Chloride exchanges with bicarbonate
Biomarker library
Kidney Health
Chloride
Chloride is sodium's partner in the fluid outside your cells, helping to hold water in your bloodstream and keep your blood's acid balance stable.
Measured in your health assessment, with a doctor to explain your result. Book yours
Why it matters
It mostly moves in step with sodium, so it is read with sodium and bicarbonate to understand your fluid and acid-base balance.
What a result can mean
Lower than the range
A low chloride is often seen with prolonged vomiting, diuretics or low sodium.
Higher than the range
A higher chloride often accompanies dehydration or high sodium, and can occur with some kidney conditions or severe diarrhoea.
What can help
Chloride usually corrects itself once hydration and the underlying cause are sorted out, and it is rarely treated on its own.
Read it with
NoteGeneral educational illustration. Colours, sizes and movement are simplified. This is not a scan or a simulation of your body. General information, not personal medical advice: a doctor reads your own results with your history.
Know your chloride.
Measured in your health assessment and explained by the doctor who reviews your results.