Diagnosis of a Urinary Tract Infection

To find out whether you have a UTI, your health care provider will test a sample of urine for pus and bacteria. You will be asked to give a "clean catch" urine sample by washing the genital area and collecting a "midstream" sample of urine in a sterile container. (This method of collecting urine helps prevent bacteria around the genital area from getting into the sample and confusing the test results.) The urine sample is then sent to the laboratory to be examined for white and red blood cells and bacteria. Then the bacteria are allowed to multiply in a culture. After the bacteria grow, it is tested against different antibiotics to see which drug best destroys the bacteria. This last step is called a sensitivity test. Although your health care provider may begin treatment before the bacterial cultures are back from the lab, the cultures will confirm the diagnosis and may cause a change in the antibiotic your health care provider chooses for you.

If the UTI doesn't clear up with treatment, or if you have had several bladder infections, you may need a test called a cystoscopy. A flexible tube with a light and camera is inserted into the bladder to remove samples of urine and tissue. Your health care provider might order other tests that produce pictures, or images, of the urinary tract, such as the intravenous pyelogram (IVP). This text provides x-ray images of the bladder, kidneys, and ureters. Another imaging test you might need is an ultrasound exam, which gives pictures from the echo patterns of sound waves bounced back from internal organs.

One test allows women with frequent infections to test their first-morning urine sample by themselves. Dipsticks (a type of testing paper that looks like a stick, which you can dip into a sample of your urine) that change color when an infection is present are now available in drug stores without a prescription.