What are the Benefits of a Urine 24 Hour Volume Test?
A urine 24 hour volume test will help you to detect if your body contains any drugs or alcohol. You may want to take this test even before taking other tests like blood, hair follicle count (which is used to check for HIV), etc. The urine test can also help you to diagnose certain diseases such as Hepatitis B and C, Syphilis, Chlamydia, Gonorrhea and others. A urine test can also help you to get a diagnosis of pregnancy.
How does a Urine 24-Hour Volume Test Work?
The urine sample is collected from the toilet using a special collection cup. The sample is then tested for various substances by testing kits which are available on the market today. These kits consist of two parts: one part consists of a liquid solution and the second part consists of a solid substance. The liquids are usually water and saline solutions. The solids are usually drug tests, alcohol tests, hair follicle counts (HBC) and other test strips. When you pee into the collection cup, it collects all the urine in one place and then sends out a stream through a tube to the laboratory where it is analyzed.
How to Prepare for a Urine 24-Hour Volume Test?
There are many things that can affect the accuracy of your results and you should keep this in mind if you are forced to take this test. Failing to report these things can cause a false positive or false negative which is why it’s really important to be honest when you take this test. Below are some factors that you should keep in mind before you have this test done.
If you are a woman, then it is very important to know whether or not you are pregnant because this can severely affect the results of tests like these. It should be taken into consideration that some drugs will stay in your system for a longer period of time if you’re pregnant. This is due to the fact that your metabolism speeds up while you’re pregnant. This means that drugs get out of your body quicker.
It is also important to know whether or not you are breastfeeding. This is because some drugs will pass through your milk and this will affect your baby.
Some prescription drugs, over-the-counter drugs, and herbal remedies can also cause false positive results. If you are taking any of these, it is important to let the medical professional know before the test is administered.
It is also important that you do not consume any alcohol based products for at least twenty-four hours before the test is given to you. This is because alcohol will give a positive reading even when you have not consumed any.
How is a Urine 24-Hour Volume Test Performed?
The test is quite simple and it is not invasive at all. Before the test is started, you will be asked to provide a urine sample into a cup which will then be sent to a lab for testing. You will then be asked to provide several urine samples within the next 24 hours. These samples are then used to determine the volume of your urine production.
What do the Results mean?
A Urine Volume of less than 800ml within a period of 24 hours could be an indication that you have a problem with your kidneys or that you are dehydrated. If you continue to experience problems with passing water, you should seek medical attention immediately.
A Urine Volume greater than 1800ml within a period of 24 hours is quite a lot and can cause serious health risks if you continue to overproduce water in your body. You may need to seek immediate medical attention if you are experiencing any of the following symptoms:
Anxiety
Dehydration
Dizziness
Fainting
These symptoms could lead to other health concerns if you do not rehydrate yourself properly. Seek medical attention immediately if you are experiencing these symptoms.
Sources & references used in this article:
The quantitative determination of urinary oestrin by GS Smith, OW Smith – American Journal of Physiology …, 1935 – journals.physiology.org
Definition of mild, moderate and severe incontinence on the 24‐hour pad test by R O’Sullivan, E Karantanis… – … Journal of Obstetrics …, 2004 – Wiley Online Library
Urinary nitrogen output as a validity test in dietary surveys by B Isaksson – American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, 1980 – agris.fao.org
Objective assessment of urinary incontinence in women: comparison of the one-hour and 24-hour pad tests by GS Matharu, RP Assassa, KS Williams, M Donaldson… – European urology, 2004 – Elsevier
Low level of adherence to instructions for 24-hour urine collection among hospital outpatients by M Miler, AM Šimundić – Biochemia medica: Biochemia medica, 2013 – hrcak.srce.hr
Comparison of the ICIQ-SF and 24-hour pad test with other measures for evaluating the severity of urodynamic stress incontinence by E Karantanis, M Fynes, KH Moore… – International …, 2004 – Springer
