What Is a Dangerously High BUN Level?

Posted on: Mar 31, 2025 | 3 mins | Written by: HDFC ERGO Team

What Is a Dangerously High BUN Level?

If you have been asked to do a BUN test, your doctor probably suspects something is not right with your kidneys. Though high levels of BUN or blood urea nitrogen in your blood is usually associated with kidney damage, multiple other reasons can spike BUN levels.

What is a Dangerously High BUN Level?

A BUN (blood urea nitrogen) test is a common test to measure urea nitrogen in your blood. This test is recommended to check how well your kidneys are functioning. If the urea nitrogen levels are higher than normal, it means your kidneys are not properly filtering urea and other waste products from your blood.

BUN levels can vary according to age, sex, and the reference range used by a laboratory. However, a BUN of more than 40 to 50 mg/dL is considered to be dangerously high. A High BUN level generally indicates a kidney problem. However, elevated BUN levels can also be due to several other reasons, such as dehydration, a high-protein diet, urinary tract obstruction, congestive heart failure, gastrointestinal bleeding, and certain medications.

To confirm that high BUN levels are due to kidney issues, the creatinine levels in your blood also have to be measured. Like urea nitrogen, creatinine is another waste product that needs to be filtered out of the body by the kidneys. A high level of creatinine is a sign of kidney damage.

Conclusion

If your doctor suspects that you may have kidney disease due to chronic conditions like diabetes or high blood pressure, you will be asked to do a BUN test to check the amount of urea nitrogen in your blood. High levels indicate your kidneys do not function as they should and need to be treated. Considering the rising medical expenses, make sure you have active family health insurance or critical illness insurance for financial security during health emergencies. While buying health insurance online, assess your medical needs and those of your parents as it will help you make an informed decision.

Disclaimer: The above information is for illustrative purposes only. For more details, please refer to the policy wordings and prospectus before concluding the sales.

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