Preparing for Urine Analysis

Preparing for Urine Analysis

There are several urine tests, all requiring different preparations, with collection rules varying as well. Breaching these guidelines can lead to inaccurate results and ineffective treatment.

General recommendations for preparing and collecting urine samples include:

• Preferably collect urine in the morning.
• Avoid alcohol, spicy, salty foods, and those affecting urine color (such as beets and carrots) for 10-12 hours before the test.
• Drink fluids in usual amounts during this period.
• Coordinate medication intake with a doctor, preferably avoiding diuretics if possible.
• Women should not provide urine samples during menstruation.
• There are exceptions to these rules for tests requested by a physician at any time.

Instructions for collecting a 24-hour urine sample:

1. Avoid alcohol, spicy, and salty foods, and those affecting urine color (such as beets and carrots) for 10-12 hours before the test.
2. Coordinate medication intake with a doctor, preferably avoiding diuretics if possible.
3. Women should preferably not provide urine samples during menstruation.

Rules for collecting urine throughout the day:

• Do not twist the cap of the empty tubes.
• Wash your hands, then thoroughly clean the external genitalia.
• Open the container lid and place it using a urine transfer device. Warning: Do not touch the clean container or the inner part of the lid with your hands.
• In the first morning urination, fully empty the urinary flow (do not collect this part in the container). Keep track of the time of the first urination!
• Then, throughout the day, collect all urine in the container. Collect the last part at the same time you started collecting urine the previous day.
• Store the container in the refrigerator at a temperature ranging from +2 to +8 degrees Celsius throughout the urine collection period. Avoid direct sunlight!
• Close the lid tightly, holding it by the edges, then shake the container gently 3-5 times while turning it gently.
• Bend gently to open the label on the container lid.
• Place the tube with its cap downwards in the hole on the container lid. Press the tube’s bottom until the needle punctures the rubber stopper in the lid, and urine starts flowing into the tube. Hold the tube and wait until it fills. Then remove it from the container lid. Repeat the process for each tube.
• Gently mix the tube contents 8-10 times by gently rotating it at a 180-degree angle.
• Empty the remaining urine into the toilet and dispose of the container.