Synoym
Protein in urine = proteinuria
Definition – What is meant by protein in urine?
In every human being there are usually small amounts of protein in the urine. However, if the amount of protein exceeds a certain value (150mg in 24 hours), this is called proteinuria. The kidney is the organ that regulates our urine excretion.
Many waste products that accumulate in the body are excreted in the urine. These include small proteins. If kidney function is disturbed, the proteins can no longer be filtered sufficiently and increased excretion occurs.
These are the causes of protein in urine
The causes of proteinuria (the excretion of too much protein through the urine) can be found in different parts of the body. A distinction is made between harmless and dubious causes. Harmless causes include increased protein excretion during heavy physical or mental stress or during pregnancy.
Too little drinking can also increase the protein concentration in the urine. Critical causes often have their origin in the kidney. If, for example, the renal corpuscles (glomeruli) are damaged, they become more permeable for proteins.
As a result, more of the proteins get into the urine. This is known as glomerular proteinuria. However, the cause can also be found in another part of the kidney: the tubule system.
There, the urine initially formed by the renal corpuscles flows through a long tube system (the tubules). In the process, minerals and proteins are repeatedly removed from the urine and waste products are added. If this tubule system is damaged, not as much protein as before can be withdrawn from the urine, so that protein excretion increases.
Other causes of protein in the urine can lie beyond the kidneys in the urinary tract. For example, a bladder infection can lead to an increase in the number of inflammatory cells in the urine; these consist largely of proteins and thus increase protein excretion. Other illnesses such as diabetes (blood sugar disease) can also make themselves felt through protein in the urine.
People who drink too little often notice this by the particularly dark color of their urine, among other things. The body excretes many waste products through the urine. If you drink enough, these waste products can be dissolved in water and excreted.
However, if you drink too little over a longer period of time, the kidneys are faced with special challenges. It has to transport the body’s waste products into the urine, even though there is not enough fluid available for excretion. In the long term, this can lead to damage to the kidney, the kidney cells become permeable to proteins and these get into the urine.
The bladder is the organ in which the finished urine is stored. An inflammation of the bladder is usually caused by bacteria and leads to a reaction of the immune system. To fight the inflammation, many inflammatory cells are lured into the bladder where they fight the bacteria.
Both the bacteria and the inflammatory cells die in the process. These cells often end up in the urine and are excreted with it. As both the bacteria and the inflammatory cells are largely made up of proteins, this process increases the amount of protein excreted in the urine.
Psychological and/or physical stress can be a cause of increased protein excretion in the urine. For example, physical stress or physical exertion puts a strain on the muscles, resulting in an above-average amount of metabolic waste products, which must then be excreted via the kidneys. Psychological stress often causes the excretion of proteins to take place via an increase in blood pressure.
This forces the kidney to perform a greater filtration capacity, which can increase the excretion of proteins. Psychological stress, which leads to weight loss, results in muscle breakdown, which can also cause protein in the urine. Acidosis can have two different causes in the body.
Respiration plays a major role in regulating the acid-base balance, which is why lung diseases can lead to acidosis. The second organ with a large regulatory involvement is the kidney. If this is damaged, the balance can get out of control, resulting in acidosis and the excretion of proteins.
If the acidosis is caused by the lungs, the kidney must take measures to counteract this trend. This can also overtax or damage the kidneys, which in turn leads to protein in the urine.Protein in the urine usually causes damage to the kidneys or urinary tract. In most cases these are caused by kidney disease or bacterial infections, but in rare cases fungal infections can also be the cause of this proteinuria.
Sources of danger for such a fungal infection are mainly swimming pools and pools. Also at risk are persons whose immune system is weakened by an illness or by medication. The fungi can enter the body via the urethra and cause inflammation of the urinary tract, bladder or kidney. They are treated with antimycotics – the antifungal agents.
