Medicines such as birth control pills may also lower your albumin levels. You don't need to prepare for this test. But be sure your healthcare provider knows about all medicines, herbs, vitamins, and supplements you are taking.
This includes medicines that don't need a prescription and any illicit drugs you may use. Search Encyclopedia. Albumin Blood Does this test have other names? ALB What is this test? This test measures the amount of the protein albumin in your blood.
Why do I need this test? Symptoms of these diseases include: Yellowish skin jaundice Tiredness fatigue Weight loss Fever Vomiting and diarrhea Dark urine or gray, pale stools Pain below the right ribs, including the stomach area Tenderness below your right ribs Other symptoms of kidney disease include: Swelling of your stomach and legs or around your eyes Shortness of breath Frequent need to urinate at night Nausea Itchy skin In men, an inability to get or maintain an erection erectile dysfunction You may also have this test if you are on dialysis to help your healthcare provider find out how well treatment is working.
You may also have this test to check your nutritional status. Carefully replace the lid on the cup. Return the cup to the lab. If you are collecting the urine at home and can't get it to the lab in an hour, refrigerate it. Timed urine collection 24 hours You start collecting your urine in the morning. When you first get up, empty your bladder but do not save this urine. Write down the time that you urinated. This marks the beginning of your hour collection period.
For the next 24 hours, collect all your urine. Your doctor or lab will usually provide you with a large container that holds about 4 L 1 gal. The container has a small amount of preservative in it. Urinate into a small, clean container, and then pour the urine into the large container.
Do not touch the inside of either container with your fingers. Keep the large container in the refrigerator for the 24 hours.
Empty your bladder for the final time at or just before the end of the hour period. Add this urine to the large container, and record the time. Do not get toilet paper, pubic hair, stool feces , menstrual blood, or other foreign matter in the urine sample. How It Feels This test does not cause any pain. Risks Collecting a urine sample does not cause problems. Results An albumin test checks urine for the presence of a protein called albumin. If your results are higher than normal, your doctor may check your urine more often to watch for kidney damage.
If you have 2 or 3 high results in a 3- to 6-month period and you have diabetes, your doctor may find kidney damage diabetic nephropathy. Even though diabetes is the most common reason for high results, there are many other kidney problems that can cause high results.
What Affects the Test You may not be able to have the test, or the results may not be helpful, if: You have a urinary tract infection, high blood pressure, heart failure, or a high fever during an infection. You exercise just before the test.
You take medicines such as aspirin, corticosteroids , or some antibiotics , such as amoxicillin. You have menstrual bleeding or vaginal discharge. These may temporarily affect the urine sample.
What To Think About Three tests are used to check for kidney damage. Creatinine is a waste product that is filtered out of the blood by healthy kidneys. To learn more, see the topic Creatinine and Creatinine Clearance. An albumin blood test measures the amount of albumin in your blood. Albumin is a protein made by your liver.
Albumin helps keep fluid in your bloodstream so it doesn't leak into other tissues. It is also carries various substances throughout your body, including hormones, vitamins, and enzymes.
Low albumin levels can indicate a problem with your liver or kidneys. An albumin blood test is a type of liver function test. Liver function tests are blood tests that measure different enzymes and proteins in the liver, including albumin.
An albumin test may also be part of a comprehensive metabolic panel, a test that measures several substances in your blood. These substances include electrolytes, glucose, and proteins such as albumin.
Your health care provider may have ordered liver function tests or a comprehensive metabolic panel, which include tests for albumin, as part your regular checkup. You may also need this test if you have symptoms of liver or kidney disease. Symptoms of liver disease include:. Since the serum albumin test is often one of several tests administered at any one time, a doctor will interpret all the results together to determine if any underlying conditions exist.
Typically, the range for albumin in the blood is between 3. A doctor may order additional tests if they suspect liver disease to determine what type of disease is present. If albumin levels are found to be too high, it may indicate a person is eating a high protein diet or is dehydrated. When results come back, a doctor will review them with the person and explain the results. Normal levels may vary between labs. A doctor will be able to interpret the results to determine if the results fall within a normal range.
The serum albumin test requires only a small amount of blood. It is typically considered a low-risk procedure, as a result. Some people may experience some bruising and discoloration of the skin at the injection site.
People with underlying medical conditions are at greater risk of developing an adverse reaction. A doctor should be particularly aware of any condition that may cause excessive bleeding, such as a clotting disorder. Blood thinner medication also increases risks of excessive bleeding.
If someone is asked to have a serum albumin test, their doctor may suspects an underlying issue. If the results come back showing low levels of albumin in the sample, a person will probably need further tests to determine the cause. Once a cause is determined, doctors can often prescribe treatment. A person will not need any further tests when their blood albumin has returned to the correct level.
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