Blood tests are the best methods used in the medical world to analyze how the body is doing and if there are any signs of internal trouble. When a patient visits a doctor for any issue, the first thing that a doctor order is a set of blood tests that help them understand how the patient’s body is performing and if there is anything to be concerned about. When it comes to kidney functions, blood tests are combined with urine tests. Creatinine test is the most common test ordered by a doctor to help understand how well the kidneys are functioning, as creatinine is one of the toxins that the kidneys filter out from the blood. High creatinine levels signify that the kidneys may not perform at their optimum levels.
What is Creatinine?
Creatinine is a chemical compound that is often released into the digestive system after the digestion process. It is one of the many by-products of the digestion process and is released into the bloodstream along with essential nutrients and energy. When food is digested by the stomach using various acids and enzymes, creatinine is a byproduct leftover after the food releases the energy. Along with the energy, this compound is absorbed into the blood and transported to the kidney.
If the kidneys are healthy, they can easily filter out the creatinine from the blood and only traces of this compound is seen in blood tests. If the kidneys are not very functional, the patient may have high levels of creatinine in their blood which signifies an issue with the kidney. The creatinine levels are identified and analyzed by the Creatinine Test, which can be done either with blood or urine samples. Creatinine test prices are nominal and do not cost much.
The usual range of creatinine in the body is mentioned below:
- Men
For men, the range is the same throughout a man’s lifespan. Beginning from 19 years of age up until 75 years of age, the creatinine levels must be between 77 to 160ml/min/BSA
- Women
For women, the creatinine levels change with the changes in the body. Between 18 and 29 years of age, the creatinine levels should be between 78 to 161ml/min/BSA; Between 30 to 39 years, it should be between 72 to 154 ml/min/BSA; between 40 to 49 years of age, it must be between 67 to 146ml/min/BSA; between 50 to 59 years of age it must between 62 to 139ml/min/BSA, and between 60 to 72 years of age it must be between 56 to 131 ml/min/BSA
This range reveals that for women, with the onset of menopause and afterward, as their age progresses, the level of creatinine in the body must reduce by itself. However, for men, the range remains constant throughout life.
Managing Creatinine Levels
Creatinine levels are not something that an individual can particularly manage. But certain lifestyle habits can help in keeping the kidneys healthy and therefore keep creatinine levels in check, such as eating healthy food full of fiber, reducing red meat, which is hard to digest, cutting down on alcohol, removing processed food from the diet which expels more creatinine in the body and drinking plenty of water which helps in flushing out most of these toxic materials from the body.