To think the nurse is wrong and it’s not a normal urine sample?!

[Gggapp]

Nurse did a dipstick into a urine sample while at the GP surgery. She said it showed white blood cells so would be sent off for testing.

She said this is probably normal?! Surely white blood cells equal infection?

You havent said what the symptoms are, why did she suggest the test in the first place?

What is the relevance of the interview?

If you have symptoms of a uti then visit the pharmacy who can prescribe antibiotics.

If you don’t, then drink plenty of water and relax.

Hi, I’m a UTI veteran and also vaguely medical. White blood cells indicate inflammation. This can be from an infection but also caused by other things. UTI often dips positive for other things as well as white blood cells, but not always. If you have UTI symptoms, you can ask for treatment regardless.

@ChristmaslightsuptilJanuary thanks. What other things would cause it? I am going to go to the pharmacy tomorrow and then if no joy there just go back to them on Friday at the GP. So stressful!

Things like kidney stones. Any sort of inflammation in the urinary tract

Why was your urine sample dipped?

I would prescribe antibiotics to someone who only had white cells in their urine. It’s normal for a lot of urine samples to have this. You’ve got white blood cells all over your vagina and they get caught as you pass urine and go into the sample.

You sound quite unhinged tbh.
Taking antibiotics when you don’t need them is a really stupid idea!

OP it all comes down to symptoms. There are a lot of reasons white cells might be present in urine and clinical judgement is important in deciding what the most likely cause is. PP linked the flow chart that a pharmacist would use to decide re prescribing antibiotics - it's really not that hard to follow.

You don’t need to see a nurse for a UTI.

I walked into a pharmacy yesterday and 10 minutes later I had a prescription for antibiotics in my hand.

They said they didn’t need to test either. I just told him my symptoms and he sorted it for me straight away.

What are your symptoms? Many have asked, but you haven't said - yet.

Unnecessary antibiotic use is a very serious problem hence why they won’t prescribe them in the absence of a positive test or with symptoms to warrant them. As you’ve not said what makes you think you have an infection it’s hard to give accurate advice but demanding antibiotics just because you’re stressed about an interview isn’t really a valid reason for an HCP.

I really hope you’re not a prescriber with that level of empathy

OP, the key to this is whether you actually have UTI symptoms

It's not appropriate to have antibiotics 'in case'.

What are your symptoms?

Your post is contradictory.

You state you WOULD prescribe antibiotics to someone who only had white cells in urine sample.

Then you go on to explain white cells in urine can be normal.

And then accuse the OP of being unhinged.

I hope you are not a healthcare professional your inconsistent advice/or error and lack of empathy is quite shocking.

Obvs it’s a typo 😐

@Birdseyetrifle apparently you can get them at a pharmacy anyway so can’t be that big a deal?

If you don’t have UTI symptoms then you don’t need antibiotics OP. My earlier post assumed you had symptoms

You know women don’t urinate through their vagina, right?

A UTI would normally show more than leukocytes in a dipstick. Usually nitrates as well,occasionally blood and protein.
Leucocytes can be present for many other reasons. What are your symptoms?

Sometimes people do just need telling though

some women do (it's rare, but not unheard of). And vaginal discharge doesn't always stay in the vagina.

Why would you say this? You know how fluids work, they are, erm, fluid. They dont stay in one place, they mix together, particularly in your genitalia.

FFS . Antibiotic resistance is a huge global problem . White cells alone doesn’t indicate indicate infection . Most UTIs also have blood protein and nitrites too .
The nurse was right to send off your sample

As said you can go to your local chemist and speak to the pharmacist, they can give a 3 day course of Nitrofurantoin.

If you mention that a sample has been sent off they may not prescribe you the medication.

Depending on what they're testing for will determine how long the sample results take...if it's a straight forward UTI the results shouldn't take long to come back.

Dipsticks are sometimes wrong. I think the statistic is something like 50% of the time. My memory is that the guidelines were changed due to women being told they didn't have an infection and going untreated, causing ongoing pain and incontinence, when they did. They now should prescribe if someone has symptoms as I understand it, or at least send off a sample to the lab.

Pharmacists can't prescribe if you've had a certain number of infections before. And they only seem to prescribe one AB, Nitrofurantoin, which is no good for people with lung problems (I know because I have them).

If you are in a lot of pain or discomfort or get feverish, you can contact out of hours on 111. They can help you.