What Is A Urine Sodium Test

What Is a Urine Sodium Test?
ARTICLES ONTYPES OF URINE TESTS
 Urine Culture
 Urine Sodium Test
 Calcium Urine Test
 Uric Acid Urine Test
 Diabetes Urine Test
 Microalbumin Urine Test
A urine sodium test checks the amount of sodium in a
sample of your pee to see whether it’s at a normal level.
Having too much or too little sodium can mean there’s an
issue with your kidneys or perhaps another health matter.
You may be asked to take a urine sodium test after you’ve
already taken a sodium blood test and gotten results that
are not normal.
Sodium is an important electrolyte (a mineral in
your blood and other bodily fluids) that helps your body
and cells function. It helps your body regulate how much
fluid it retains.
Sodium is in almost everything you eat -- from chips
and bread to even some medicine. When you eat too much
sodium, your kidneys have the job of clearing it from your
body. But if your kidneys are damaged, the organs can’t
remove sodium efficiently.
The urine sodium test helps to figure out whether your
kidneys are working as they should to remove sodium.
Who Needs This Test?

Your doctor may order the urine sodium test after you’ve
gotten abnormal results on a sodium blood test, which can
point to acute kidney failure. The test helps distinguish
between two common causes of kidney failure -- pre-renal
(dehydration) and tubular death (ATN). They are treated
differently.
You could also get this test if you’ve started a new
treatment and your doctor wants to see how well it is
working.
How Do I Prepare for the Test?

The urine sodium test poses no risks.
Before your test, you should tell your doctor what medicine
and supplements you’re taking. Some drugs could affect
your test results, so he may ask you to stop taking certain
ones before giving a urine sample. These include:
Corticosteroids. These are used to treat many conditions,
from rashes to arthritis to asthma. They helps
lower inflammation in the body.
Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs
(NSAIDs). These medications are used to
reduce inflammation and include aspirin (Bayer, Bufferin,
Excedrin), ibuprofen (Motrin, Advil), and Naproxen sodium
(Aleve).
Prostaglandins. These medicines are used to
treat glaucoma or stomachulcers.
Water pills. Also known as diuretics, water pills help your
body get rid of sodium and water.
Before the test, you may be asked to drink a certain
amount of water. But this depends on your doctor.
Depending on your instructions, you may not need to
prepare anything before the test.
What Happens During the Test

You’ll pee into a container, typically in your doctor's office,
and it will be taken to a lab. The lab will analyze the
sample and let you know whether there was a normal
amount of sodium in your urine.
Depending on what your doctor suggests, you could
provide just one sample or you may need to collect
samples throughout a 24-hour period.
For the 24-hour urine test, you may be given instructions
on when to start collecting urine. You record the time
when you collect the first sample. Then you collect a
sample every time you urinate over the next 24-hour
period.
You’ll be given instructions on how to keep the samples
either on ice or in the refrigerator. You’ll also be instructed
on where to take the samples afterwards.
What Do My Results Mean?

You’ll be given your results in the form of milliequivalents
per liter (mEq/L). The normal value may differ slightly
depending on your lab.
For a one-time urine sample, the normal urine sodium
value is around 20 mEq/L. For the 24-hour urine test, the
norm ranges from 40 to 220 mEq/L per day. The wide
range reflects your dietary salt intake.
Your doctor will compare results from the urine sodium
test to the blood sodium test. Your results could show a
high concentration of sodium in both the urine and blood
tests. But you could also have high levels in the urine and
have normal or low levels in your blood when your body is
losing too much sodium.
Low sodium levels in the urine could indicate:
 Dehydration
 Diarrhea and fluid loss
 Kidney problems
 Too much hormone released by adrenal glands, which
is called hyperaldosteronism
 Release of too much anti-diuretic hormone (ADH) that
causes retention of sodium and water; this happens in
heart failure and in cirrhosis (scarring of the liver).

What Is A Urine Sodium Test

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What Is A Urine Sodium Test

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What Is a Urine Sodium Test?

ARTICLES ONTYPES OF URINE TESTS

Who Needs This Test?

How Do I Prepare for the Test?

What Happens During the Test

What Do My Results Mean?

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