Are you positive that my urine test is negative?

There is so much confusion around urine samples, especially when you're certain you have a UTI (with all the painful symptoms) and the results comes back negative, yet again!

Believe it or not this is very common. 

DID YOU KNOW? We have used culture plate testing for UTI since the 1950's and these tests are only 50% accurate, therefore it makes sense that some bacteria gets missed. That's why it's so important to catch a sample first thing in the morning, mid-stream. Catching your sample mid-stream reduces the chance of contamination from bacteria and cells from the surrounding skin

Helpful tips: It's a good idea to keep a few spare sample cups at home so you can catch the first pee of the day and drop it to pathology ASAP.

Fortunately in the UK and US there are advanced urine testing facilities available such as MicrogenDx. They offer DNA testing which can detect pathogen DNA of specific bacteria, fungi, candida and others that standard urine cultures may have easily missed.

I found it helpful to ask my GP for a copy of my urine test results so I could note the high count of leucocytes (white blood cells) which indicated that my body was fighting an infection even though the culture came back ‘negative.' Sometimes you need to listen to your body and the symptoms are signs that something isn't right.