protein in urine and the more foams there are in urine. Almost all the kidney failure patients have foamy urine, but in some cases, due to the severely damaged kidney tissues, kidney failure patients may have no urine output at all. Under such a condition, dialysis and kidney transplant will be the last two options.
- Tag: Kidney Failure Symptoms
- Pre: Does the Kidney Shrink in End Stage Renal Disease
- Next: Causes for Renal Bone Disease