Urine reveals a lot about your health. Your doctor may order or recommend urinalysis if you spot bloody or cloudy urine, struggle with frequent and/or painful urination, or abdominal and/or back pain. Sugar Land urinalysis examines urine color, chemical, and microscopic composition. The standard approaches are visual, dipstick, and microscopic tests that can reveal the cause of your current symptoms or indicate a potential medical problem you are at high risk of developing. Here is a glance at what the urine test results could mean.
Visual test
A visual test is usually the first step, which considers the color and appearance of urine under the naked eye. The screening strives to establish if the urine is cloudy or clear and if it is dark yellow, pale, r a different color. Shades of yellow are the usual normal urine color, which varies due to aspects like how watery/diluted it is and ranges from pale, deep amber to colorless.
Changed urine color and appearance could be harmless. The change could be due to certain foods, medications, supplements, or semen and skin cells presence. In other cases, it could indicate problems ranging from dehydration, diabetes, kidney stones, urinary tract infection (UTI), and sexually transmitted infections. Bloody appearance could be due to blood in urine resulting from UTI damaging the urinary system. Cloudy appearance could be the presence of bacteria, red or white blood cells, indicative of various medical conditions, and require further urinalysis.
Microscopic test
If the urine is cloudy, it could be put under a microscope. The microscopic test looks for smaller details that aren’t obvious to the naked eye. They include mucus, cells, cell fragments, bacteria, crystals, and urinary casts. The presence of such substances may not be cause for alarm, especially within normal range. However, elevated levels could indicate concerns like inflammation, urinary tract cancer, bladder or kidney issues, or an STI. This prompts further tests for a conclusive diagnosis.
Chemical test
Urine chemical composition is tested using dipsticks. The tests include pH, protein, glucose, ketones, nitrite, bilirubin, leukocyte esterase, and gravity test. The results could indicate that you have issues like urinary tract or kidney inflammation, diabetes, heart failure, liver or bile duct problems, UTI, dehydration, or multiple health conditions.
Conclusive findings
Urinalysis is a non-invasive test, especially when you use clean catch urine. Catheter collection is not overwhelming either, but it carries the risk of infection. Since the test only focuses on urine properties, it often requires additional diagnosis for a more conclusive finding. This is more so since the appearance, chemical, and microscopic findings may indicate various issues requiring a specific diagnosis. Nonetheless, urinalysis is a reliable diagnostic measure that can give you an idea of your current health standing and risk of developing problems like kidney, liver, and cardiovascular-related conditions.
Urinalysis could be a part of your routine tests, such as monitoring certain medical conditions. It could also be ordered to diagnose medical conditions following your symptoms. Self-care can also help you notice changes and seek prompt tests, like checking your urine color and appearance, especially in the morning. Visit St. Michael’s Elite Hospital for more on urinalysis and learn what your urine says about your overall health.