What does alkaline urine mean?

pH is generally used to detect the degree of acidity and alkalinity. Under normal circumstances, human urine is weakly acidic. In fact, the acidity and alkalinity of human urine is determined by the type of diet. If human urine is alkaline, it means that there is a problem with the human health. It is very likely that the person has nephritis, renal tuberculosis and other diseases. Therefore, if the urine is alkaline, you must go to the hospital for examination and treatment as soon as possible.

Urinalysis pH is the acidity and alkalinity of urine during a urine routine test. Because pH is a chemical symbol for the acidity or alkalinity of a solution. Normal urine is slightly acidic, but can also be neutral or slightly alkaline. The acidity or alkalinity of urine depends largely on the type of diet, medications taken, and the type of disease.

Under normal dietary conditions, the pH value of urine is 4.6~8.0, with an average of 6.0, which means that normal urine is slightly acidic. Acidic urine is common in nephritis and renal tuberculosis, and alkaline urine can be seen in type I renal tubular alkali poisoning.

In the first few days after birth, the urine of a newborn baby is highly acidic due to the high content of urate. Later, it becomes close to neutral or weakly acidic, with a pH of 5-7.

The pH value of urine routine can reflect the acid-base balance in the body and the regulatory function of the kidneys.

Decreased urine pH value: seen in diabetes, gout, acidosis, chronic glomerulonephritis, etc.

Increased urine pH value: seen in frequent vomiting, urinary tract infection, taking bicarbonate drugs, and alkali poisoning.

Changes in urine acidity and alkalinity mainly come from people's eating habits and food ingredients.

If you eat a mix of meat and vegetables regularly, the protein in the food will break down to produce acidic substances such as sulfates or phosphates, which will make the urine acidic after being excreted through the kidneys. In the case of urinary stones, stones formed by urate and cystine are often seen in acidic urine. When in acidosis or when taking acidic drugs such as ammonium chloride, the urine is often acidic.

If a person mainly eats vegetarian food, the organic acids in plants will produce less acidic substances after oxidation in the body, so less acidic substances will be excreted in the urine, and the alkaline groups will increase, making the urine alkaline. Stones formed by oxalates, phosphates, and carbonates often appear in alkaline urine; urine is also alkaline in cases of cystitis, alkali poisoning, renal tubular acidosis, and urinary tract infection; and urine that has been left for too long and concentrated hematuria can make urine alkaline.

Urine acid-base determination often has no obvious clinical significance when used independently. It is generally used in combination with other items to comprehensively judge changes in the patient's condition and for monitoring.

The pH results measured by the widely used urine analyzer have only eight levels: 5, 5.5, 6, 6.5, 7, 7.5, 8, and 9, while the urine pH values ​​measured by other methods may have more detailed divisions.

Causes

1. Food factors - urine often becomes acidic after eating meat.

2. Drug factors - taking acidic drugs such as ammonium chloride and vitamin C can acidify the urine.

3. Pathological factors - fever, acidosis, gout, chronic kidney disease, leukemia, diabetes, etc. can make urine acidic.