Collecting a urine sample (2024)

FAQs

Collecting a urine sample? ›

Urinate a small amount into the toilet bowl, and then stop the flow of urine. Then collect a sample of urine into the clean or sterile cup, until it is half full. You may finish urinating into the toilet bowl.

Urinate a small amount into the toilet bowl, and then stop the flow of urine. Then collect a sample of urine into the clean or sterile cup, until it is half full. You may finish urinating into the toilet bowl.

The sooner the sample is given in to the doctor's surgery, or to the laboratory, the better. Within two hours is best. If that is not possible, put the sample in the fridge until you take it to the doctor or laboratory.

Start urinating into the toilet. After the first part of the urine has gone into the toilet, put the clean bowl or pot under the stream of urine. Catch some urine in the pot/bowl (1/2 full is fine). Then remove the bowl/pot.

It is preferred that you collect a specimen first thing in the morning, because the first morning urination is more concentrated and likely to yield the best results. Prior to urinating, it's important to wipe your genital area clean so that the specimen is not contaminated with bacteria from your skin.

Your doctor may, for example, request a first morning sample because the urine is more concentrated and therefore it is more likely to show up any abnormalities. Or if the doctor is looking for glucose in the urine they may ask you to collect a sample after a meal.

Cleansing the labial area prior to urination (clean catch collection) will remove most of the organisms from the labia and the urethral opening thereby increasing the probability of a false negative result.

Clinically, a false positive urine drug screen can be due to numerous xenobiotics: dextromethorphan, diphenhydramine, doxylamine, ibuprofen, imipramine, ketamine, meperidine, venlafaxine, buproprion, methylenedioxpyrolvalerone (MDPV), and tramadol.

Patient must abstain from avocados, bananas, tomatoes, plums, eggplant, hickory nuts, walnuts, pineapple, coffee and mollusks. and during collection: aspirin, corticotropins, MAO inhibitors, phenacetin, catecholamines, reserpine and nicotine. Restrict caffeine, nicotine and alcohol 24 hours prior to collection.

Before your urinalysis test, you'll need to make sure you've drunk enough liquids, such as water, to be able to go to the bathroom and produce a urine sample. Depending on the reason for the urinalysis, your healthcare provider may want the urine sample to be the first time you pee in the morning (first morning void).

How do I get good urine test results? ›

Before collecting a sample, it's a good idea to cleanse your genital area with water (no soap). Otherwise, the urine may be contaminated with bacteria, cells or other substances. To get an accurate result and avoid bacterial contamination, “clean” midstream urine is used.

If the person is incontinent and wears incontinence pads, a urine collection pack can be used to draw a sample of urine from the pad. These are usually made up of two urine collection pads, a 5ml syringe and a urine specimen container.

Forgetting to collect some of your urine. Going beyond the 24-hour collection period and collecting too much urine. Losing urine from the specimen container through spilling.

The recommended time to take a urine sample is as soon as you wake up, i.e. urine after an overnight 8-hour rest or if it is impossible, after at least 4 hours from the previous urination.

A small amount of urine should initially fall into the toilet bowl before it is collected (this clears the urethra of contaminants). Then, in a clean container, catch about 1 to 2 ounces of urine and remove the container from the urine stream. The container is then given to the health care provider.

A catheter specimen must be obtained from the sampling port on the catheter bag. Sampling ports are designed to be accessed directly using a Luer Lock syringe and do not require a needle.