microalbumin – urine Test

Microalbuminuria is the term used to describe an increase in the levels of urine microalbumin. Microalbumin causes are related to trickling of small quantities of albumin into the urine, which leads to high levels of them in the kidney. Generally, the kidneys strain these microalbumins out as it can cause a kidney disease if found in the urine. 

Microalbumin is a protein that is generally present in the blood and is used for cell growth or to repair tissues. The leakage of this in your urine may indicate kidney damage. 

If you see symptoms or face risks of kidney damage, your doctors are likely to recommend a microalbuminuria test. It is a urine test that uses a sample of your urine to test the amount of microalbumin present in it. 

The kidney plays an important function of discarding toxic products from the blood and maintains water fluid levels in your body. 

The microalbuminuria test helps in checking the functioning of the kidneys and is also called (ACR) albumin-to-creatinine ratio test or the urine albumin test.

If your doctor suspects any problems related to the kidney or you experience any symptoms, it is likely that the test needs to be taken to check for urine microalbumin resulting in microalbuminuria. 

Depending on the amount of microalbumin in your urine, the doctor will be able to diagnose the problem. 

In case, one is diagnosed with microalbuminuria, the doctor will prescribe treatment according to the level of urine miroalbumin found. The patient will have to go through several of these tests during the microalbuminuria treatment period until the microalbumin normal range is reached. 

You might not witness symptoms in the earlier stages of the kidney disease, however, your urine may be foamy at the later stages. Swelling of hands, feet, abdomen and face are also worst outcome symptoms. 

Those with diabetes or high blood pressure are recommended to get their microalbumin urine range checked periodically. 

There is no specific guidelines or instructions required for this test. Normal food and liquid intake can be taken before the test, unless specified by a doctor. 

The types of microalbumin urine tests are: 

Random urine test

This test can be taken an anytime. A sample of your urine will be collected and sent to the laboratory for testing. At times, doctors prescribe a creatinine test to be taken along with this to get more accurate results. 

24-hour urine test

This microalbumin urine test requires you to collect all that you excrete for a whole of 24 hours. You will be given containers to collect your samples for the entire day, post which you should submit it to the laboratory for testing. 

Timed urine test

This microalbumin urine test involves you taking samples of your urine test at a timed interval as suggested by your doctor. 

Depending on the results of your test, the doctor will be able to provide suitable microalbuminuria treatment. 

There aren’t any risks involved in taking these tests as it requires only normal urination.

Results of the microalbuminuria test are calcualted as milligrams (mg) of protein leakage in your urine during 24 hours. Results generally indicate the following:

Results of the test will give you the microalbumin urine range. This helps you figure out whether your urine microalbumin is within the microalbumin normal range or not. The indications of results are generally: 

• Less than 30 mg of protein = normal.
• 30 to 300 mg of protein indicates microalbuminuria, and it may be a sign of early kidney disease.
• Over 300 mg of protein is known as macroalbuminuria, and it is a sign of advanced kidney disease.

 Some temporary factors that may be causes of high microalbumin in the urine may be: 

• blood in your urine 
• viral fever
• fresh intense exercise
• dehydration
• An UTI (urinary tract infection)
• Certain medications can also cause deviation from microalbumin normal range 

The most common microalbumina symptoms or microalbumin causes are: 

• Loss of appetite.
• Weight loss.
• Dry or itchy skin.
• Muscle cramp
• Fluid retention in the body causing swollen feet and ankles.
• Puffiness around the eyes
• Frequently passing urine 

We make your life easier by visiting your home to get the microalbumin tests done. You can call us to know what is a microalbumin test and get all the details.

You can now take the tests at the comfort of your house with the help of our health care assistance, who will not only collect your samples and give it to laboratory, but also have your test results sent home.