Suggest Ways To Manage BUN Levels

Posted on Thu, 21 Jan 2016

Medically reviewed by Ask A Doctor - 24x7 Medical Review Team

Thu, 21 Jan 2016 Answered on

Wed, 2 Mar 2016 Last reviewed on

Question : My BUN IS 43, WHAT'S THE BEST WAY TO NORMALIZE IT?

Answered by Dr. Bonnie Berger-Durnbaugh (1 hour later)

Brief Answer:
If you are young and healthy, drink more water.

Detailed Answer:
Hello and welcome,

You didn't provide much history, so I don't know your age or what medical problems you may have that may be contributing to a high blood urea nitrogen level.

If you are young and healthy, an elevated BUN is most commonly caused by dehydration, and normalizing it just involves drinking more water.

Decreasing dietary protein can also help lower the BUN.

Some medications can cause an increase in BUN too, and changing medications can help that resolve.

But a very high BUN can also be caused by kidney disease, kidney obstruction (such as with urinary tract stones), gastrointestinal bleeding, and heart failure, and in those cases, decreasing it involves treating the underlying problem.

I hope this information helps.

Above answer was peer-reviewed by : Dr. Chakravarthy Mazumdar