How Is a Urinalysis Done?
In most cases, urine is collected in a clean container, then a plastic stick that has patches of chemicals on it (the dipstick) is placed in the urine. The patches change color to indicate certain things, like the presence of white blood cells or glucose. The doctor or laboratory technologist also usually examines the urine under a microscope to check for other substances that indicate different conditions. If a urinalysis shows white blood cells and bacteria – which may mean that there’s an infection in the kidneys or the bladder – the doctor may decide to send the urine to a lab for a urine culture to identify the bacteria. Getting a Urine Sample. It can be difficult to get urine samples from kids that doctors can use and analyze. That’s because the skin around the urinary opening normally is home to the same bacteria that cause infection inside the body. If these bacteria contaminate the urine, the doctors can’t use the urine sample. To avoid this, the skin surrounding the urinary o
