Blood Urea Nitrogen Low

Contents

● Low-protein diet (may cause low BUN levels)

What Is a Blood Urea Nitrogen Test?

Your doctor may order a blood urea nitrogen test as part of a routine health screening. It helps them see how well your kidneys are working.

Urea nitrogen is a normal waste product that your body creates after you eat. Your liver breaks down the proteins in your food — and while it does that, it creates blood urea nitrogen, also known as BUN. Your liver releases the substance into the blood, and it eventually ends up in your kidneys.

When your kidneys are healthy, they remove the BUN, usually leaving a small amount of it in the blood. But for the most part, your kidneys get rid of it by flushing it out of your body through urine.

When your kidneys are not healthy, they have trouble removing BUN and leave more of it in your blood.

The blood urea nitrogen test, which is also called a BUN or serum BUN test, measures how much of the waste product you have in your blood. If your levels are off the normal range, this could mean that either your kidneys or your liver may not be working properly.

Why You Get the BUN Test

Your doctor may order a BUN test as part of a routine checkup. It may be one of several blood tests that you get.

If you have a kidney condition, the test is a way to check what your BUN levels are before you start a medication or treatment. Also, it’s standard for a BUN test to be given when you’re in the hospital for certain conditions.

If your doctor suspects you may be getting kidney problems, they may order the BUN test.

Tell your doctor if you have the following symptoms, which can be signs that something is wrong with your kidneys:

● A change in how much you urinate

● Pee that is foamy, bloody, discolored, or brown

● Swelling in your arms, hands, legs, ankles, around your eyes, face, or abdomen

● Pain in the mid-back where kidneys are located

● You’re tired all the time

How Do I Prepare for the Test?

Before the blood test, tell your doctor what medications you’re taking. If any of them might alter the test result, your doctor may ask you to stop taking them for a period of time.

If you’re only getting a BUN test, you can eat and drink. But if you’re getting other blood tests, your doctor may give you directions that may include fasting before the test.

What Happens During the Test?

A lab tech will take a sample of your blood from a vein in your arm or the back of your hand. You may feel a slight sting when the needle pricks through your skin.

It may feel a little bit sore afterward, but you can go straight back to your everyday activities.

Your doctor’s office will send the blood sample to a lab to be analyzed. You should get the results in a few days, depending on how fast the lab and your doctor’s office can work.

Understanding Your Results

Your result will be a number that measures how much BUN is in your blood. The range considered normal is between 7 to 20 milligrams per deciliter. (A milligram is a very tiny amount — more than 28,000 to an ounce, and a deciliter is equal to about 3.4 ounces).

If your test results are not in that range, talk to your doctor.

Several things can affect your BUN test results, so having a BUN level that is lower or higher than the normal range doesn’t always mean there is a problem.

What High BUN Levels Can Mean

High BUN levels can also indicate various problems with your kidneys. Talk to your doctor about what could be causing the problem and plan your next steps.

High levels can also indicate the following:

● Urinary tract obstruction (blockage from being able to pee)

● Congestive heart failure (when your heart doesn’t pump blood to your body like it should)

Low BUN levels are rare. If you have low BUN levels, it could indicate:

● Malnutrition (when your diet doesn’t have enough nutrients or your body can’t take them in well)

● Overhydration (having too much fluid)

But a BUN test is not a way to diagnose these issues, so more tests may be needed

Creatinine Test

Your doctor may also order a creatinine test, which is another blood test that also checks your kidney health. This is because the BUN level by itself doesn’t always reveal much.

When your BUN levels are compared with your creatinine levels, it gives a fuller picture of what’s happening with your kidneys. This is known as the BUN/Creatinine ratio.

Creatinine is a waste product from your muscles that is also filtered by your kidneys. Like BUN, high levels of creatinine could mean there is a lot of waste product that hasn’t been removed by the kidneys.

The ideal ratio of BUN to creatinine falls between 10-to-1 and 20-to-1.

Having a ratio above this range could mean you may not be getting enough blood flow to your kidneys, and could have conditions such as congestive heart failure, dehydration, or gastrointestinal bleeding.

A ratio below the normal range could mean liver disease or malnutrition.

Show Sources

American Association for Clinical Chemistry: “Blood Urea Nitrogen.”

University of Rochester Medical Center: “Blood Urea Nitrogen.”

National Kidney Foundation: “Tests to Measure Kidney Function.”

Mayo Clinic: “Blood Urea Nitrogen Test” and “Heart Failure.”

Scripps Health Foundation: “BUN — Blood Test.”

U.S. National Library of Medicine: “Gastrointestinal Bleeding.”

American Association for Clinical Chemistry: “Creatinine.”

National Health Service (U.K.): “Malnutrition.”

Blood Urea Nitrogen (BUN) Test

The blood urea nitrogen (BUN) test measures how much urea nitrogen is in your blood. It helps a healthcare provider determine if your kidneys are working as they should. BUN levels vary according to your age and sex. Abnormal levels may indicate a health condition, including kidney damage.

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Overview

What is a blood urea nitrogen test?

A blood urea nitrogen (BUN) test measures the amount of urea nitrogen in your blood.

Urea nitrogen is a waste product. It develops when your body breaks down the protein in the foods you eat. It forms in your liver and travels through your blood to your kidneys, which then filter it out of your blood. It leaves your body through your urine (pee).

Urea nitrogen levels in your blood are one marker that allows healthcare providers to understand how well your kidneys are working. A small amount of urea nitrogen in your blood is normal. If you have too much urea nitrogen in your blood, your kidneys aren’t filtering it properly. You may have a condition that’s affecting your kidneys’ health.

Why is a blood urea nitrogen test done?

A healthcare provider may recommend a BUN test during a checkup as part of a comprehensive metabolic panel (CMP) or basic metabolic panel (BMP) blood test.

A provider may also recommend a BUN test if you have a higher risk of kidney disease. The early stages of kidney disease don’t have any symptoms, but the following factors may put you at a higher risk:

Biological family history of kidney disease.
Diabetes.
High blood pressure (hypertension).
Heart disease.

If you have symptoms of later-stage kidney disease, it’s a good idea to get a BUN test. Symptoms of later-stage kidney disease may include:

A need to pee more than usual.
Foamy pee.
Blood in your pee.
Fatigue.
Loss of appetite.
Swelling, particularly in your hands, feet and ankles.

What is a normal blood urea nitrogen level?

A normal blood urea nitrogen level varies according to your age and sex.

Age and Sex	Normal BUN Level (mg/dL)
Children between 1 and 17 years.	Between 7 and 20 mg/dL.
Adult women and people assigned female at birth.	Between 6 and 21 mg/dL.
Adult men and people assigned male at birth.	Between 8 and 24 mg/dL.

What level of urea indicates kidney failure?

Healthcare providers don’t use BUN to define kidney failure. However, if your BUN numbers are higher than your baseline, and if your creatinine (a waste product from muscle tissue breakdown) is also high, then kidney failure is likely.

What does high blood urea nitrogen mean?

High BUN levels may suggest that your kidneys aren’t working as they should. However, even if your kidneys are working properly, you may have elevated BUN levels from the following:

High-protein diet.
Dehydration.
Aging (infants and children have lower BUN levels).
Certain medications, including carbamazepine, methotrexate and tetracycline.
Burns.
Blockage in your urinary system that prevents you from peeing.
Stress.
Heart attack.
Gastrointestinal (GI) bleeding.

What does low blood urea nitrogen mean?

Low BUN levels aren’t common. However, you may have low BUN levels from the following:

Low-protein diet.
Small body type.
Overhydration (too much water in your body).
Liver disease.

Test Details

What happens before a blood urea nitrogen test?

Tell your healthcare provider if you have a bleeding disorder or are taking blood-thinning medications before a BUN test. Your healthcare provider may recommend other blood tests in addition to a BUN test. Other blood tests may require you to fast (not eat or drink) for eight to 12 hours before the test. Ask your healthcare provider if you need to fast before a BUN test or any other type of blood test.

What happens during a blood urea nitrogen test?

A healthcare provider can measure your BUN levels through a blood test.

They’ll disinfect the skin around a vein in your arm with iodine, isopropyl alcohol or another skin cleaner.
They’ll then use a thin needle (slightly smaller than the size of a standard earring post) to withdraw blood from a vein in your arm into small vials. You may feel a slight pinch, and the affected area may bruise afterward. However, any marks from the needle go away quickly.
They’ll then send your blood sample to a lab for analysis. It may take one to three days to get your results.

What happens after a blood urea nitrogen test?

Once the lab finishes testing your blood sample, a healthcare provider will contact you to explain your test results and answer any questions. If your provider suspects you have kidney disease, they may order additional tests, including:

Serum creatinine. This test looks for the buildup of creatinine.
Estimated glomerular filtration rate (eGFR). This is a value that a provider calculates from the amount of creatinine in your blood to get an estimate of how well your kidneys clean your blood. It calculates the filtration rates according to your protein levels, age, sex, size and race.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do you fix high BUN levels?

Healthcare providers don’t “fix” high BUN levels. They find out why someone’s kidney function isn’t normal and address the problem. However, the easiest way to reduce high BUN levels is to make changes to your diet.

If you don’t have kidney disease and aren’t on kidney dialysis, you should make sure to drink more fluids — an isolated rise in BUN while your serum creatinine is relatively low could indicate dehydration. Men and people assigned male at birth should drink approximately 13 cups (3 liters) of fluids each day. Women and people assigned female at birth should drink approximately 9 cups (2.2 liters) of fluids each day.

A low-protein diet can also help reduce high BUN levels. Healthy low-protein foods include:

Grains: Oats, rice and pasta.
Fruits: Apples, berries and bananas.
Vegetables: Leafy greens, peppers and broccoli.
Healthyfats: Avocados, nuts and coconut oil.

What foods should I avoid if my blood urea nitrogen levels are high?

If your BUN levels are high, it’s a good idea to avoid or limit high-protein foods. Examples of high-protein foods include:

Meats: Beef, chicken, pork and salmon.
Dairy: Milk, cheese and yogurt.

Most people should consume between 40 and 60 grams (g) of protein each day. However, you may need to reduce your protein consumption by as much as half if you have high BUN levels.

What medications are used to treat abnormal blood urea nitrogen levels?

Healthcare providers don’t typically prescribe medications to treat abnormal BUN levels.

When should I see a healthcare provider?

Contact your healthcare provider if you haven’t heard from them with your BUN test results after several days.

What questions should I ask a healthcare provider?

What do my test results mean?
Do you recommend any other tests?
How do I lower my BUN levels?
Is a health condition causing my abnormal BUN levels?

A note from Cleveland Clinic

Urea nitrogen is a waste product that forms in your liver after your body breaks down protein. Sometimes, your blood has too much or too little urea nitrogen, which can cause health problems. If you have symptoms of high or low urea nitrogen in your blood, you should talk to a healthcare provider. They can order a blood urea nitrogen (BUN) test to see how well your kidneys work and recommend the proper treatment.

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