High Creatinine Levels: Symptoms and Testing
Have you done a full body and wondered what high creatinine levels mean? If you’re here after googling questions like ‘elevated creatinine meaning’ and ‘what is a high creatinine level’ and have struggled to understand what it means, we’re here to help you.
High creatinine levels for a prolonged period may indicate underlying conditions like kidney diseases or muscle disorders. So, consult a physician if you find creatinine levels high in your health report.
What is creatinine?
Creatinine is a waste byproduct of muscle metabolism. It gets transported by the blood to the kidneys. The bean-shaped kidneys then filter out the creatinine, which is then excreted from the body through urine.
When to worry about creatinine levels?
Now, the normal creatinine range varies as per age, sex, size, as well as a person’s muscle buildup, and geographical location.
For instance, the normal creatinine levels in the serum for children are between 0.3 mg/dL and 0.7 mg/dL for children. The normal range for creatinine falls between 0.6 mg/dL and 1.1 mg/dL for women. And the expected creatinine levels for men are between 0.7 mg/dL and 1.3 mg/dL.
If your creatinine level is higher or lower than this range, it is best if you consult a doctor.
What are high creatinine levels?
Creatinine levels higher than the above-mentioned range for children, women and men are generally considered high. For instance, if your creatinine level is 1.4, it is over the normal range no matter your age or gender. But what if creatinine is high? How does it affect you?
What will happen if creatinine is high?
There are no documented side effects of elevated creatinine. That said, if creatinine is high it could be indicative of an underlying serious health issue. Before we go into their details, let’s take a look at the possible causes of high creatinine levels.
What causes high creatinine levels?
One of the most common causes of increased creatinine levels is impaired kidney function. Naturally, kidney diseases make it to the top of the list. But there are several other reasons for increased creatinine levels in the blood. Here are a few listed for your convenience.
- Kidney disorders: This includes conditions like Chronic Kidney Disease whereby the body cannot filter out the impurities in the blood, including creatinine, causing the level to rise in the blood. Similarly in conditions like diabetes, kidney stones, infections, kidney obstruction, and glomerulonephritis all diminish the kidney’s ability to filter impurities. This causes the blood creatinine levels to rise.
- Muscle injuries: Whether caused due to intense exercises or due to conditions like rhabdomyolysis, muscle wear and tear releases a higher amount of creatinine in the blood, increasing the levels.
- High protein diet: Believe it or not, another reason for increased creatinine levels is consuming a high protein diet. Here, the creatinine in the blood increases due to dietary protein breakdown instead of problems in removing the waste.
- Dehydration: What causes high creatinine levels in case of dehydration is that the body does not have enough water to pass out as urine. This means the body works on retaining the available water by preventing urination. This means the creatinine remains in the bloodstream instead of passing through the urinary tract.
- Medication: Certain medications like Cimetidine, cephalosporins etc., can cause the body to retain more creatinine than usual. This increases the serum creatinine levels.
Now that we know why creatinine increases, let’s look at the symptoms of increased creatinine.
What are the symptoms of high creatinine levels?
A temporary rise in creatinine levels does not induce any symptoms in humans. That said, a prolonged increase in serum creatinine reflects a kidney disorder that manifests symptoms. Here are the high creatinine symptoms you should know about.
- Swelling
- Muscle cramps
- Mental confusion
- High blood pressure
- Chest pain
- Difficulty in breathing
- Dry and itchy skin
- Painful urination
- Difficulty when sleeping
If you show one or more of these symptoms for a prolonged period, consult a doctor and get your creatinine levels checked.
Testing of high creatinine levels
The easiest way to determine if creatinine is high is to do a serum creatinine check along with a urine creatinine check. Here’s a look at what that entails.
1. Serum creatinine test
A serum creatinine test follows the same procedure as a normal blood test. This means the health practitioner draws out blood using a syringe. The creatinine levels are measured, and the report displays the corresponding result. Note some medical professionals might ask you to fast overnight before doing the test. Besides, you may have to stop consuming meat or taking creatine supplements before doing the test.
2. Creatinine clearance test
Your health professional may also ask you to do a creatinine urine test to measure your creatinine clearance. For this, you will have to collect a urine sample in the clinic or collect it over 24 hours at your residence as directed by the practitioner. The clinic will now measure the creatinine in the urine to understand your creatinine clearance. Note you may be directed to fast or stop consuming meat or creatine supplements during this period.
If you have high creatinine levels in the blood or high creatinine in the urine, consult a medical professional for guidance on reducing your creatinine levels.
Treatment of high creatinine levels
Based on the cause of increased creatinine levels, medical professionals may opt for different approaches for increased creatinine treatment.
This includes drugs to treat the underlying kidney disease if applicable, medication to treat blood pressure, hydration and dietary restrictions in case of food-induced high creatinine symptoms.
Check your serum creatinine at Dr Lal PathLabs
If you’re facing symptoms associated with high creatinine levels and are looking to test your serum creatinine, you must take a test through a reputed diagnostic centre. This way, you’re assured of accurate, error-free results and proper diagnosis. Dr Lal PathLabs can assist you with this. So, what are you waiting for?
