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Home > Blog > Top 5 Diseases That Can be Detected with a Simple Urine Test

Top 5 Diseases That Can be Detected with a Simple Urine Test

Top 5 Diseases That Can be Detected with a Simple Urine Test

Max Lab

Nov 16, 2022

The elimination of waste products, toxins, and excessive water from the body through urination is important for a range of bodily functions. Urine is produced in the kidneys and stored in the bladder until it is time to remove it from the body through urination. Urine contains many clues about a person’s overall health and its colour, odour, and amount can tell a lot about what is going on inside one’s body.

What is a Urine Test?

A urine test can involve several tests like the urine routine test, urine culture test, etc. to evaluate the visual, chemical, and microscopic components of a urine sample. The tests generally use a single urine sample to detect and measure numerous components in the urine.

The Purpose of a Urine Test

There are several reasons why a healthcare practitioner may prescribe a urine test, like blood in the urine, as a part of a regular full body health check-up, etc. The purpose of a urine test can include:

  • Getting an overview of one’s general health, as a part of a general medical exam, prenatal screening, or to screen for various diseases and conditions when one is admitted to the hospital.
  • Determining the cause behind certain symptoms like frequent back pains, urination issues, etc.
  • Detecting a pregnancy.
  • Monitoring a health condition that an individual has been diagnosed with, like kidney issues, UTIs, etc.

Understanding the Most Common Types of Urine Tests for Infection Diagnosis

Before understanding what can be detected in a urine test, it is important to know about the most common types of urine tests and their purpose.

What is a Urine Culture Test?

A urine culture is a test that is performed to detect the presence of bacteria in the urine. This test can help detect and identify microorganisms that may be responsible for urinary tract infections (UTIs). Infections of the urinary tract are most often caused by bacteria that enter the urinary system through the urethra. The bacteria proliferate quickly in the environment, leading to the development of an infection.

Urinalysis

A Urinalysis involves various tests that generally check different aspects of a urine sample, including its appearance and colour, chemical properties, and a microscopic evaluation. Other common types of urine tests are generally included within the chemical properties’ evaluation part of the urinalysis.

What Can be Detected in a Urine test?

Allowing for the diagnosis of several prevalent health conditions, offering an insight into one’s overall health, providing information that can help understand the cause behind unexplained symptoms, and coming up with a huge list of what can be detected in a urine test; there is no denying that the Urine Test is quite important.

Maxlab offers an exhaustive list of tests for a comprehensive diagnosis of your health. Take a look at Urine Culture & Sensitivity Test for detecting measure numerous components in the urine. 

One of the main purposes of a urine test is to diagnose various diseases to ensure proper treatment can be provided. Following are the five most common infections that can be detected with urine tests: -

Urinary Tract Infections

Generally caused by the E. Coli bacteria, UTIs are quite common among men as well as women. Symptoms of UTIs may include a burning sensation during urination or sexual intercourse, blood in the urine, or a strong odour of urine.

Kidney Issues

As the kidneys play a major role in the production and elimination of urine from the body, any damage, disease, or condition that affects the kidneys will also affect the urine. That is why a urine test for kidney function is commonly prescribed if one shows symptoms of the same or if they have high-risk factors for developing kidney diseases.

Cancer Screening and Diagnosis

A urine test is a popular screening technique for certain cancers, like that of the bladder, ureter, or kidney. Urine tests can detect cancer in the body at an early stage.

Finding the Underlying Cause of High Blood Pressure

Urine tests can help detect catecholamines in cases where hypertension is being caused by excessive hormone production, thereby helping diagnose conditions like pheochromocytoma.

Sexually Transmitted Infections

The presence of organisms that can lead to the development of sexually transmitted infections and diseases can be detected with routine urine tests.

The list of issues and of what can be detected in urine tests is never-ending which makes urine tests quite an important tool in a doctor’s arsenal.

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Frequently Asked Questions (FAQ's)

It's a simple yet powerful diagnostic tool used by healthcare professionals to assess your overall health and detect potential medical conditions. During a urine test, a sample of your urine is analyzed in the laboratory for various substances and indicators.

One primary purpose of a urine test is to assess kidney function. The kidneys play a vital role in filtering waste products from the blood, so abnormalities in the urine can indicate potential kidney problems or diseases.

It can indicate the presence of urinary tract infections (UTIs) by identifying bacteria or white blood cells in the urine. It can also identify abnormal levels of proteins or glucose, which may be signs of kidney disease or diabetes.

In general, if you're looking to store urine for future testing purposes, it's best to do so within 24 hours. After this time frame, certain substances in the urine may begin to break down or degrade, potentially affecting the accuracy of any subsequent tests.

When it comes to urine tests, there are a few restrictions that you need to keep in mind. First and foremost, avoid drinking excessive amounts of fluids before the test. This can dilute your urine and affect the accuracy of the results.

Typically, for a routine urine culture, around 1-3 ounces (30-90 milliliters) of urine is sufficient. However, some labs may request a larger volume to ensure accurate results.

The timing of a urine test can have an impact on its accuracy and reliability. While there may not be one specific "best" time for everyone.

While normal urine can vary in shade from pale yellow to amber, certain colors may indicate underlying health conditions. For example, dark brown or red-colored urine could be a sign of blood in the urinary tract or liver problems. On the other hand, cloudy or milky-looking urine might suggest an infection or presence of excess protein.

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