Everything you need to know about a urine pH test

Your food intake, diseases and the medicines you consume can affect how basic or acidic your urine is. This is where the need of a urine pH level test comes to work. The pH of your urine indicates how well you're keeping and helps a doctor to understand the various processes going on in your body.
The job of this test is to analyse if your urine is alkaline or acidic. This test does not require you to go under the needle and is overall painless. If your results show that your urine is either acidic or alkaline by a large amount, then chances are that you'll get kidney stones. However if you adjust your diet at the right time, the possibility of the same will reduce.

Why should you get a urine pH level test done?

Kidney stones are a nightmare because once they're in the ureter they will cause you an immense amount of pain. This is because kidney stones are caused when small fragments of minerals collect together in kidneys and form stones and cause immense pain because they prevent urine from passing from the urinary system and kidneys.

The reason why you should get a urine pH level test done is because these stones tend to form in highly acidic or basic environment and the test allows you to understand what exactly is the pH level of your body. Sometimes consumption of certain medicines during pregnancy for aches and other problems can make the urine extremely acidic. After a urine pH level test, it can be determined if the medicines you're taking, is the reason your urine is becoming too acidic and can help maintain the ph in pregnancy.

When does acidic urine pH occur?

1. When your diabetes shoots up and is in an uncontrolled state. It is advisable to go to a doctor, both for bringing the diabetes under control and for seeing how you can bring the acidic level down.
2. If you're anorexic and don't drink an adequate amount of water, there are high chances that you will suffer from an acidic urine pH. Starvation is fundamental in causing a lot of problems and acid reflux is one of them.
3. In some respiratory diseases there is retention of carbon dioxide and due to that acidosis develops which leads to acidic pH.

When does alkaline urine pH occur?

1. It happens in people who eat meat. If you eat an excessive amount of meat then the pH tends to be acidic. A diet that is rich in vegetables, citrus fruits and legumes increases the pH and produces an alkaline based urine.
2. Urinary tract obstruction, salicylate intoxication, pyloric obstruction, chronic renal failure and renal tubular acidosis, causes alkaline urine pH.
3. It occurs in respiratory diseases associated with hyperventilation. This also occurs when there is high ph in pregnancy.
4. Most of the bacteria that causes urinary tract infection and is associated with it splits the urine into alkaline waste products and ammonia.