Causes of Bilirubin in the Urine

To understand what causes bilirubin in the urine, you must understand what bilirubin is. Bilirubin itself, is a pigment that is found in bile, put out by your liver. It has a yellow coloring to it.

To determine whether or not you have bilirubin in the urine, a 24 hour urine collection must be taken. After you first urinate the first morning at the start of the test, let that sample go into the toilet. After that, you need to get all of it into a container that the lab gives you until day two. On the second day, put the first urine sample into the container. Place the jug in the fridge until taken to the lab for analysis. This is an accurate test of how much bilirubin is in the urine.

Treatments for bilirubin in the urine all hinges upon what is causing it, so the real cause has to be found first.

There are some medications that can cause a person to have higher levels of bilirubin in the urine. These drugs are those such as, (1) steroid drugs, (2) water pills, (3) Allopurinol, (4) Barbituate types of drugs, (5) Chlorpromazine, (6) Sulfonamides, (7) Phenazopyridine, and there are also some antibiotics.

No one should have bilirubin in the urine, so any finding of this pigment is an abnormal thing. Medical causes for this are related to liver problems which are specific in most cases.

Cirrhosis of the liver can cause bilirubin leakage in the urine. Cirrhosis is caused by drinking too much alcohol, hepatitis C infection, and some autoimmune disorders as well as liver drainage problems. Other symptoms besides bilirubin in the urine are weight loss, weakness, jaundice appearance,swelling of the legs, and a lot of abdominal pains. The stomach also has a distended appearance to it. This is very serious and needs advanced care and treatment by doctors which involves fluid removal, antibiotics for infections, and possible shunting to continually remove large fluid overloads. Bleeding can be treated with banding procedures and total abstinence from alcoholic beverages.

There are Biliary strictures that can cause bilirubin in the urine. This disorder means that there is an abnormality where the bile duct is narrowed. It can be brought on by surgery for gallbladder, pancreatitis, and cancer of the bile duct. Other symptoms are chills, fever, abdominal pain, stools are clay colored or pale, skin itchiness, jaundice, nausea and also vomiting. It can usually be treated successfully with surgery which is now less invasive then it was many years back.

If you have gallstones that have formed in your biliary tract, that can cause bilirubin in the urine. The other signs of having gallstones include pain in the abdomen on the right, jaundice, an abdominal fullness, clay colored stools, and nausea with vomiting. Gallbladder removal is an option for this condition.

Hepatitis can definitely cause bilirubin in the urine. Along with that symptom, abdominal pains and distention is common. Other symtoms of hepatitis include no appetite, tiredness, breast development in males, itching of the skin, jaundice in the eye area, vomiting and nausea, and fevers. Weight loss is also not uncommon. Treating hepatitis all depends upon the type of hepatitis you have. Overall, it is treated with antibiotic therapy, rest and fluids. In some cases, a hospital stay may be required for intravenous medicines.

Liver tumors and cancers can also cause a person to secrete a lot of bilirubin in the urine. Other symptoms to watch for are jaundiced skin, weight loss without trying, nausea and vomiting, stomach pains, and bruising or bleeding very easily. Depending upon your size of liver tumor and the seriousness, treatment will be planned from surgery to possible chemotherapy drugs.

If you are having any of these types of symptoms, do consult with your doctor soon. Along with testing for bilirubin in the urine, they will do many other tests to determine exactly what is taking place.