How Kidney Tests Can Save You a Lot of Pain

Have you been suffering from soreness or pain in your lower back recently, and it doesn’t seem to be a muscle or nerve problem? If so, it may be time to ask your doctor about kidney tests.

There are a number of diseases and disorders that can cause a kidney problem. Some come on strong and fast. As the saying goes, you “dont know what hit you.”  This type of discomfort  usually results from kidney stones or an acute kidney infection.

But some kinds of kidney back pain progress gradually due to the fact that the root cause is chronic. This is typically what happens in the case of kidney failure. 

Often, your doctor can determine if there’s a problem by taking a urine sample. Toxins, chemicals, blood and sometimes even tissue fragments will appear. This is usually a sign that more tests are required.

Drawing a blood sample is one way to determine if there is something wrong with a kidney. Your kidneys filter out toxins in the blood, and if a kidney is malfunctioning, toxins will be plain to see in the blood sample .

The following are the blood tests doctors use to help identify kidney problems:

1. The blood urea nitrogen test A nitrogen test, which tells your physician if the urine that the kidney sends to the urethra (the tube connecting a kidney to your bladder) is healthy or not.             

2. The creatinine test This resembles the blood urea nitrogen test but measures the creatinine levels. Creatinine is a chemical waste product that comes from your muscles and is transported to your kidneys through the bloodstream. The kidneys screen it out and dispose of it in your urine. If creatinine levels are non-standard, then it’s probable that one or both kidneys are malfunctioning.

These are the most common blood tests, but some others are also available. 

At times, more than one of the tests mentioned above in conjunction with one another. In fact, running a urea test along with the creatinine test is common. Results are reliable.

Kidney back pain should not be ignored. Anyone who has concerns about their kidneys should check with their physician to see if they have a kidney problem . Blood and urine samples can help the doctor to see what the issue is and if there is a problem with kidney function.