If you have a high blood pressure (Hypertension), your consultant will probably wish to carry out a simple test of your urine to check how well your kidneys and other organs are working.

Urine test can give us a lot about how high blood pressure (Hypertension) is showing effects to our body, but in some situations doctor may want more detailed information. If they would like to know more about how your body is working, they may ask for a sample of your urine that is collected over 24 hours like in a disease of Pheochromocytoma.

How is a urine test performed?

You will have to give small sample of urine in laboratory. They will test the sample using specially treated dipsticks which change colour to show how much sugar blood or protein, your urine contains.

What can urine test show?

It can shows
    * if there is protein in the urine, then you may have a problem with your kidneys
    * if there is blood in the urine, then you may have a problem with your kidneys or urinary bladder
    * if sugar is found in your urine, then you may have diabetes mellitus.

How is a 24-hour urine test carried out?

If you have to give 24-hour urine test, you will be given one to two bottles to use, to collect all the urine your kidneys make over a 24-hour period.

How to collect a 24-hour sample:

    * you must start collecting your urine early in the morning between 6.00am and 10.00am. Mention time when you started collecting urine.
    * when you start, empty your bladder and discard all the urine. Then put all the urine you produce over the next 24 hours into the sample bottle
    * exactly 24 hours after starting, empty your bladder whether you need to or not into the bottle
    * you must bring the urine sample in to your hospital on the same day it is completed.

In some situations you will have to collect urine in a bottle containing acid. If this is the case, you will need to be careful not to spill it or burn yourself. Once the acid is diluted with the first urine sample, it is no longer dangerous, however you should not try to spill it.

What can a 24-hour urine test show?

The larger volume of urine and longer collection time of a 24-hour test can reveal:

    * if you have a rare form of high blood pressure (Hypertension) called phaeochromocytoma
    * if you have a condition called Cushing’s syndrome.
    * how much salt you are eating
    * how well your kidneys are working

Moreover, If you develop high blood pressure (Hypertension) while you are pregnant, a 24-hour urine test can show if this is due to pre-eclampsia.

What should I need to do anything before a urine test?

Both the dipstick urine test and the 24-hour urine test are designed to look at how your body is working on a normal day so there is no need to do anything differently , so it is important to eat and drink, and behave normally.

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