What is a normal bun test result?

The BUN test is a blood test that measures the level of urea nitrogen in your blood. Urea nitrogen is the waste product that comes from breaking down protein. When your kidneys are working properly, they filter out most of the urea nitrogen and excrete it through your urine. A normal BUN result depends on several factors such as age, weight, sex and diet.

The Importance Of Knowing Your BUN

Why should you care about your BUN results? It’s important to know whether your kidneys are functioning normally or not so that any issues can be diagnosed early while they’re still mild enough to treat easily.

Some of the symptoms experienced when there is too much urea nitrogen in the body include confusion, fatigue, dehydration among others; this simply means having an idea what constitutes a normal range helps people take necessary steps towards ensuring their bodies function optimally.

How Is The Test Done?

A small sample of blood will be drawn from one of your veins and sent to a laboratory for testing by trained professionals who provide accurate analysis.

Types Of Sample Taking Techniques

  • Venipuncture: This involves inserting a needle into one’s vein (usually at back if hand), collecting ~5 milliliters (ml) worth.
  • Fingerstick: Minor incisions into finger tips which solely collects capillary blood with no anesthesia required(not erasable).

Asides these two techniques which occur widely across health centres/hospitals other methods could exist depending on policy/institutional ethics; however going forward we’d stick with venipuncture as reference point.

Understanding The Results

Bun levels vary depending on many factors some non-modifiable while others modifiable but overall understanding where an individual lies would guide next course-of-actions. Atypical values do not necessarily suggest disease neither does normal ranges also indicate totally healthy systems , hence proper medical advice would always suffice in such circumstances.

The normal range of BUN results can vary, however a general idea is that the normal range for men is between 8 and 24 mg/dL, while women have a slightly lower normal range at approximately 6-21 mg/dL.

As earlier stated this could differ based on the individual’s needs.

Urea Nitrogen Values In Different Age Groups

AGE GROUP NORMAL VALUES
Newborns 5-20 mg/dL
Children(<14years) 4-18 mg/dL
Adult Male 10−20 mg.dl−1
Adult Female Near about ~6 – 21

Factors That Can Affect Your BUN Levels

Several things can affect your BUN levels, including:

  • Dehydration [BONUS TIP] : Reduced fluid intake reduces blood plasma volume which triggers elevated haematocrits(decreases liquid proportion).
  • Protein Intake: Takes upto three days to reflect it’s effect on BUN test result hence it is necessary to inform health professional should there be any dietary changes or avoidable high protein diets atleast seventy-two(72hours) prior.
  • Medications And Supplements
  • Liver Functioning

Abnormal Results

While slight variations from expected/unacceptable values doesn’t necessarily mean presence of abnormalities pathology evaluation possibly detailing even what prescriptions are required as solution(s). Some other leading factors inducing abnormal results include kidney disease , pregnancy… For further diagnosis, additional tests may be suggested by one’s care giver/expert.

What Happens After The Test?

After testing has been carried out by subjects & samples analysed + interpreted by health professionals providing accurate readings/outputs; often times they get left wondering what next line-of-actions? It might be necessary for GP to refer individuals to reliable professionals in line with whatever abnormality may have been obtained, for further clarification or evaluation.

Conclusion

The Bun test is a valuable tool in the diagnosis and treatment of kidney disease. By understanding what constitutes a normal BUN result, individuals can be better equipped with knowledge on how to ensure optimum body functioning level.

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