When needed, doctors may order several urine tests to evaluate you for a UTI, including a urinalysis, urine culture, and susceptibility tests.
In some cases, doctors may be able to prescribe treatment for a UTI based on symptoms without additional testing. Urinary tract infections are diagnosed based on your symptoms, a physical exam, and/or urine tests. UTI testing is ordered by doctors to diagnose or rule out a urinary tract infection as the cause of a patient’s symptoms. Diagnosing the cause of your symptoms can only be done by a health professional. Test kits often include multiple test strips and a color chart to help interpret test results.Īlthough an at-home test may provide information about whether a UTI could be causing your symptoms, it is not a conclusive test. The dipstick is designed to detect substances that are typically found in the urine of people with a UTI. Performing a urine dipstick test at home involves submerging a test strip in a sample of urine. The following information describes the purposes of at-home and physician-ordered UTI tests.Īt-home UTI testing allows you to look for evidence of a urinary tract infection quickly and in the privacy of your home. Several tests may be used to determine the cause of these uncomfortable symptoms.
At-home testing is also not a replacement for a medical evaluation performed by a health professional who has more comprehensive test options to diagnose a UTI. “This is a common infection that can cause fever, diarrhea, body pain, bladder infection, heart infection, and meningitis.”Īlthough at-home testing may provide helpful information, testing for a UTI at home is not appropriate if you don’t have symptoms.
“UTI at-home testing is important because it helps identify UTIs in your family and can help prevent further damage to your health,” says Victoria Glass M.D., a practicing doctor with a focus on medical research. Also called a urine dipstick, this test involves dipping a test strip into a sample of urine to check for substances that are often present when you have a urinary tract infection. Approximately 50% to 60% of adult women will experience at least one UTI in their lifetime.Īt-home UTI testing is one method of detecting a urinary tract infection. UTIs are the most common infections that occur outside of hospitals in the U.S. UTIs can affect different parts of the urinary tract, but the most common type is a bladder infection. The urinary tract consists of the kidneys, ureters, bladder, and urethra and serves as the system for collecting urine and eliminating it from the body. A urinary tract infection (UTI) is an illness in which bacteria or other microbes cause an infection in the urinary tract.