Pay attention to your pee. Because this byproduct of metabolism can tell a lot about your health. If the urine looks unusually bubbly, should you be concerned? Foamy urine, which is the presence of bubbles when you pee, is pretty common; however, it may also signal something more. So, how do you know if it is a harmless thing or a sign of something serious? Dr. Shirley Koeh, a functional medicine doctor based in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, has shared some tips on how to analyze whether the bubbles in urine are normal or a warning sign. Is it normal to see bubbles in the urine
Bubbles in urine can occur for various reasons, and not all are cause for alarm. Dr. Koeh notes that a single episode isn’t a warning sign. “If you started seeing bubbles in your urine, we need to know whether this is the first episode or a single episode that you are experiencing,” the doctor said in a video shared on Instagram. She noted that if it’s a single episode, there’s nothing to worry about, and once you hydrate, it will go back to normal. “If it’s just a single episode, then what you should do is try to hydrate yourself as much as possible. Do not hold your urine and try to pass urine as frequently as possible. And this bubble should go away.”However, seeing bubbles in the urine often could signal an underlying cause. “Persistently having bubbles in your urine can indicate the presence of protein in the urine.”Tests to find out the cause
According to her, if bubbles persist despite hydration and urination, testing for protein in the urine is important. She noted that two tests can help confirm this. “The most accurate way to find out is actually sending the urine to the lab to find out if there is any microalbumin, which is a small protein that will exist in your urine,” the doctor said. The second test is taking a urine dipstick test, which can be done at home. “But that test, might not be as sensitive as compared to the first one,” she cautions.
Protein in urine, also known as proteinuria or albuminuria, is the presence of excess protein in the urine. Identifying the protein in the urine is a critical step in determining whether further medical evaluation is needed. Causes of proteinuria
“If we have established that you are really having protein in your urine, then we need to consider a few possible causes,” she adds. The presence of protein in the urine could be for various reasons. The first is hypertension, or high blood pressure, which can strain the kidneys and lead to protein leakage. The second is diabetes, a condition that can damage kidney function over time, resulting in proteinuria. Another cause is kidney disease, which is triggered by certain medications, known as drug-induced kidney damage.“So make sure that you check your blood pressure for hypertension or even check your blood for diabetes and rule out any possible drug-induced kidney disease,” the doctor alerts.