A urinalysis is a widespread test that can detect many issues. Your Sugar Land urinalysis specialist can employ the test to check your overall health, diagnose a medical condition, or monitor a particular medical issue. Whichever the case, it involves some tests being done on your urine sample you can collect at home or the clinic. It is essential to consult your doctor when going for a urinalysis since you might be required to eat or fast, depending on whether you will get other tests after the urinalysis. We are going to evaluate how your urine sample is assessed herein. Follow through.
Collecting the Sample
First things first, when you go for a urinalysis, collecting urine samples is a critical part of the test, and your provider might give you special instructions over the same. Although you might collect the samples from home, ensure you understand how to handle the sample to avoid compromising results. Generally, you have to cleanse your urinary opening, whether penis or vagina, before collecting the sample. Once you collect the sample, you should deliver it to the clinic within 30 minutes, failure to which you should refrigerate it or follow additional instructions from your doctor.
Evaluating the Sample
The urine sample can be examined through a visual exam, microscopic exam, or dipstick test.
Visual Exam
This is a test aimed at evaluating your urine’s appearance. Normal urine should be clear, and cloudiness or unusual odor could indicate an issue. Foamy urine indicates the presence of proteins, and red or brown urine indicates blood. But remember that the color of your urine can be influenced by other factors like what you have eaten or the type of medications you are taking. The lab technician will explain why your urine appears the way it does.
Microscopic Exam
A microscopic exam is done as part of a urinalysis that assesses concentrated urine samples. The sample is spun in a machine and viewed under a microscope to evaluate the concentration. The presence of white blood cells, parasites, or yeast might indicate an infection, while red blood cells could indicate a blood disorder, kidney disease, or bladder cancer. The presence of casts and crystals could indicate the presence of kidney disorders and kidney stones, respectively.
Dipstick Test
This test involves placing a thin, plastic stick stripped with chemicals in the urine sample. The chemical strips behave differently when certain substances are present in the urine sample or are above typical levels. The test can check for:
Acidity: this is the evaluation of the pH level, which could indicate the presence of acid in your urine. It might indicate a urinary tract or kidney disorder.
Sugar: The sugar concentration in urine is very low and is often undetectable. Therefore, any detection indicates something like diabetes, and it is crucial to follow up for diabetes testing.
Protein: The protein level in your urine is expected to be low. Although a slight increment to the levels is not worrying, more significant amounts of protein in urine might indicate a kidney problem.
Other concentrations tested through the dipstick test include ketone, bilirubin, blood, and evidence of infection.
If you need a urinalysis, reach out to St. Michaels Elite Hospital to understand more about the test. You can trust the board-certified physicians for accurate and rapid results to help you know if you need follow-up tests or the necessary steps you need to take. You can also book an online appointment.
