What is a sodium urine test?

A urine sodium test determines whether you’re properly hydrated. It can also evaluate your kidney function, particularly in terms of its sodium regulation property.

There are two types of sodium urine test. A random test looks at sodium in a single urine sample. A 24-hour test looks at urine sodium over the course of a 24-hour period.

The mineral sodium is used in every cell of your body. It’s especially important for the function of your nerves and muscles.

The amount of sodium in your urine can help your doctor look for sodium imbalances in your body. It can help your doctor further understand abnormal values on an electrolyte blood test for sodium.It can also help determine if your kidneys are working properly. Finally, this test can find out whether you’re drinking an insufficient or excessive amount of water.

Your doctor may also order this test if they suspect you have:

Before this test, you may need to stop taking certain drugs that affect sodium in the urine. These include:

Tell your doctor about all over-the-counter (OTC) and prescription drugs you take. Your doctor will say which you should discontinue. Don’t stop taking medications unless your doctor tells you to do so.

Sodium in the diet may affect this test. Your doctor may order a 24-hour urine test to reduce the impact of any single meal on the results.

Adults and older children can easily collect the sample for a random urine test. All it requires is urinating in a sterile plastic container at a medical facility. For an infant, a special bag goes inside the diaper to collect urine. Your pediatrician or family doctor will give you instructions on how to use the bag.

Collecting urine for a 24-hour urine sodium test is a bit more complicated. The collection process occurs at home. You’ll receive a special container to hold urine. Over the course of 24 hours, you’ll urinate into the special container. Typically, this is done over two days.

On the first day, don’t collect your first urine after you wake up. After that, urinate into the container every time. Stop after your first morning urination on the second day. Deliver the container to your doctor or laboratory as soon as possible.

A normal value for the 24-hour test depends on your dietary intake of salt and water. Different laboratories may have different maximum and minimum values.

There’s no set norm for the random urine sample. It’s too dependent on what you ate or drank in the hours before the test. In addition, the amount of sodium you excrete varies a lot. For example, your sodium excretion is five times higher during the day than at night.

Low levels of sodium in your urine may indicate kidney problems or hyponatremia.

Hyponatremia means you have low levels of sodium in your blood. Symptoms include:

The causes of low sodium in the urine are most likely:

High levels of sodium in the urine may be due to diet, kidney problems, or hypernatremia.

Hypernatremia means you have high levels of sodium in your blood. Symptoms include:

The causes of high sodium in the urine may be: