Protein In Urine +1

Question

My 11 year old just had his annual check up and they found +1 protein in the urinalysis. Can you please explain what this could be from? All the blood tests came back normal. The doctor wants to retest in 3 months. I didn't get to speak with her directly , I just found out from the nurse and they can't tell you anything.

wombat1900 · Answer

Thank you.  The doctor said to retest in 3 months.  Naturally I will be worried until then.  The joys of being a parent!  Thank you for the response!

bonijokrauss · Answer

When my daughter was 12, they found protein in her urine during an athletic physical. The doctor we saw, scared the crap out of us by telling us that if we didn't have it treated, she could have kidney failure. We were horrified. We booked the appointment with the specialist, and then I promptly took her to see a different MD because I didn't like the attitude of the one she saw for the physical. The second doctor calmed us down and said that protein in the urine can be caused by an infection anywhere in the body. 2 days later we saw the specialist and she confirmed that there no kidney problems and agreed that it could be an infection somewhere. 2 weeks later, she had an abscess on a tooth. Case solved. We had the urine tested again and it was normal. I'm not saying not to be cautious, I'm just saying, it could be something besides the kidneys. Good Luck and Good Health to your son.

ASharmaMD · Answer

Hi there,
It is important to correlate clinically any test result. Presence of trace to 2+ is likely to be a transient or false finding. It is best to get a repeat test within a month. The common causes of protein in urine are a transient leakiness in the kidney’s membrane seen in fever, infection, etc. Transient proteinuria usually requires no special treatment. If your daughter is not having any symptoms suggestive of kidney disease do not worry. Get her retested. Keep me updated.
Best luck and regards!