Bubbles in urine and left Flank pain

[Sallu123]

I am having bubbles in my urine since past 1 month. 80pc of the times they dissipate quickly. However sometimes I have noticed they remain forever. It happens when urine is more like foam from some detergent and not just bubbles. Got negative for 24hrs protein. Sometimes I also have very slight stingy pain in left flank in the middle and lower part. (once or twice a month maybe). It goes away itself after few hours. Sometimes there is a slight pinch on my left hip that comes and goes in seconds. No burning in urine however sometimes the few drops of urine are slightly cloudy that get normal with the flow. Also I have a slight higher blood pressure. 'm extremely upset as to why is this happening? Any suggestions will be welcomed.

[Sammi_n_Munk]

Hello Sallu123. The foamy urine could be caused by anything from left over cleanser residue in your toilet, to a result of the speed of urine flow, to a bladder / urinary tract infection, or even a little protein in your urine. Not sure how well hydrated you keep yourself, but I always advise people here to try to get a good amount of daily water intake. Flushing your kidneys and your entire system with water is always a good thing. If you’re unsure of how much water is a proper amount for you, you should speak to your doctor.

Has your doctor ever said anything to you about what these pains and foam could be caused by? Does she / he suspect CKD at all? If not, then I wouldn’t worry too much about it. If they have run some tests on you and have not found any issues at all, I wouldn’t waste my time fretting about this. Life is far too short as it is to be needlessly spent losing sleep for no reason. Lol!

Please do take good care of yourself and keep us posted on your progress. All my best to you! God bless. 😊👍

[Sallu123 in reply to Sammi_n_Munk]

Thanks for your feedback, Sammi. It means a lot. I keep myself hydrated but even though If I did not, I would never see foaminess which is why I'm a little concerned now. I have been seeing foamy urine (on and off) from past 1 month only. However, before that, I got scanned for kidneys few months back and everything seemed normal. Since I often have a high blood pressure, I also got renal resistive index checked and it came our normal. At the time of kidney ultrasound, doctor conducted tests for the 4 salts and they were normal too. The serum albumin was tested and it was fine as well.

However, all the above tests were conducted when there was no foaminess in the urine. Also 1 year back I had UTI and got treatment for it, which got cured as per the urinanalysis, but the symptoms (slight flank burning sensation / little to no groin heaviness) remained, about which doctor asked me not to worry much. The same heaviness/burning sensation persists still now but this time the foaminess is there which has caused me to panic.

My questions are:

1. Is it possible to develop kidney disease when you have no family background and just have elevated blood pressure sometimes?

2. What is the reason behind little pinch on left hip?

3. If it was some infection / kidney disease, should not the pain have persisted and not gone itself? (that little burning / heaviness goes it self after few hours)

4. Is it possible to have UTI without being detected in tests but showing some symptoms?

5. What are the chances that the cloudy urine, that I see sometimes in the beginning, is due to semen and that semen is causing the foaminess in the urine?

My only concern is that I might not have something at the moment that is of significance, but with the time passing by, I do not want to get it worse. I just want to fix this issue as soon as possible just so it does not get worse and turn into something that affects my life.

P.S. I am just 26 years old and single.

Thank you once again.

[WYOAnne NKF Ambassador]

First of all, make sure you get your blood pressure under good control! High BP can cause kidney damage.

Bubbles and foamy urine could be caused by almost anything. First thing I would ask you, if you are drinking enough water? Hydration can really effect your urine - color, amount, etc. If you had a UTI it would have shown up in your urinalysis.

Your kidneys on there own do not cause pain, unless there is a blockage or a kidney stone. My guess would be that something else is causing your flank pain since your doctor did a scan.

If you are concerned you should be following up with your PCP. Have blood & urine labs done again to make sure there is no kidney involvement.

If they come up again negative, there is nothing to worry about.

Take care

[Sallu123 in reply to WYOAnne]

Thanks for responding, WYOAnne. Just for the record, when I say high BP, it is, on average, around 130/90 and when it gets even higher, then 140/100 or 150/100.

I really hope that the kidneys are not involved. Is it possible to get kidney problem even though I tested fine 8 months back with the fact that nothing has changed essentially?

Just a side question: Is it possible for stomach to cause the flank pain? The reason I ask is because I get this pointy pain, like once or twice a month, in the opening of that stomach area from where the food enters. Could it be related to it somehow?

Another important question, can drinking extra water than required, cause any kind of heaviness/burning sensation/pain in kidney area or flank?