Kidney function test at home

In this Easly self-test, using an included instruction, you do a finger prick. Don’t squeeze your finger too hard. If you do this, cells in your finger break down (hemolysis) and this may distort the values. Send the blood sample to our lab and wait for the results. These become visible in your personal dashboard. If necessary, you will receive Medical Advice from our doctors.

This self-test determines the amount of creatinine. Creatinine is determined in the blood. Kidney function is then estimated by a formula, which includes creatinine. This estimate is called eGFR, or estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate. Kidney function is highly dependent on age and gender.

The kidney function self-test is for anyone who wants to know how healthy their kidneys are. If you want to measure blood value kidney function, keep in mind that you should not exercise too intensely right before the blood draw.

The results are provided with clear Medical Interpretation & Advice by one of our doctors. That way, the results are always understandable!

By kidney function, we mean the amount of blood that can pass through the kidney filters per minute. There are normally more than a million of these kidney filters (nephrons) in healthy kidneys! So the kidneys have an enormous filtering capacity!

Kidney function is measured by two values: the amount of creatinine and the eGFR.

On the one hand, the amount of creatinine is measured. If the amount of creatinine is too high, it poses a problem. But you can’t draw immediate conclusions about kidney function from a low level of creatinine.
Renal function is further estimated by the eGFR (estimated Glomerular Filtration Rate). For a healthy person, normal renal function values are around 90 ml of filtered blood per minute. Values of 15 ml per minute and below are very problematic. Dialysis or transplantation is then often necessary.

We look at the eGFR for this. There are five stages indicated on a scale. However, note that kidney function naturally decreases as we age. For older individuals, a kidney function of 30 to 45 ml/min can still be considered within normal range.

• In a normal situation or stage 1, the eGFR is higher than 90 ml/min.
• Mild kidney failure or stage 2 has an eGFR between 60 and 89 ml/min.
• Moderate kidney failure or stage 3 has an eGFR value between 30 and 59 ml/min.
• Severe kidney failure or stage 4 has an eGFR between 15 and 29 ml/min.
• End-stage kidney disease or stage 5 has an eGFR less than 15 ml/min.”

Note: eGFR stands for estimated glomerular filtration rate, which is a measure of how well the kidneys are functioning based on the rate at which blood is filtered through the kidneys. Normal kidney function typically ranges from an eGFR of 90 to 120 ml/min. A decrease in eGFR value is associated with decreasing kidney function, and values less than 60 ml/min are considered abnormal. End-stage kidney disease is a serious and life-threatening condition that may require dialysis or kidney transplant.

The kidneys are responsible for maintaining good blood pressure, but can be damaged quickly as a result of hypertension. This creates a vicious cycle. Therefore, maintaining good blood pressure is very important. In doing so, it is wise to pay attention to fluid intake, limit salt consumption and pursue a healthy weight.
Would you like to test your kidney function yourself? Then do this kidney function test. If the values are not good, we are happy to help you with medical advice.

With a kidney function test, you can easily test kidney function yourself from the comfort of your own home.

Your blood pressure is an important factor in this, but kidney disease can also be caused by an infection, medication or an autoimmune disease.

There are some factors that you cannot control, such as genetic predisposition or diabetes. Although an unhealthy lifestyle is not a direct cause of kidney disease, a healthy lifestyle can help prevent kidney damage.

• Not smoking: smoking damages the blood vessels in and leading to the kidneys.
• Limiting salt in food: too much salt leads to high blood pressure, which can in turn cause kidney damage. Additionally, salt can also affect the effectiveness of medications used to treat high blood pressure.
• Losing weight: the heavier you are, the harder the heart has to work to pump blood. This increases the volume of blood and the heart itself, which can put extra strain on the kidneys as they work harder to filter all this blood.