Ketonuria is the accumulation of excess ketone bodies (acetoneacetic acid and acetone) in human urine as a result of impaired fat metabolism and carbohydrate absorption.
Norm of ketone bodies
Normal urine should not contain acetone. Or the amount of ketone bodies is so minimal that it is not determined by conventional laboratory methods. At home, a test strip for acetone in the urine can help with this.
Causes of acetonemia:
Acetone in the urine in 90% of cases is a pathology of pregnant women and children. In adult patients, ketones in the urine appear mainly with diabetes mellitus.
- With ketonuria in children, the cause is an unbalanced diet, consumption of foods high in animal proteins, minimal water intake, long-term carbohydrate-free diet.
With emotional and physical stress, elevated temperature, when the glycogen supply in the body becomes insufficient, the breakdown of fats begins to release energy and replenish energy resources, and many ketone bodies are formed;
- During pregnancy, the presence of ketone bodies is evidence of early toxicosis. Also, the cause may be an unbalanced diet - a large intake of fats and carbohydrates and a small amount of protein.
The cause of the appearance can be pathological processes:
In addition to malnutrition, various diseases can cause ketonuria.
1. Tumors of the small intestine, stomach, benign and malignant;
2. Uncompensated stage of diabetes;
3. Leukemia, leukemia and other forms of blood cancer;
4. Excess thyroid hormones (thyrotoxicosis);
5. Severe forms of anemia (anemia);
6. Extreme exhaustion of the body (weight loss, decrease in physiological processes);
7. Concussion;
8. Chronic alcoholism with lesions of the hepatic parenchyma.
Signs of acetonemia
- Acetone breath and taste of acetone;
- Vomiting, constant regurgitation, convulsive syndrome. These signs are associated with a violation of the water and electrolyte balance;
- Stomach ache.
Basic principles for relieving an acetone attack
• Plentiful drink every 10-15 minutes in small doses. Only up to 1.5 liters of fluid per day. These can be mineral alkaline non-carbonated waters, tea with lemon, dried fruit compote, Regidron saline solution;
• Reception of enterosorbents - "Smecta", "Phospholugel", "Enterosgel" and others;
• Enema with 1-2% sodium bicarbonate solution (baking soda) or plain cool water;
• In case of attacks of nausea and vomiting, hunger is indicated;
• In the future, people prone to acetonemia are shown a balanced diet, proper lifestyle, frequent walks, lack of emotional and physical overload.
For each category of patients (children, pregnant women, diabetics and people with other pathologies), a specialist consultation is necessary in order to avoid acetonemia in the future.
For timely diagnosis of the acetone content, it is necessary to use means for home determination of the Acetontest test strip, produced by Norma (Ukraine). The price of a strip for acetone of this manufacturer is minimal and affordable for everyone.
Definition principle
- The indicator zone of the test strip is wetted with urine and kept for 3 minutes;
- The strip takes on a color that is compared to the color indicator strip supplied. The content of ketone bodies is determined in the range from 0 to 15 mmol/liter. Color - from yellow to deep purple, through pink and orange.
