Doing your own urine testing will save you thousands of dollars and a lot of stress waiting for test results. In addition it will give you a lot of control over your kidney health. This guide will focus on urine protein home testing and interpreting the urine test results. These are the urine tests I have used very successfully on a child with Nephrotic Syndrome proteinurea. However they can be used to monitor and control a whole range of diseases.
Now let’s get one thing clear before you start reading this urine testing guide. If your urine is dark (brown/black) or if you see blood in the urine, seek medical attention immediately.
Urine Protein Home Testing Equipment
Urine testing jar – You can get a jar from the pharmacy. It does not need to be sterile. Just give it a really good rinse between the tests.
Urine testing strips – You need to keep a good supply of urine testing strips. Make sure you use them before expiry date or throw them out. Do not risk having false results with out-of-date urine testing strips. These can potentially save your kidneys and even your life. We use Combur 9 Test by Roche. But you can use any other test strip that measures at least the following:
• pH
• Protein
• Glucose
• Ketones
• Blood
Doing the Urine Protein Test
Collect first urine in the morning. Generally the morning urine protein readings will be higher than the evening ones as urine is usually diluted with drinks and so the readings are not as accurate. You don’t need to fill the whole jar; just enough to dip the testing strip.
Dip the urine testing strip into the jar to wet all the indicators and take it out of the jar.
Let the strip sit for about 30 seconds before reading the results. Note: the results are meaningless after 2 minutes.
Urine Test Results – What do they mean?
Before reading the urine test strip, have a look at the urine color in the jar. Normal urine color is very pale yellow.
If the urine is dark yellow, you are dehydrated
If the urine is dark (brown/black) or if you see blood in the urine seek medical attention immediately
If the urine in the jar is cloudy, the body is fighting off an infection or virus, though you may not see the symptoms yet
Reading the Urine Test Strip
To gauge kidney health you will need to look at all of these indicators, not just the protein, to know when to seek medical advice.
pH – this should be around 6-7. If it’s a number 9 on the urine test strip and the urine in the jar is cloudy, the body is fighting off an infection or virus.
Protein – ideally it should be negative (the urine test indicator shows this as yellow). If there are no symptoms (swelling, blood in urine etc) and the reading is 1+ to 2+ this not a major cause for concern as sometimes the kidneys right themselves. You will need to continue testing every day. If the reading increases or goes off the scale, seek medical advice.
Glucose – high to very high glucose readings is a sign for concern and will require immediate medical attention.
Ketones – ideally this reading should be negative. If you had done some strenuous physical activity, the ketone reading may go up a little. If there has been no physical activity and the reading is high to very high or off the scale, it means the body is burning up its own muscle. More than a day of this will require medical advice.
Blood/haemoglobin – ideally this should be negative. If the urine is light color and the blood reading is low, repeat the test a few hours later (you may have had some blood on your fingers from cooking meat etc). If the urine is dark (brown, black) and the urine test indicator shows blood, seek medical attention.
I’ve run out of urine testing strips – how do I check for urine protein?
If you cannot get urine testing strips or if you have run out there is one simple urine test you can do. You will need to stop using toilet bowl cleaners and attachments of any kind to do this test.
After urinating and flushing, look for cappuccino-like froth that stays in the toilet bowl for a while. Froth is an indication of moderate to high urine protein.
