When you have certain complaints with urinating it might be a good idea to test your urine. A urine test can provide you the answer. Analyzing the urine can conclude if the person has diseases like STD or kidney diseases, but also urinary tract infections or a metabolic disease. Your healthcare provider knows what steps need to be taken and how you can create a sample for the research lap.
Urinalysis tests
Doctors can perform an urinalysis in different ways. What kind of tests are there?
Performing a test with a dipstick or strip. They contain different color boxes. The strip will be dipped into urine and the tested urine will reveal into one of the matching colors. The outcome will then be compared with a normal strip. Hereby the doctor can see the levels of sugar, protein, nitrite, red and white blood cells.
Performing a microscopic examination of the urine sample. By performing this test a filled tube with urine will be centrifuged for five minutes. By doing this the cells and other constituents of the urine will eventually sink to the bottom. The residue will be further examined with the use of a microscope.
Performing a culture of the bacteria. A doctor will do this test when he/she suspects an infection. With this test the doctor will perform research on the germs the urine contains and the effect of certain antibiotics to those germs. It could take a few days before there is a noticeable result.
Performing cytological examination. With this test the cells in the urine will be examined on malignancy.
Urine contamination
There is a special method for sampling urine. Before the sampling the genitals should be washed. This is because there is a high chance of contamination by other bacteria. Samples which are contaminated by three different bacteria are already suspected of being invalid. To avoid contamination there are special made urine tubes. They are available from the doctor, pharmacist or online at webshops.
