Urine foam is a very special clinical phenomenon in patients with kidney disease. The vast majority of patients with large amounts of proteinuria have very much foam in their urine when their condition is unstably controlled, just like the soap foam in washing clothes. So experienced kidney patients know that once the foam in their urine increases, it often indicates that the disease may worsen or relapse. However, not all foamy urine indicates proteinuria. Under normal circumstances, there is a strong tension on the surface of urine and usually no bubbles are formed, or a small amount of fine foam when it is just solved, but it can be flushed out at once by pumping the toilet. If the bubbles in urine cannot be flushed out at once, in addition to proteinuria, the following states may be combined: such as urinary tract infection, excessive urgency in urination, after sexual intercourse, when urine sugar and ketone bodies increase in diabetes.
We recommend you an article that tells you what is going on with increased urine foam.
Clinically, we often encounter patients who look panicked because of foam found in urine. So, does the presence of foam in urine necessarily mean that there is a problem with the kidneys or suggest an abnormality in one of the body indicators?
What is foamy urine?
The formation of foam in urine is mainly related to the surface tension of the urine liquid. Under normal circumstances, the surface tension of urine is very low and fewer bubbles are formed. When the composition of the urine changes for various reasons, such as an increase in protein, mucus and organic substances, the surface tension of the urine can be increased and foam can appear. Therefore, the presence of foam in urine does not necessarily mean that there is a disease.
Causes of foamy urine
1.Non-pathological causes
(1) Urination is too urgent, too high position: urination is too urgent or too high position, urine strongly impact the liquid surface, air and urine mixed together, easy to form foam, but easier to dissipate.
(2) Concentration of urine: Drinking too little water, excessive sweating, diarrhea, etc. can cause concentration of urine, resulting in an increase in the concentration of protein and other components in urine, which can easily lead to an increase in foam in urine.
(3) Increased urethral secretions: In those who are frequently sexually excited, more bubbles will also appear in the urine due to increased mucus secretion from the urethral bulb glands and higher surface tension in the urine.
(4) Other causes: disinfectants or descaling agents in the urinal can also cause bubbles to form in the urine.
2.Pathological causes
(1) liver and kidney disease, increased bilirubin or protein content in the urine, increased surface tension of urine, urination can produce more bubbles.
(2) Bladder diseases such as cystitis and bladder cancer, or other urinary tract infections, make the composition of urine easily change and produce bubbles.
(3) In diabetes mellitus, the urinary sugar or urinary ketone body content increases, the pH of urine changes, and the surface tension of urine increases.
(4) When airborne bacteria are present in the urinary tract, bubbles can be produced in the urine.
How to check foamy urine
1.With foamy urine
The foam in the urine does not disappear for a long time, suggesting that it may be protein urine, which is due to the presence of protein in the urine, the surface tension becomes large, and the foam in the urine does not disappear easily, in addition, the urine of patients with liver disease, often bubbles yellow, residual for a long time.
2.Look at the transparency
Normal urine is transparent, if the urine is cloudy, uniform precipitation after resting, it is mostly salt urine, in addition to diet-related, should also pay attention to whether accompanied by gritty material, if there are stones. If the urine is purulent and cloudy with flocculent material, it is pus urine, which is a sign of urinary system infection.
3.Smell
Normal urine can be decomposed and release ammonia after it is placed to show ammonia odor, if there is ammonia odor when urine is newly discharged, it indicates chronic cystitis and urinary retention. In diabetic ketoacidosis, urine can smell like rotten apples. In addition, some foods and drugs, such as garlic, onion, valerian, etc., can also make the urine have a special smell.
Summary
Generally speaking, if the foam is large or of different sizes and lasts for a short period of time, it is a normal rushing up of foam due to some organic substances (glucose) and inorganic substances (mineral salts) contained in the urine that make the urine more tense. This kind of foamy urine does not necessarily indicate that something is wrong with the body and there is no need to be nervous.
In the case of persistent foamy urine, careful screening is needed to determine whether it is due to disease. If, after excluding the non-pathological factors mentioned above, there is still a large amount of foam in the urine, or if it is accompanied by other abnormal symptoms or diseases, then it may be proteinuria and should be taken seriously.